EliKop — Little Orchestra

Little Orchestra is an artistic design concept of music packaging where the CD cover itself makes music using the air flow produced on opening and closing. Each of 30 handmade CD boxes plays its own tune. The complete collection of Musical CD Boxes comprises a full orchestral composition.

The Making of Musical CD Packaging
Concept 1: A Planet full of music
Concept 2: CDs are contained in a tiny instrument case
Concept 3: Packaging produces sound by using kinetic eneregy

First Dummie
Concept 4: Producing sound using air

Second Dummie
Concept 5: Packaging makes music and looks like packaging

Musical CD Packaging
How it works

One CD box consists of two translucent blue cases made of plexiglas where the inner case fits tightly into the outer one. Both cases have holes in precisely defined positions. When the inner case is pulled out, its holes meet those of the outer case while air is drawn into the box. This draught subsequently passes through small brass components and causes tiny plates to vibrate, producing sound.

See music, touch music, hear music
The position of the holes in the outer case generates the rhythm and melody of each CD Box and the size of the vibrating metallic plates of the inner case determines the tone and pitch.

Score of the Box Music
The 30 Musical CD Boxes are organized in three musical groups

Vienna: Boxes #1 to #12 (playing Viennese waltz and folk music)
Art: Boxes #13 to #20 (exploring the musical potential of the boxes)
Orchestra: Boxes #21 to #30 (10 orchestral voices)

»Kleine Blaue CD«
Boxenmusik von Martin Zrost mit Musikboxen von Elisabeth Kopf
CD Production, featuring all Musical CD Boxes and some special musical arrangements. The design illustrates the musical mechanism of the CD Boxes.

»Landla«
Box #10, Box #11, Box #12

»Rap«
Box #13, Box #15, Box #19, Box #21

»Blues«
Box #9, Box #13, Box #14, Box #20

»Orchester«
Box #21, Box #22, Box #23, Box #24, Box #25, Box #26, Box #27, Box #28, Box #29, Box #30

Vienna Art Orchestra Live in Concert with Little Orchestra
VAO Anniversary World Tour 1997
1: Opening Concert, Brucknerhaus Linz
2: Final Concert, Porgy & Bess Vienna

Credits
Idea, design, production: Elisabeth Kopf Box music, box tuning: Martin Zrost
Co-production: Werner Korn Special thanks: Rudolf Kopf, Loredana Selichar, Michi Waismayer, Richard Wagner

Stefan Sagmeister
»The mysteriously dark blue Music Box Elisabeth Kopf designed for the Vienna Art Orchestra is one of those very few pieces that blew me away: It not only packages music beautifully, but performs music itself, thereby creating a conversation between design and content I have nowhere else experienced so elegantly ... a conceptual loop that blurs the borders not only between art and design, and between content and packaging, but also between music and object. This is innovation. She is clearly one of that small number of professionals who has risen to the very top of the industry, which is why her work was part of the AGI ‚best of decades‘ exhibit last year in Berlin.«

typesetting tv
Interview

View full version here...
View Podcast here...

CD Packaging covers Music.
CD Packaging makes Music.
CD Packaging is Music.

Listen to all Boxes

»Vienna«

Box #1