Bridge Music
Encyclopedia
Bridge Music is a public sound art installation. Additionally, there is an album of the same name featuring music from this installation.
most well known undertakings, the Bridge Music project uses only the sounds of New York's Mid-Hudson Bridge
to play the bridge like a musical instrument. The work was completed in time for New York's 400th anniversary observance of Henry Hudson's voyage up the river that now bears his name
, but was underway as early as 2004. Originally intended to be a live performance piece (circa 2006), this "audacious plan" (New York Times) to compose music for a suspension bridge using the bridge itself as the instrument brought Bertolozzi wide local and international attention.
When funding fell through for a live performance, Bertolozzi took the audio samples
he had used to compose his works for the bridge http://www.josephbertolozzi.com/cms/index.php?module=webpage&id=5&page=2, and used them to put together a studio album
. The installation features audio from the album, and allows listeners to hear the project on the bridge itself.
Bertolozzi is now working on creating a similar project to have a group of live percussionists play the Eiffel Tower
.
on the bridge itself and in nearby parks. The Bridge Music Listening Stations are located on the pedestrian sidewalk of the Mid Hudson Bridge, at each of the bridge's towers. They are open dawn to dusk from April 1 through October 31. Additionally, Park Radios on 95.3FM play the same music year-round, 24/7 in Waryas Park, Poughkeepsie and Johnson-Iorio Park, Highland.
label DE1045) entered the Billboard Classical Crossover Music Chart at #18, and has been released globally. Justin Patrick, writing for music site Brainwashed
, called the Bridge Music CD "a fun album. It takes a high art concept and makes it playful."http://brainwashed.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8027&Itemid=96
History
One of composer Joseph Bertolozzi'sJoseph Bertolozzi
Joseph Bertolozzi is an American composer and musician with works ranging from full symphony orchestra to solo gongs to suspension bridge...
most well known undertakings, the Bridge Music project uses only the sounds of New York's Mid-Hudson Bridge
Mid-Hudson Bridge
The Mid-Hudson Bridge is a toll suspension bridge which carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Highland in the state of New York. Governor and local resident Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor attended the opening ceremony on August 25, 1930. The bridge...
to play the bridge like a musical instrument. The work was completed in time for New York's 400th anniversary observance of Henry Hudson's voyage up the river that now bears his name
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, but was underway as early as 2004. Originally intended to be a live performance piece (circa 2006), this "audacious plan" (New York Times) to compose music for a suspension bridge using the bridge itself as the instrument brought Bertolozzi wide local and international attention.
When funding fell through for a live performance, Bertolozzi took the audio samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
he had used to compose his works for the bridge http://www.josephbertolozzi.com/cms/index.php?module=webpage&id=5&page=2, and used them to put together a studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
. The installation features audio from the album, and allows listeners to hear the project on the bridge itself.
Bertolozzi is now working on creating a similar project to have a group of live percussionists play the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
.
Installation
Bridge Music exists as a free public audio installationSound installation
Sound installation is an intermedia and time based art form. It is an expansion of an art installation in the sense that it includes the sound element and therefore the time element...
on the bridge itself and in nearby parks. The Bridge Music Listening Stations are located on the pedestrian sidewalk of the Mid Hudson Bridge, at each of the bridge's towers. They are open dawn to dusk from April 1 through October 31. Additionally, Park Radios on 95.3FM play the same music year-round, 24/7 in Waryas Park, Poughkeepsie and Johnson-Iorio Park, Highland.
Album
Released in 2009, the CD "Bridge Music" (on the DelosDelos International
Delos International is an American record label. Based in Hollywood, California, it specializes in publishing classical music. The Delos recording label was founded in 1973 by Amelia S. Haygood , one of the most prominent figures in the classical recording industry...
label DE1045) entered the Billboard Classical Crossover Music Chart at #18, and has been released globally. Justin Patrick, writing for music site Brainwashed
Brainwashed (website)
Brainwashed is a not-for-profit online music publication offering news and reviews of eclectic music. Over fifty people contribute to the archives of Brainwashed. Brainwashed hosts websites for many bands, artists and record labels...
, called the Bridge Music CD "a fun album. It takes a high art concept and makes it playful."http://brainwashed.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8027&Itemid=96