Geodesium 'Nuages Gris' (Franz Liszt) - fulldome show 360°

As the universe unfolds along our cosmic journey, we see phantasms of deep space distorted by preconceptions from the darkest recesses of the human intellect. Nebular structures become ethereal monsters. An infant galaxy is born before our eyes, as its stellar mother spirals into oblivion. Streamers of gossamer light beckon to us from across the depths of space, drawing us into a stargate of surpassing brilliance and beauty. But, all color becomes pallor, and our perceptions dissolve into ethereal clouds of gray... "Nuages Gris".

When the human spirit becomes burdened with the weight of age, of sorrow, of the loss of youth, and youthful accomplishments, life turns grey and uncertain. So it was with the master Franz Liszt. In 1881, the year of this composition, he arrived in Weimar, Germany to teach piano, to pass along his brilliance and vitality to a new generation of performers. Instead, a fall down a flight of stairs robbed him of mobility and health. Desolation and despair overtook his spirit, and his compositions began to reflect his slow, stately descent to death. Yet, his works from this period contain the seeds of new musical life, of the exploratory tonalism and experimentation that still grow today in modern ambient and space music.

This eerie, haunting soundtrack performed by Geodesium is a note-for-note performance of Liszt's original score. The original 'Andante' tempo indication was slowed to 'Adagio', as appropriate for the stately procession of nebulae in the visualization, and Liszt's minimalist piano lines have become the sonorous, sostenuto chorale and tremolande strings characteristic of the Geodesium space music sound. Whereas Liszt's piano score wanders to an end with a subdued, delicate pianissimo, this work builds to an intense, sustained and dramatic climax -- yet remaining true to the notes Liszt penned more than a century ago.

---- ABOUT VR DOME THEATER SHOWS ----

The VR Dome Theater provides immersive 360° spherical videos -- to desktop screens, portable devices, and VR headsets. Experience the fulldome movies you might see at your local planetarium -- from the comfort of your own chair!

There are thousands of planetarium theaters around the world. Under their domes, audiences take in the sights and sounds of the universe -- stars and galaxies, planets and moons. People learn the ways of science and nature. And they revel in enlightening and entertaining artistic and musical performances. We thought, "How can we provide the same great planetarium cinema theater experience to people's screens, devices, and VR headsets?"

So, in 360° spherical video, we created a virtual dome theater. The seats are in the bottom half of the sphere; above, the dome show plays on the top half -- just like in a real planetarium. You, the viewer, are positioned at the center (the prime location). The seat backs often recline in real planetarium theaters, so you don't have to crane your neck too much to look up at the dome. In the Vera Rubin VR Dome Theater, we tilted the dome forward to compensate, which actually simulates the layout in many real-world tilted dome theaters.

Music arranged, performed, and recorded by Geodesium.
Imagery from Gemini Observatory, Space Telescope Science Institute, Spitzer Science Center.
Starfields from DigitalSky.
Video production by Mark C. Petersen.