At the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, the 3D sound by usomo is used to convey the musical legacy by the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner.
Bruckner liked to experiment and had a pioneering sound language, constantly testing and expanding the limits of the doable in his time. For this reason, Ars Electronica identifies greatly with his spirit, and usomo, too, is very much at home in this way of thinking.
On the occasion of the Bruckner Year 2024 – Bruckner’s 200th year of birth – the Ars Electronica developed two projects on the composer, one of which, “Being Anton“, is an immersive digital soundscape transporting the visitors to his time, the 19th century. Aside from his symphonies and organ music, complete with church acoustics and the operating sounds of the instrument, we hear his personal journal entries and excerpts from newspapers, sounds of horse carriages and the rain falling on the streets, all weaving an illustrative tapestry of sound.
Paramount in it all is neither his contribution to music history nor his career path, but the question how he might have experienced his world. On the basis of historical research and in conjunction with excerpts from his symphonies (recorded by the Bruckner Orchester Linz) and pieces for choir and organ, a complex sound design has been developed that takes the visitors on an unconventional audiowalk.
Credits
Website
ars.electronica.art
Concept and realisation
Ars Electronica Futurelab (Arno Deutschbauer, Peter Freudling, Ali Nikrang, Gerfried Stocker)
in exchange with OÖ KulturEXPO (Norbert Trawöger and Lydia Zachbauer)
Sound design
Julian Pixel Schmiederer
Spatial sound concept, spatial sound production, planning and integration of the usomo sound system
usomo by FRAMED immersive projects, Berlin
Duration
1 February to 29 December 2024
Photos
© Ars Electronica / Birgit Cakir
