1:1 CONCERTS©: Music just for you

The idea is beautiful and the experience unique. The 1:1 CONCERTS© come to Innsbruck. More than a concert, it is a sort of performance, which can only be described as "exclusive". It works like this: a musician, a spectator, three meters of distance, a piece of music of about ten minutes, a particular place. I went to rehearse for you - to be honest, especially for me - and now I'll tell you.

The musicians of the Tiroler Symphonieorchester in Innsbruck are offering these individual concerts at three different locations in the city from 24 May to 4 July 2021. It is a kind of blind date. When you book yourself for a concert, the place and time are fixed, but everything else is a surprise. Which musician will play, with which instrument and which song, you only find out after you take your seat.

You will be welcomed by an usher, who will explain how this performance-concert works. You will be taken to a room, where you will be alone with the musician. The musician is already there waiting for you. Once you have taken a seat on a chair, three meters away from the artist, you will look each other in the eyes, for quite a long time. I can't say how long it was, maybe a minute. I can only say that it's not something we are used to: looking into the eyes of a stranger for more than a few seconds (with a mask, too) creates a strong intimacy, despite the three meters distance. It is requested not to talk to the musician, so the exchange of glances is very intense. Then the musician chooses which song to play.

The concert "for me" was held in the Ferdinandeum Museum. All around us were gothic wooden sculptures. The sound of the instrument was intense. Perhaps because of the exceptional nature of the situation and the fact that the duration of the performance is "only" one piece, my concentration on what was happening remained uninterruptedly high. I watched the musician playing, I felt the vibrations and the sounds of the instrument and I couldn't stop thinking that this person was playing just and exclusively for me. At the end I couldn't hold back a "Bravo" and a round of applause!
The accompanist reappeared, took me to another room, where she asked me to wait. She returned shortly afterwards with a sheet of paper on which was written the title of the piece I had heard.

There are three concert venues in Innsbruck: the Ferdinandeum Regional Museum, the "Talstation" stop on the Hungerburgbahn and the Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube cultural centre (links to detailed information at the end of this article). All three locations are within easy walking distance of the Old Town.
At the entrance, you will be asked to present a negative swab no older than 48 hours or a vaccination pass, and you must wear an FFP2 mask.
Admission is free and the musicians also play for free. The 1:1 CONCERTS© have a charitable purpose: the organizers collect donations for the Austrian association Doro Blancke, which cares for refugees.

The 1:1 CONCERTS© were created in 2019 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic by Stephanie Winker, Franziska Ritter and Christian Siegmund in Germany. The nostalgia for live concerts, the need for personal contact due to the lockdown and the desire to support freelance musicians in this time of crisis were the inspiration for this new format, which has since spread to many cities around the world.

1:1 CONCERTS© in Innsbruck

Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum
Museumstraße 15, 6020 Innsbruck
from 27 May to 1 July 2021, on Thursdays from 3.30 to 5.30 p.m.
Reservation required. Free admission. Free donations.
For reservations: anmeldung@tiroler-landesmuseen.at or 0512-59489-111

Die Bäckerei Kulturbackstube
Dreiheiligenstraße 21a, 6020 Innsbruck
from 24 May to 28 June 2021, Mondays from 3.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Reservation required. Admission free. Free donations.
For reservations: baiba@diebaeckerei.at

Hungerburgbahn Talstation
Rennweg 41, 6020 Innsbruck
26 May, 16 and 23 June 2021 from 3.30 p.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Reservations required. Free admission. Free donations.
For reservations: junge.talstation@gmail.com

The detailed programme can be found here

At the time this article was published, the following rules apply for attending the concert:
A negative tampon (not older than 48 hours), vaccination pass or certificate of recovery from Covid-19 (not older than six months) is required. An FFP2 mask must be worn.