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Strauss's 'Blue Danube' Waltzes Its Way into Outer Space

A Celestial Tribute to a Timeless Waltz

A manuscript of 'The Blue Danube' waltz, on display at Vienna's Johann Strauss Museum.

Johann Strauss II's 'The Blue Danube' has long evoked the grandeur of space exploration for many, ever since its iconic use in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi masterpiece 2001: a Space Odyssey.

On Saturday, the iconic waltz quite literally reached the stars, as the European Space Agency broadcast a live rendition into space to mark the composer's bicentenary.

A Global Concert for the Cosmos

A Viennese Performance with International Reach

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra gave a performance in the heart of Austria's capital city.

The concert was streamed live online and simultaneously screened publicly in Vienna, New York's Bryant Park and near the Spanish antenna.

ESA's Role in the Space Broadcast

"The digitized audio will be sent to the expansive 35-meter satellite dish at ESA's Cebreros ground station in Spain," said Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the ESA, in advance of the concert.

The Austrian astronomer explained that "from there, the waltz will be broadcast in the form of electromagnetic waves."

'Quintessentially Spatial' in Sound and Symbolism

"The Blue Danube" conjures the refined charm of 19th-century Vienna, still echoed in the city's exuberant ball season.

According to Norbert Kettner, who heads the Vienna Tourist Board, the Danube waltz is regarded as 'a genuine unofficial anthem of space' owing to Kubrick.

Kettner described the timeless waltz as "the typical sound of space", owing to its frequent use during ISS docking manoeuvres.

Austria celebrates 200 years since the birth of its legendary waltz maestro, Johann Strauss II.

An Interstellar performance of Hope and Harmony

Music That Floats Through Space

On Saturday, during the performance of the waltz, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra highlighted its ethereal quality, as though it were gliding through space, said Jan Nast, the director.

The Universal Language of Music

Saturday's hour-long "Interstellar Concert" was arranged by Nast, who said music is a language "that touches countless people" and carries "the universal ability to express hope and happiness".

Bridging a Divide Through Sound

A Signal Bound for Voyager 1

Once beamed through Spain's satellite dish, the signal will journey at light speed, arriving at NASA's Voyager 1—the further human-made object in space—after roughly 23 hours and 3 minutes.

Upon leaving Voyager 1 behind, it will forge ahead into the vast interstellar expanse.

Correcting a Cosmic Oversight

In seeking to catch up with the spacecraft and its twin, Voyager 2, Austria aims to correct what many see as a past oversight.

What Voyager Carried, and What It Missed

Each of the Voyager spacecraft bears a "Golden Record"—a 12-inch, gold-plated copper disc designed to tell the story of Earth to alien life.

The record contains 115 analogue images depicting life on Earth, alongside an assortment of sounds and musical excerpts.

Mozart's Inclusion, Strauss's Absence

"The Magic Flute" by Austria's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was part of the 27 musical selections, yet Strauss's celebrated waltz was absent.

Source


Embark on a journey where classical music meets the cosmos. Discover how Strauss's Blue Donube transcended Earthly bounds, resonating through the vastness of space, symbolizing humanity's artistic outreach to the stars.

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