"Waltz into Space": Vienna Symphony Orchestra Sends the Blue Danube Waltz into Space
As part of the Strauss Festival Year 2025, Vienna Tourism and the European Space Agency (ESA) aim to fill a gap in the musical space history: Johann Strauss's Blue Danube Waltz will be deliberately sent into space for the first time. During the "Waltz into Space" concert by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra on May 31, the waltz will be transmitted at the speed of light into the universe via an ESA antenna in Cebreros, Spain – as a belated addition to the "Golden Records," which were sent into space in 1977 without the famous piece.
"A cosmic error," said Kettner at the announcement of the project. After all, the Blue Danube Waltz is considered the unofficial anthem of space. Therefore, the concert is intended not only to be a musical highlight in Vienna but also a signal to potentially extraterrestrial listeners.
Anthem of Space Was Forgotten During Voyager Mission 1977
The Blue Danube Waltz has long held its place in space history: It was played aboard the Soviet space station Mir in 1991 in honor of Austrian cosmonaut Franz Viehböck. The piece gained worldwide fame through Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey, in which it accompanies a scene where spaceships gracefully float through space in three-four time.
Nevertheless, the waltz was overlooked in the selection of music for the Voyager mission. The space probes launched in 1977 carry works by Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart on their golden records, but Strauss's iconic waltz remained on Earth.
"Waltz into Space" at Vienna MAK: Vienna Symphony Orchestra with Cosmic Program
The "Waltz into Space" concert will take place on May 31 at 8:30 PM at the Vienna Museum of Applied Arts (MAK). The Vienna Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of chief conductor Petr Popelka, will perform a program related to the cosmos, including Mozart's Jupiter Symphony and Josef Strauss's Sphärenklänge.
Strauss' Blue Danube Waltz Sent to Aliens at the Speed of Light
The highlight of the evening is the transmission of the Blue Danube Waltz at 9:30 PM via the ESA Deep Space Antenna DSA 2 in Cebreros. The signal will travel at the speed of light and will overtake the Voyager 1 probe about 23 hours later – a symbolic gesture to include the waltz in humanity's interstellar message.
The concert will be streamed not only for potential extraterrestrial listeners but also for an earthly audience – live at Vienna's Strandbar Herrmann, in Bryant Park in New York, and directly at the ESA antenna in Cebreros.
Free Sheet Music Sponsorship for the Blue Danube Waltz by Vienna Tourism
Additionally, Vienna Tourism is launching a worldwide participation campaign: The Blue Danube Waltz consists of 13,743 notes, for which people can sponsor. Participation is free, and even Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig has already adopted a note.
Whether the signal will ever be received by extraterrestrial beings remains uncertain. But even if humanity no longer exists, it is meant to be a sign that it once danced – and that in three-quarter time.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.