Mozarteum goes digital.

Salzburg‘s Mozarteum University switches to Lawo digital technology.

The history of the Mozarteum University can be traced back to 1841. It was characterized by illustrious characters such as Bernhard Paumgartner, Clemens Krauss, Paul Hindemith, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Carl Orff and Sándor Végh. The conductor Herbert Karajan also worked at this renowned music academy. In that tradition steeped location, the switch from analogue to digital mixing console technology was achieved by the installation of a Lawo mc²66 console, enabling faster workflow and digital linkup for the entire facility.

“The mc²66 is a reliable console and provides excellent audio quality. It’s prevalence in radio stations, theatres and concert houses certainly tipped the balance in favour of Lawo,” explains Dipl. Ing. Peter Schmidt, head of the audio and video technology department at Salzburg’s Mozarteum University, when asked about the reasons for choosing Lawo. Recent outstanding installations include the MUMUTH Graz, Gaertnerplatz München and Seebuehne Bregenz projects. The console’s excellent price/performance ratio, as well as outstanding 5.1 and 7.1 surround options, also influenced the purchase decision. Furthermore, following a suggestion from the customer, an existing Optocore network and the Lawo console will be fully integrated within the scale of the project. Zeiler GmbH acted as the main contractor, with the first planning discussions taking place in March 2009. The console was delivered in mid-September and is currently undergoing a final on site test phase.

Completely networked

The mc²66 is installed in the university’s Control Room A, which is used for concert recordings. In addition, a second room (Control Room B) is set up for post-production of the recordings. The Lawo console has 32 faders; its HD core features 144 DSP channels and a routing capacity of 8000 x 8000 crosspoints. A Lawo DALLIS unit, acting as the I/O system, was also provided. This is connected to a substantial optical fibre network with eight routing systems, used to network the entire facility.

Since the Mozarteum University continually produces outstanding graduates, the potentially sought after musicians of tomorrow will now have the opportunity to become well acquainted with this advanced technology. Dipl. Ing. Peter Schmidt observes in his final comment: “We were particularly convinced by Lawo’s extensive planning and installation experience, as well as their strong commitment and tremendous cooperation.”