The Linzer Klangwolke () (Linz Cloud of Sound) is an open-air multimedia musical event held each year since 1979 in early September in the Linz

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

Park in the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n town of

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

. It is organized by the Brucknerhaus Linz. The Cloud of Sound currently consists of three concerts of modern music, partially supplemented by visualizations. The series starts with the visualized Cloud of Sound, in which modern music (mostly commissioned works) is staged with lasers, video projections, fireworks, ships, cranes, balloons, etc. This event attracts an audience of about 100,000 each year and is one of the largest European open-air events with no admission. The classic Cloud of Sound is a classical concert at the Great Hall of the Brucknerhaus Linz, performed without visualization. The children's Cloud of Sound, an afternoon event since 1998, provides musical stories for younger listeners. All three Cloud of Sounds are part of the Brucknerfest.

History

Dr. Hannes Leopoldseder, director of the ORF's Upper Austria Regional Studio, was looking for something to connect the

Ars Electronica Ars Electronica Linz GmbH is an Austrian cultural, educational and scientific institute active in the field of new media art, founded in Linz in 1979. It is based at the Ars Electronica Center (AEC), which houses the Museum of the Future, in t ...

(a festival for art, technology and society) and the Brucknerfest, honoring Austrian composer

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

. Discussions with Munich musician and composer Walter Haupt eventually led to the event's creation. On 18 September 1979, 100,000 people listened as a studio pre-recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 8 in C minor was broadcast through a 20 kilowatt quadrophonic speaker system, opening the Brucknerfest. In 1980, the Bruckner Orchester Linz, under Theodor Guschlbauer, performed Bruckner's Symphony No. 4 live. Since 1980, the event has been transmitted live from the Brucknerhaus. Currently, speakers with a total power of 250 kilowatts are installed on cranes in front of the Brucknerhaus between the Nibelungen Bridge and a railway bridge. Artists and artist groups that played at the Sound of Cloud were Airan Berg,

Parov Stelar Marcus Füreder (born 27 November 1974), better known by his stage name Parov Stelar, is an Austrian musician, producer, composer and DJ. He is considered a pioneer of Electro swing and is one of the most internationally successful artists ...

, Beda Percht, Hubert Lepka & Lawine Torrèn, Xailabs GmbH, and the artist group Helix. In 2019, the visualized cloud of sound celebrated its 40th birthday with an anniversary edition.

References

External links

History of the Klangwolke
listing the works performed each year
Linzer Klangwolke website

Website for the children's Cloud of Sound
{{Authority control Festivals in Linz Music festivals in Austria Electronic music festivals in Austria