To mark the 200th anniversary of Johann Strauss’ birth, ESA plans to send one of his most famous compositions, “Blue Danube”, as a radio signal into space. In this way, they want to right a long-standing injustice against this composer.
“Blue Danube” in space
On May 31, 2025, European musicians will organize a large program dedicated to the outstanding composer Johann Strauss. The Vienna Opera will join in the action particularly actively, presenting one of his most famous compositions, “Blue Danube”. This performance will be broadcast on large screens installed in public spaces in Vienna, Madrid and New York.
The theme of space in this story appears, at first glance, rather unexpectedly. The European Space Agency, in honor of its 50th anniversary, decided to combine the two anniversaries and broadcast the performance into space as well.
More specifically, a studio recording will be given to the stars in the sky in parallel with the live concert. Although modern technologies allow for real-time broadcasting, ESA specialists decided to be safe and opted for a pre-produced version.
History of music sent into space
Sending music into space has a long history. For example, in 2008, NASA celebrated its 50th anniversary by sending a recording of Missy Elliott’s “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” to Venus. And in 2012, the composition “Reach for the Stars” was transmitted to the Curiosity rover, which subsequently transmitted it to Earth.
It’s worth noting that the transmission of music into space began back in the 1960s. And, it is necessary to admit that Strauss’s “Blue Danube” has been unfairly neglected by space music lovers. After all, this composition had already gained a strong association with space back then thanks to Stanley Kubrick’s iconic sci-fi movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
However, in the 1970s, when the main messengers of Earth culture were sent into space — the Voyager probes, on the hulls of which were fixed gold records with a selection of sounds and music of the Earth — Strauss for some reason was not included in this list.
That’s why during the “Blue Danube” session at the end of May, the antenna will be pointed exactly toward the Voyager 1 probe. It will be signaled for 23 hours. In this way, the scientists plan to at least partially rectify the injustice done to Strauss.
According to phys.org
