Breaking Waves Elbphilharmonie Hamburg by DRIFT, Architecture, Herzog and de Meuron German design photos

Breaking Waves at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg by DRIFT

30 April 2022

Elbphilharmonie, HafenCity, Hamburg, Germany

Architects: Herzog and de Meuron

photo © Florian Holzherr

Breaking Waves Elbphilharmonie Hamburg by DRIFT News

Breaking Waves (2022) by DRIFT at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Further dates of the light installation »breaking waves« have to be cancelled

29 April 2022, Update 6pm: Aggressive disruption of the airspace during the premiere

The performances of the light installation »Breaking Waves« announced for today as well as Saturday and Sunday unfortunately have to be cancelled at short notice in coordination with the air safety authorities of Hamburg and Lower Saxony. During the dress rehearsal as well as during the premiere on Thursday, the artwork was massively disturbed by unauthorized high-speed drones.

This resulted in several collisions and subsequent crashes. According to the air safety authorities, air traffic disruptions of this intensity and aggressiveness have never occurred in Germany before.

This calls for a reassessment of the security situation. Since it cannot be ruled out that such crimes by anonymous drone pilots will occur again today and in the following days, a continuation of »Breaking Waves« is not possible in order to protect spectators and employees. The responsible persons of the Elbphilharmonie was well as the artists of DRIFT are sad and frustrated that they have to cancel the performances of the light installation, which already thrilled thousands of spectators at the premiere.

photograph © Florian Holzherr

Previous Press Release from 11am, 29 April 2022:

On Thursday evening, thousands of people gathered in the Port of Hamburg to see the light installation »Breaking Waves« around the Elbphilharmonie by the Dutch artist duo DRIFT. Hundreds of illuminated drones danced around the iconic concert hall following the opening concert of the Hamburg International Music Festival with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Joseph Haydn’s »Creation«. Boat tour companies put on special night trips on the Elbe River for the event. The light installation will be shown three more times until 1 May, at 22:30 each evening. Footage of the artwork is now available online.

Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of the artist duo DRIFT have created an artwork that makes the striking exterior of the Elbphilharmonie shine in a new light. With the choreography of the swarm of drones around the Elbphilharmonie, DRIFT seeks to establish a connection between the movement of the river water and the sounds inside the concert hall. »The work is a conversation between the building and the moving light drones. It is an attempt to build a moment of connection between humans, machine and the environment« says Lonneke Gordijn.

Christoph Lieben-Seutter, Lonneke Gordijn at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg:

photograph © Daniel Dittus

The artists drew inspiration for the light installation, which was originally planned for the Elbphilharmonie’s fifth birthday, from the second movement of the Piano Concerto by Thomas Adès, the central piece in the anniversary concert on 11 January. »Breaking Waves« was planned in close coordination with the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, which is dedicating a four-month solo exhibition to the artist duo. The exhibition is running until 8 May 2022 (»DRIFT: Moments of Connection«).

The second concert with Joseph Haydn’s oratorio »The Creation« on 29 April will be broadcast live in the Elbphilharmonie Mediatheque. Alan Gilbert will conduct the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra. The soloists are Christina Landshamer (soprano), Benjamin Hulett (tenor), and Benjamin Appl (baritone). They are joined by the NDR Vokalensemble and the WDR Rundfunkchor.

Studio DRIFT – Lonneke Gordijn, Ralph Nauta:

photograph © Teska van Overbeeke

Christoph Lieben-Seutter, General and Artistic Director of the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle Hamburg: »We are delighted that, thanks to the good weather, far more people had the opportunity to participate in this extraordinary project than would have been the case on the originally scheduled date in January. I viewed the light installation from the water yesterday – it was a great thrill to see the Elbphilharmonie staged in such a spectacular manner. I would like to thank everyone involved for the successful cooperation.«

Christoph Lieben-Seutter, Lonneke Gordijn, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg:

photo © Daniel Dittus

Dr Carsten Brosda, Senator for Culture and Media: »With Breaking Waves, the internationally renowned artist duo Studio Drift has created an impressive installation that blends music and visual arts, nature and technology, concert hall and the Elbe, to create one total work of art. Breaking Waves seizes on the Elbphilharmonie’s unique location in an inspired way and makes us aware of the world’s fragility and beauty. It is the result of creative collaboration in the cultural city of Hamburg. With Breaking Waves, Hamburg is sending an unforgettable image out to the world, which is also a warm invitation to come and experience the cultural city of Hamburg in all its diversity in person.«

The installation is supported by Freundeskreis Elbphilharmonie + Laeiszhalle e.V. First and foremost, the Freundeskreis supports musical projects in the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle, and facilitates active participation in concert life for its members.

