Markus Noisternig

Recent advances in 3D audio technologies have given rise to new ways of creating spatial experiences with sound and in music. Sound is not only composed as moving along in time but also through the space surrounding the listeners. In playing with spatial relationships in musical performance, artists may access a further dimension of expressivity, and this play can redefine our understanding of sound in space. Along with rhythm, melody, harmony, and the "color" of sound, space has become an essential expressive element in music composition and performance.

This talk gives a brief introduction to modern 3D audio technologies, such as Wave Field Synthesis (WFS) and Higher-Order Ambisonics (HOA), and discusses their respective advantages and limits. It offers some insights into how the use of new sound projection and recording technologies helps create novel musical effects.

The visit of Markus Noisternig comes in collaboration with EMPAC's development of an innovative Wave Field System composed of 500 quite small loudspeakers, which uses the software developed at IRCAM.