For Seasons

Composed by climate data

Client

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra

Year

2019

Location

Hamburg

Together with a team of sound artists, software developers and composers, we brought the famous „Four Seasons“ by Antonio Vivaldi into a new perspective. The score from 1725 was translated into a 2019 version using climate data in order to present how our current climate sounds different to the four seasons Vivaldi experienced when he wrote his masterpiece. We used „raw data“ of the climate change as a foundation for our new score. A sophisticated algorithm mapped this directly onto the original score and modified it. As a result, we hear how climate change sounds, how melodies become unbalanced and out-of-track. This musical experience premiered in November 2019 with a large per- formance by NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in the grand hall of the Elbphilharmonie.

The Principle of „Data-to-Concert“

Our team developed a technological principle and process to translate the original work of the „Four Seasons“ to a 2019 version. The credo of this project was „Data-To-Concert“ which stands for a creation of the new score based on scientific data of climate change. In order to modify the original note values, an algorithm and various software patches (MaxMSP) were developed to apply climate raw data onto different parts of the work. This „mapping“ of climate data produces new acoustic results which were subsequently optimized by the team using professional music notation software. As a result, the algorithm generated a digital (MusicXML) score of the „For Seasons“ to be performed by NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in the Elbphilharmonie.

The Algorithm

The algorithm that maps climate data onto musical note values works on two levels: First, several data sets are applied on the entire score (cross-concert) to generate a change over all 4 seaons. Second, special data sets are applied on certain parts of the score: We link climate data to certain musical segments that interpret certain natural events and themes. This two-step process generates a new score set interweaving climate data into the acoustic experience.