The Symphony of Sirens, Revisited > Comments > "A lovely story, well produced"

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A lovely story, well produced


Alastair Wanklyn

Posted on April 26, 2013 at 01:15 AM

We have all thought this, but here was a Soviet showman in the 1930s who tried to demonstrate it.

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  • Alastair Wanklyn
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  • Username: alastairwanklyn
  • Location: Tokyo, Japan
  • Joined PRX: Apr 25, 2013

Piece Information

Caption: Avraamov conducting the Symphony of Sirens in Moscow. November 7, 1923., Credit: Andrey Smirnov
  • "The Symphony of Sirens, Revisited"
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  • Summary: In November of 1923, a Soviet composer named Arseny Avraamov stepped onto a Moscow rooftop clutching two oversized flags. His plan: to conduct an orchestra comprised of the city itself. Enthralled with the Russian Revolution's break from the past, Avraamov envisioned a «music of the future» made from a strange choice of choirs: factory sirens, barge foghorns, soldiers' footsteps, artillery fire, workers songs, steam whistles, and proletarian shouts. Together, it was music. Every city had it. Only how to arrange it? 'The Symphony of Sirens' was his answer.

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