The EU-funded Apollo project is using the state-of-the-art technologies of virtual and augmented reality to preserve and promote Berlin’s classical heritage and bring it into the digital age.
- 22 November 2019
Full of excitement, youngsters are convincing their grandparents to put on the VR glasses and to experience the orchestra virtually. This is a new dimension for everyone, which fascinates people across generations – and worldwide.
Classical music and opera are highly esteemed parts of Germany’s cultural heritage. With over 250 venues and around 70 concert organisations, Berlin isn’t only the country’s capital, it’s also the capital of classical culture. The city’s rich cultural offering is essential for the tourism industry and an important part of the quality of life enjoyed by Berlin’s citizens. This musical heritage is so important that, according to a survey conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation, nearly 90 % of Germans say they want to safeguard it for future generations.
An interactive experience
Since 2016, 10 experts and students from HTW Berlin – University of Applied Sciences and the Konzerthaus Berlin have been working on the design and implementation of a virtual music experience. This work is being done via the project’s applications laboratory, a place where the partners can combine interdisciplinary research in the areas of knowledge transfer, interface design, digital media, augmented and virtual reality, and mobile applications.
One outcome of this effort is the Konzerthaus+ App. By downloading the app, users can, for example, listen to and rearrange a 3D string quartet. One can even listen to the animals of the Berlin Zoo or the background noise of a local café – all played via classical instruments. Or, by simply slipping on a pair of virtual reality glasses, the user can find him or herself immersed in the orchestra. While virtually sitting next to the concertmaster as she plays Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s fourth symphony, information about the piece, the instruments, and the artists, is provided via interactive buttons. Afterwards, users can experience a virtual tour through a 3D reconstruction of the Konzerthaus Berlin and learn more about its architecture and eventful history.
Berlin and beyond
To promote the virtual Konzerthaus experience, the project has set up a permanent exhibition in the foyer of the actual Konzerthaus. Here visitors can learn about the project, Berlin’s musical heritage, and try the virtual reality experience. Since its opening in 2018, the exhibition has attracted over 10 000 guests per month from around the world. It welcomes 15 000 students for rehearsals every season.
The virtual experiences can be enjoyed from one’s own home via the downloadable app. Project organisers say the app has been downloaded on all six of the world’s inhabited continents – showing that Germany’s musical heritage knows no borders.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Apollo - applications laboratory for online media, virtual reality and location based services; “Virtual Konzerthaus” is EUR 2 282 000, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 1 033 000 through the “Berlin” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Innovation”.