English 
Italiano 
Since a few years is spreading even in Italy the phenomenon of the House Concert, “house” evenings with musicians who perform in an acoustic version, in front of a few guests invited by the host. Recently arrived in Europe, they are real live concerts organized in private homes, usually without amplification (even not to disturb the neighbors too): it’s a way to find a more direct and personal contact with the artist, without the concern to gain the best place.
Behind this trend there is actually a story that goes way back. The folk, country and blues music have a long tradition of performances in houses and backyards. Going back even further, particularly in the sixteen century, the whole secular music was performed in a room of the house of the noble – and it is called because of that ‘chamber music’, and public halls were born only at the time of Beethoven, built for the specific purpose. Coming to us, in the twentieth century the House Concerts are very popular in New York City: in 1930 in Harlem there was the use to rent a ‘buffet flat’ (apartments reserved for travelers or show artists) for blues concerts or risqué shows. “House” mode was then adopted by other countries, including Canada, South Korea and India.
But how is organized a HC? The owner, called presenter, provides the garden for the event, or the attic, living room or any room deems appropriate, promising to invite guests and preparing a buffet. Composed of a few tens of selected individuals, the public pays a fee to cover the costs of the organization and the compensation of the musician.
The purpose is to create an alternative circuit to listen to music, which for some artists is also the only way to get to know the United States half of the dates of young talents are organized in House Concert. A concert in your house can also be a useful stage for novice musicians to overcome stage fright, or it can offer a retired musician the opportunity to perform again. Sometimes famous bands or rock star perform in private parties, often secret and reserved to a selected few.
Among the Italian organizers we point out the independent radio Indietravelradio, who is also an online HC provider. The various events are posted on the blog indietravelradio.blogspot.it, while the HC page indietravelradio.blogspot.it/p/house-concert.html hosts the live streaming (when possible) and, later, the videos of the concerts. Proposing is simple: just contact them via e-mail or Facebook.
