A key cultural player in French-speaking Switzerland, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande is delighted to announce that it will be giving the first hologram symphony concert ever recorded. As part of the 12th edition of the artgenève fair, which will take place from 25 to 28 January 2024, 73 musicians will take virtual shape to perform the Pictures at an Exhibition by Moussorgski. This is a first for the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, which is exploring new ways of broadcasting classical music and reaching new audiences.
In collaboration with the company Cybel'Art, the Orchestra was filmed and captured from every angle: while performing the iconic piece of the classical repertoire: the majestic Pictures at an Exhibition by the composer Modest Moussorgski, in the biggest Theatre of Switzerland, the Théâtre de Beaulieu. Gestures, facial expressions, bow movements, silences - everything was captured using motion capture, a technology that can easily record the positions of the musicians and transposes them virtually. It is the first time that this extremely precise and meticulous technology and set design are used to film for a symphony orchestra. In 1954, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande was a pioneer in this field, making the very first symphonic stereophonic recording under the baton of its conductor and founder Ernest Ansermet. 70 years later, in 2024, the OSR is once again the first symphony orchestra to experiment with a new means of broadcasting.
Invented by Cybel'Art in 2019, the Icologram® technology is a revolutionary protocol in digital art and holography. The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande's icologram was created to embody the potential of extended reality (XR) and holography in symphonic music. This innovation now paves the way for immersive, cutting-edge symphonic experiences, marking not only a milestone in ArtTech but also redefining the way we experience music.
"This is something exceptional, a testimony that will never grow old. In 50 years' time, you'll be able to project the orchestra today, as if it were alive," says Steve Roger, General Manager of the OSR. "The idea is not to use this matrix as a replacement for the orchestra, but as a complement, to be able to broadcast it wherever the orchestra cannot be broadcast."
