Austrian composer Johann Strauss II’s « The Blue Danube » has, for many people, been synonymous with space travel since it was used in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi film classic « 2001: A Space Odyssey ».
Austrian composer Johann Strauss II’s « The Blue Danube » has, for many people, been synonymous with space travel since it was used in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 sci-fi film classic « 2001: A Space Odyssey ».
But the world famous waltz will truly travel among the stars on Saturday, when the European Space Agency’s (ESA) antenna will broadcast a live performance of it into space to celebrate the composer’s 200th birthday.
The Vienna Symphony Orchestra will play a concert in the Austrian capital from 1930 GMT, Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general, told AFP.
The concert will be broadcast live on the internet and also be shown at a public screening in Vienna, in New York at Bryant Park, and near the antenna in Spain.
« The digitized sound will be transmitted to the large 35-meter satellite dish at ESA’s Cebreros ground station in Spain », Aschbacher said.
