''Bridge Music'' is a public sound art installation on the

Mid-Hudson Bridge The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Mid-Hudson Bridge is a toll suspension bridge which carries US 44 and NY 55 across the Hudson River between Poughkeepsie and Highland in the state of New York. History Proposals for the Mid-Hudson span were made by ...

in New York. An album was released featuring music from the installation, under the same name.

History

One of composer Joseph Bertolozzi's most well known undertakings, the ''Bridge Music'' project uses only the sounds of New York's Mid-Hudson Bridge to play the bridge like a musical instrument. The work was completed in time for New York's 400th anniversary observance of Henry Hudson's voyage up the river that now bears his name, but was underway as early as 2004. Originally intended to be a live performance piece (circa 2006),Young, Alison (1 July 2007). "It's all in the ears of the beholder."
, Minnesota Public Radio (Minnesota)."Reuters Video: Hudson River Bridge Used For Music."
Reuters. this "audacious plan"

to compose music for a suspension bridge using the bridge itself as the instrument brought Bertolozzi wide local and international attention. When funding fell through for a live performance, Bertolozzi took the audio samples he had used to compose his works for the bridge, and used them to put together a

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

. The installation features audio from the album, and allows listeners to hear the project on the bridge itself. In 2016, a documentary film by Andrew Porter captured "Bridge Music" and its back-story. Bertolozzi later began working on creating a similar project to have a group of live percussionists play the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "'' ...

. That project changed into what is now ''

Tower Music Tower music is a musical performance from the top of a tower. It can also designate the music composed for or played in such a performance. In the early European Middle Ages, musical instruments on towers were used to warn of danger and mark t ...

''.

Installation

''Bridge Music'' exists as a free public audio installation on the bridge itself and in nearby parks.Wakin, Daniel J (19 March 2009). "Traffic Jams: Extracting Music From a Bridge."
New York Times ArtsBeat.Aaron, Peter (27 February 2009). "Take It To The Bridge."
''Chronogram'' (New York)."Rundown 6/3: Bridge Music (3 June 2009)."
WBUR Boston Public Radio (Boston)."On The Town (August 2009)."
Hudson Valley Magazine (New York). The Bridge Music Listening Stations are located on the pedestrian sidewalk of the Mid Hudson Bridge, at each of the bridge's towers. They are open dawn to dusk from April 1 through October 31. Additionally, Park Radios on 95.3FM play the same music year-round, 24/7 in Waryas Park, Poughkeepsie and Johnson-Iorio Park, Highland.

Album

Released in 2009, the CD ''Bridge Music'' (on the

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...

label DE1045) entered the Billboard Classical Crossover Music Chart at #18, and has been released globally. Justin Patrick, writing for music site

Brainwashed Brainwashed may refer to: *Brainwashing, to affect a person's mind by using extreme mental pressure or any other mind-affecting process Music Albums * Brainwashed (George Harrison album), ''Brainwashed'' (George Harrison album), 2002, or the ...

, called the ''Bridge Music'' CD "a fun album. It takes a high art concept and makes it playful."

References

*Associated Press (18 July 2006). "Composer turns Hudson River bridge into a musical instrument." * * *Farnsworth, Amy (16 June 2009)
"Notes on a Bridge."
''Christian Science Monitor'' (Boston). *I Love New York: The Beat (7 April 2009)

* * *New York Times Video (28 June 2007)

*Schultz, Bridget (20 November 2009)
"Joseph Bertolozzi makes a bridge sing."
''Hudson Valley Life Magazine'' (New York).

External links

Bridge Music Official Website

Bertolozzi's Personal Story of Bridge Music (PDF format)

Bridge Music Global Press Page

Delos' Bridge Music Page

Delos Bridge Music Press
{{Authority control Experimental music Contemporary classical music Installation art works 2009 albums