Back to the Future and Forward to the Past: Zukunftsmusik and the aesthetics of immersive classical music experience

We showcase relevant aesthetic considerations of an interaction design for immersive experience informed by Zukunftsmusik. The ‘Zukunftsmusiker’ movement emerged at the verge of the 20th century and intends to encompass a holistic experience incorporating the active participation of all senses with its corresponding action. Amongst other features, we highlight aspects related to diegesis, agency, and attention centring of the visual and auditory field by examining two renditions of The Ravens, a 3D 360-degrees guided experience as well as a 6-degrees-of-freedom multi-view experience of the eponymous piano composition by the first author. With their design rationale of participatory experience, these renditions aim to set off a renewed technological consideration of the Zukunftsmusik paradigm. Ultimately, this paradigm may reach out towards an audience demographic that was previously mostly unknown in contemporary music: The user.