“The [Uncertain] Four Seasons” is a re-composition of Antonio Vivaldi’s famous four-part piece, put through an algorithm that changes the music based on geospatial predictions for the year 2050, drawn from a report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Rising surface temperatures alter the tempo; ocean temps alter the pitch; sea level data changes the mode, or base scale; species decline increases the length of silent rests.
At St. Kate’s, the algorithmic version and Vivaldi’s original will be juxtaposed against each other in a new arrangement by Emily Isaacson of the organization Classical Uprising and Jesse Irons, a Grammy-nominated violinist. The performance will also feature the Minnesota Opera Orchestra.
The “[Uncertain] Four Seasons” algorithm was initially developed by a global group of musicians and designers based in Australia, to communicate data in a new way — to help people literally hear climate change.
And because the impact of climate change is different around the world, location-specific data can be used. The version originally performed in Sydney was different from what we’ll hear in St. Paul.
Isaacson’s goal goes a little further, though: She wants us not just to be aware of the climate crisis, but to actually do something about it, too.