»Breaking Waves« is also organised in cooperation with Superblue.

Dr. Carsten Brosda, Lonneke Gordijn, Ralph Nauta, Christoph Lieben-Seutter:

photograph © Daniel Dittus

Lighting building designs

Previously on e-architect:

27 Mar + 11 January 2022

Elbphilharmonie Building in HafenCity, Hamburg, Germany

Architects: Herzog and de Meuron

As part of Elbphilharmonie’s 5th Anniversary celebrations, a spectacular light installation by the Amsterdam-based artist duo DRIFT will open the Hamburg International Music Festival. The kinetic installation Breaking Waves by the Dutch artist duo DRIFT, set to Thomas Adès’ Piano Concerto No. 2, will run at 23:00 on 28 April and from 29 April until 1 May, at 22:30 each day.

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg Concert Hall 5th Anniversary News

Hamburg’s landmark to be illuminated by spectacular light installation designed by studio drift

28 April – 1 May 2022 – Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg
As part of Elbphilharmonie’s 5th Anniversary celebrations, a spectacular light installation by the Amsterdam-based artist duo DRIFT will open the Hamburg International Music Festival. The kinetic installation Breaking Waves by the Dutch artist duo DRIFT, set to Thomas Adès’ Piano Concerto No. 2, will run at 23:00 on 28 April and from 29 April until 1 May, at 22:30 each day.

Elbphilharmonie. DRIFT, Breaking Waves:

photo © Moka Studio

Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie continues its 5th Anniversary celebrations in the spring with the light and sound installation Breaking Waves (28 April to 1 May 1), launching the 2022 Hamburg International Music Festival.

Breaking Waves to illuminate Hamburg’s landmark

Architecture and music, water and light – the magic of the Elbphilharmonie lies in the interplay between these elements. Surrounded by water on three sides, the concert hall rises like a glass wave in the Elbe River. Hundreds of illuminated drones will dance around the striking building and enhance the architecture in fascinating ways. When choreographing the drones around the Elbphilharmonie, the artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of DRIFT, founded in 2007, drew inspiration from the second movement of Piano Concerto No. 2 by Thomas Adès − an intoxicating work that combines jazz and contemporary idioms. Hamburg residents and visitors can experience the moving light artwork on the Elbphilharmonie for free from any location in which the western tip and the southern side of the building are clearly visible. The music can be accessed at www.elbphilharmonie.de while watching the light installation.

‘We want to depict the marvels that surround us in nature,’ explains Lonneke Gordijn. DRIFT delights art lovers around the world with moving sculptures that take up elements from nature, such as the structure of dandelion seeds or the movement of enormous flocks of birds. In Breaking Waves, a piece commissioned by the Elbphilharmonie to mark its fifth anniversary, the artist duo explores the movement of the water that surrounds the Elbphilharmonie and connects that to the sound waves inside the venue. The relationship between the building, the water and the music constitutes a key element in how the DRIFT artists aim to synchronise visitors with this special Hamburg landmark. ‘As humans we are admissible to waves in different ways, and can become one with the movement,’ says Gordijn.

Christoph Lieben-Seutter, General and Artistic Director of the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle Hamburg says: ‘I’m really looking forward to this artistic work, which will bring the Elbphilharmonie to life in spectacular style. In the Elbphilharmonie, architecture and music come together in a particularly inspiring way. Breaking Waves takes this dynamic and transfers it to the building’s facade and is our birthday present to the people of Hamburg. The collaboration with DRIFT demonstrates once again the concert hall’s openness to and interest in other forms of art beyond music.’

Breaking Waves accentuates DRIFT’s mission of bringing art into public spaces so that it can reach a large and broad audience. The artists’ core objective is to create physical installations that allow the audience to experience and feel the art with all their senses.

Ralph Nauta says: ‘Art should be accessible to as many people as possible. That’s why we designed our installation for the public space. When we started working with the Elbphilharmonie, both sides immediately agreed that we should make the music that’s performed inside visible on the outside for people to experience.’

Speicherstadt view:

photo © Thies Ratzke

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg Building 5th Anniversary

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg Building Plaza:

photo © Iwan Baan

Herzog & de Meuron

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg Building 5th Anniversary images / information received 221121

Previously on e-architect:

27 Aug 2018

Elbphilharmonie Voted one of 2018 World’s Greatest Places

This Hamburg concert hall designed by celebrated Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron is essentially a “glass tower perched atop a giant brick warehouse, surrounded on three sides by water”.

image © Herzog & de Meuron