Although Mozart has no living descendants, his music has countless heirs. The youngest member of the family line – born just this summer – is a digital twin.
German technology giant Siemens designed the massive clone. Last month, the company brought the system to Mozart's hometown of Salzburg.
The picturesque city at the foot of the Alps hosts the renowned Salzburg Music and Theater Festival. Classical sounds float through the humid air. They resound across open-air stages and through opera halls. Some have even reached their digital twin.
Like any digital twin, the system is a virtual model of a real counterpart. However, this one has an unusual focus: sound.
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The technology recreates the acoustics of a building. By simulating sounds in virtual space, the twin reveals the acoustic processes in the physical space.
“We are to Acoustics all the time, but that means we can really be In them,” Julia MüllerDevelopment Director of the Salzburg Festival, tells TNW. “It's a completely different feeling.”
Siemens sees numerous possible applications. Architects will design venues with unparalleled acoustics. Contractors will build houses with perfect soundproofing. Venues will transform convention centers for music, theater and dance. Conductors will customize opera halls for their music. Orchestras will rehearse in replicas of real concert halls.
But before these fantasies became reality, the digital twin had to audition. Salzburg offered two challenging tests: a legendary festival venue and the music of Mozart.
Digitize sound
The Great Festival Hall was built especially for the Salzburg Festival. Photo credit: Siemens
The Salzburg Festival Hall, opened in 1960, is a historic setting for operas and concerts.
The square auditorium was built on old stables and has world-renowned acoustics. As the name suggests, the venue is also huge. The 100-meter-long stage is one of the widest in the world. Each performance can accommodate around 2,200 people.
Their seats offer different music experiences. They influence the music. Their materials, locations and the people sitting on them influence the acoustics that resonate through the hall. The same goes for the carpets on the floor, the musicians on the stage and the instruments they play.
Architecture also has a significant impact on sound. If the building pushes echoes and reverberations in cacophonous directions, acoustic panels are installed on walls and ceilings to alleviate the stress.
The digital twin had to model each of these effects. Siemens assigned this task to Simcenter, a software portfolio for developing and testing simulations.
The software first analyzed data on the shape, structure and contents of the hall. Then all the underlying materials were precisely defined. Each can cause sound waves to behave differently.
Soft curtains absorb the waves, while metal furniture reflects them. If they When they bounce off concrete walls, they create a distinct acoustic response. When they hit a seat, they create another response.
Siemens analyzed these effects using two core techniques: Impulse response measurements and ray tracingTogether they measured and simulated the sound flow through the hall.
A virtual stage for Mozart
Engineers first installed 12 microphones around the auditorium. On the stage they placed 11 high-quality speakers at the positions of the instruments.
Each speaker then sends small signals through the room. For a set number of seconds, it transmits a wide frequency band with a specific duration and precise volume.
As the signals circulated through the hall, microphones recorded their effects. The results were then sent for analysis.
“With this technology we preserve the individual sound character of the room,” Arnold Holler, Engagement Manager at Siemens Simcenter, explains TNW.
Siemens then embedded this signature in the digital hall.
The digital twin of the Salzburg Festival Hall. Photo credit: Siemens
The sound tests were repeated using virtual microphones and speakers in the same positions as their physical counterparts. Computer models then examined the acoustic behavior.
“We correlate the simulation with the measurements and map the model to reality,” says Holler. “This gives you the digital twin. Otherwise you only have a digital model.”
Confident that their replicant was fully developed, the team released the virtual doppelganger.
The finished twin reproduces endless musical configurations. Users can then explore the effects on every seat in the hall.
From remote locations they can experiment with sounds, materials and layouts. All their optimizations could change the acoustics. By simulating them in a digital twin, they will create evidence for real-world decisions.
Other acoustic digital twins are already in the works. But the technology still has to convince skeptics. To dispel their doubts, Siemens has turned to Salzburg's favorite son.
Mozart enters the digital stage
Siemens has built the digital twin into an XR application. The app, called “Sound of Science,” puts us in a 3D model of the Great Festival Hall in Salzburg. We then explore the music played in the venue and adjust sounds and structures as we listen.
We move instruments, expand orchestras, set up acoustic panels and listen to the effects from different places in the hall. Every change has an audible effect on the acoustics.
Stephan Frucht, artistic director of the Siemens Arts Programme, chose Mozart's 29th Symphony for the experience. By mixing transparent textures with sophisticated techniques, the music demonstrates the capabilities of the digital twin.
Frucht, himself a conductor and musician, cut the track in a Berlin studio. One instrument after the other was recorded on individual files. All were integrated into the digital twin. The audio signals were then fed into the XR software.
The app offers views and listening experiences from the conductor's seat, the stalls and the upper tier. Image credit: Siemens
The XR app opens a window to the potential of acoustic digital twins. And sheds new light on Siemens.
The digital future of music
Siemens was founded in 1847 and looks back on a long tradition of technical excellence. The Munich-based company is also Europe's largest industrial manufacturer. But today's company has another focus: software.
Digital twins are a central part of today's business world. They are used to monitor and improve various industrial operations, from manufacturing plants to energy grids.
The Salzburg system shows that the twins can also optimize acoustic conditions. Frucht has even higher ambitions for the project. He believes that music can influence industrial applications.
“Innovation can ultimately also arise from culture,” he says.
He points to a precedent set by Salzburg's second favorite musical son: Herbert von Karajan. A celebrated (and controversial) The Austrian conductor Karajan opened the Great Festival Hall. He was also involved in the development of the compact disc. One of his recordings was the first work ever pressed on plastic.
Legend has it that he also set the parameters for the CD. He allegedly demanded that there should be room for Beethoven's 9th Symphony on a single CD. The result was a capacity of 74 minutes.
If music has a similar impact on digital twins, Mozart could have a whole new generation of descendants.
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