The Leading Edge of Innovation: Haydn for the 21st Century

(Photo courtesy Schulich School of Music)

A fascinating example of history being made – and history being brought to life – is the Virtual Haydn project, which re-creates the acoustics of actual performing spaces in which Haydn’s music was played more than 200 years ago.

A team of researchers from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT) travelled to Europe to measure the acoustics of nine historically significant locations. They then recreated these acoustics at the Schulich School of Music, while renowned Haydn scholar and performer, Professor Tom Beghin, played on period instruments.

“With this project, the performer in the laboratory hears the sound as it would be in the Holywell Music Room at Oxford or Haydn’s studio in Vienna,” explains Stephen McAdams, BSc’77, Director of CIRMMT.

The result is a landmark three-disc Blu-ray set, released this fall to honour the 200th anniversary of Haydn’s death. Music lovers can enjoy 15 hours of this extraordinary music, as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary, Playing the Room.

This innovative collaboration is just one example of the impact of transformative support from Seymour Schulich, BSc’61, MBA’65, DLitt’04, along with gifts of all sizes from countless other donors. Recently ranked among the top 10 music schools in the world, the Schulich School is making history with new technologies, landmark research, and the achievements of its students and faculty on the world stage.