The Symphony of Sirens, Revisited > Comments > "Cool story, fantastic sound design"

Piece Comment

Cool story, fantastic sound design


Michael May

Posted on July 30, 2013 at 07:49 PM

This story made me hear the city in a new way. Listen with your headphones, the sound design on this piece is deep and frequently surprising.

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  • Michael May
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  • Username: michael_may
  • Location: Portland, Maine
  • Joined PRX: Feb 15, 2007

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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