Vienna Symphonic Library

Vienna Symphonic Library has introduced Vienna MIR, a Multi-Impulse Response convolution reverb, described as a groundbreaking mixing and reverberation host.

Description:

In traditional production, the mixing console is a barrier between the music creator and the music environment. A skilled engineer can combine tracks and add reverb to create sonic results that are somewhere between real and surreal. But that’s not the most musical way to work.

Rather than mixing from the outside in, a Vienna MIR project starts with each individual instrument or ensemble, taking into account how sound emanates from its body, in what direction, and in relation to its position in the hall. Use the MIR Control Icon to move and rotate instruments freely on the concert stage, and change their volume and stereo width – not with two-dimensional faders and pan pots, but within a fluid three-dimensional environment. Vienna MIR combines directional and reflectional information from every instrument, assembling all of the acoustic interactions into an accurate and satisfying recreation of musicians playing their instruments in place and in space. Short of recording an orchestra on site, what could be more musical?

Details below. Read more…

On Wednesday, May 20, 2009, Paul Henry Smith will conduct the first-ever live concert of a Beethoven Symphony using a digital orchestra, performed by Vienna Symphonic Library’s Vienna Instruments at Holy Name Church in Boston.

This will be the first concert in a series that will present all nine Beethoven symphonies.

The Fauxharmonic Orchestra, founded by conductor and composer Paul Henry Smith, sets out to convince audiences that a live performance of a digital orchestra can be as expressive and moving as a traditional acoustic orchestra. In an earlier experiment in 2008, The New York Times called the Fauxharmonic Orchestra “genuinely impressive.”

The live digital orchestral music is realized by incorporating real-time performance control into a preliminary version that Smith prepares during hundreds of hours prior to the performance. For programming the Symphony, Smith relies on the Vienna Symphonic Library’s software instruments.

Accompanying viola and mezzo-soprano soloists, the Fauxharmonic Orchestra will make the most of its technology using wireless Nintendo Wii video-game controllers to change tempo, loudness, balance, timbre, and brightness – the elements a musician typically controls during a live performance. At Holy Name Church, the Fauxharmonic Orchestra’s sound will emerge from an array of Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 5 speakers. Read more…

NAMM Update: With the release of several new download collections, the Vienna Symphonic Library rolled the odometer, surpassing one million published samples.

According to Vienna Instruments, this is by far the largest accumulation of samples by a single company.

The Vienna Symphonic Library also recently began offering download products. These collections are available from the download section of the company’s webshop: Read more…

Vienna Symphonic Library has released the new Vienna Instruments Collection Special Brass.

Description:

Like the recently released Special Woodwinds, the 21 GB Vienna Instruments Collection Special Brass offers resonant rarities that a first-rate virtual orchestra can’t do without.

To create the perfect counterpart for Vienna’s now famous Epic Horns, the team recorded an ensemble of six trumpet players (three trumpets in Bb and three in C). The Fanfare Trumpets provide tremendous impact with their sforzato and sforzatissimo playing techniques. And they deliver sparkling trumpet themes that soar magnificently above the orchestra.

As an added bonus, Vienna’s solo trumpet player Freddy Staudigl was invited to record another solo instrument from the trumpet group, the lyric and clear cornet. The alto trombone expands Vienna’s trombone family to its high register, now making a total of four different trombone tunings available. And the euphonium is yet another feature, revealing the noble high register of the tuba family. Read more…

The Vienna Symphonic Library team has released VIENNA INSTRUMENTS Collection SPECIAL WOODWINDS, which is now available from Vienna’s worldwide network of distributors and dealers.

Description:

The Special Woodwinds Collection is a 29 GB cornucopia of exotic treasures for symphonic and orchestral works. A special gem is the bass flute. With its velvety, earthy sound, it expands the flute family to its lowest register, evoking mystery and depth in dramatic music. The oboe d’amore adds a lyrical and rich member to the oboe family and was performed by Vienna’s experienced oboist Markus Deuter, who was also responsible for the French Oboe. The heckelphone with its dark, expressive character rounds out the oboes’ tenor register.

The Special Woodwinds Collection features two additions to the clarinet family as well, including the warm, full-sounding basset horn that covers the alto/tenor registers, and the powerful, sonorous contrabass clarinet.

Pricing

• Standard Library: EUR425/US-$555
• Extended Library: EUR395/US-$515
• Full Library: EUR820/US-$1,070

System Requirements
PC Intel/AMD 2 GHz (3++ GHz recommended) with Windows XP or Apple G4 1 GHz (G5 or Intel Core Duo processor recommended) with Mac OS X 10.4 or higher

• 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
• VST (PC) or AU (Mac) compatible host, also works stand-alone on PC and Mac
• DVD drive for installation
• Fast separate hard drive
• 88 key master keyboard (highly recommended)
• ViennaKey (Vienna Symphonic Library USB Protection Device)