Refik Anadol is Using AI to Dream Beethoven Into a New Life in Missa solemnis 2.0

Music is liquid architecture; architecture is frozen music.--Attributed to Goethe But Missa solemnis 2.0, a collaboration between pioneering media artist and director Refik Anadol and The Philadelphia Orchestra (April 7, 9, 10, supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage), brings Goethe's pithy saying to stunning visual and sonic life in ways the German literary giant never could have imagined. Beethoven completed his Missa solemnis in 1823. Despite being regarded as one of his most stunning musical creations, the piece is rarely performed. The composer's partner in this century-spanning project, Refik Anadol, was born in Istanbul. In 2008, while still an undergrad there, he presented his first digital art installation.