Berliner Philharmoniker and Fraunhofer –
New Media for Classical Music

Berlin, 29 October 2009

The Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation and the Fraunhofer Institutes Heinrich Hertz Institute and IDMT sign a Cooperation Agreement for the Testing of Digital Media

Berliner Philharmoniker and Fraunhofer –

New Media for Classical Music

Representatives of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Fraunhofer Heinrich Herz Institute and the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology (IDMT) today signed a cooperation agreement on ‘Tomorrow’s Cinema – New Media for Classical Music’ for the on-going development and testing of new digital visual, presentation and audio technologies for the enjoyment of classical music. The alliance forged today aims to use cutting-edge technologies to broaden the outreach of classical music and music events so that user groups unable to attend the actual concert can have the full experience of the event either live or in a recorded format. In a first step the array of technologies from the Fraunhofer Institutes will be fused together in the 180 degree Panorama Cinema at the Heinrich Hertz Institute, where concerts by the Berliner Philharmoniker will be presented in compellingly realistic surroundings. Future plans include the live streaming of concerts and the testing of novel program and play-back formats involving 3D / interactive television. The fruits of the partnership will be presented to the public with the opening of the Panorama Cinema during the Berlin International Film Festival 2010.

The Berliner Philharmoniker is not just one of the world’s most illustrious symphony orchestras but is also remarkable for its deep engagement in all aspects of the future of music. Its web-based Digital Concert Hall which opened in the 2008/2009 season is widely considered as a trail-blazer in bringing together the Internet and classical music. Its partnership with the Fraunhofer HHI and IDMT institutes in Tomorrow’s Cinema in Berlin now brings together the worlds of scientific research and art in an endeavor to breathe life into completely new forms of music presentation.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology (IDMT) in Ilmenau is renowned for its director Prof. Karlheinz Brandenburg, one of the developers of the MP3 format. Fraunhofer IDMT will integrate an Iosono® wave-field synthesis sound system in the Panorama Cinema at HHI, consisting of an unbroken ring of 128 loudspeakers.

Fraunhofer HHI in Berlin is a leader in video management, from signal generation and data streaming through to visualization of data on novel types of display. A high-end cinema has been built at the Institute featuring high resolution (6000 pixels) projection technology and 180 degree panoramic projection. A new type of camera consisting of six HD cameras has also been specially developed for the new type of content the cinema will be showing.

Integration of audio technology from Fraunhofer IDMT in the HHI cinema in combination with the special classical music content created by the Berliner Philharmoniker will give birth to a fully immersive live experience in a world premier that is bound to satisfy the most sophisticated of tastes.

The official opening of Tomorrow’s Cinema is scheduled for February 2010 during the Berlin International Film Festival, when the first fruits of the partnership between the Berliner Philharmoniker and Fraunhofer will be presented to the music-loving public.