Twenty Years of Research

The technology behind Europasinfonie is not experimental in the risky sense of that word. It is experimental in the scientific sense — the product of over two decades of rigorous research into what is known as Network Music Performance, or telematic music.

Professor Alexander Carôt of Hochschule Anhalt has spent more than twenty years investigating this question: under what conditions can musicians separated by distance play together as one? His research, alongside independent studies from Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), has produced a clear scientific answer.

At a round-trip signal latency of 25 to 30 milliseconds or below, musicians experience the connection as though they were sharing a room. This is not an arbitrary threshold. It corresponds to the natural acoustic delay musicians do experience sitting across a large concert hall — a delay the human ear interprets not as a technical error, but as space.

For Europasinfonie MVTP technology will be used to connect the musicians in 12 European countries as if they were on the same stage. The CESNET Association, in collaboration with DISK Systems, has developed the MVTP (Modular Video Transmission Platform) technology for ultra-low-latency audiovisual transmissions based on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The MVTP system enables the transmission of multi-channel audio and video up to 8K resolution with an added delay of approximately 3 ms, whilst maintaining audio and video quality indistinguishable from the original. The technology enables collaboration between music academies in more than 15 countries. It has also been used for experimental networked performances both within and outside Europe. In 2020, it received the Europa Nostra / Creative Europe award for promoting international collaboration in classical music on a European scale. In 2022, it went on to win the Czech Head award in the Industry category for the most innovative product developed in the Czech Republic.

The Proof of Concept

Europasinfonie is not a theoretical concept. Already in 2023, the Dresdner Sinfoniker — with the support of the Allianz Foundation — conducted a proof-of-concept test with musicians from multiple European countries playing together across distance in real time.

The result: it works. The video below documents this milestone.

The Network: Europe’s Scientific Backbone

For the main concert in June 2027, Europasinfonie runs on GÉANT — the pan-European research and education network that connects universities, research institutions, and scientific facilities across the continent. GÉANT is the same infrastructure used by CERN and leading research institutions across Europe. It is not a commercial internet service. It is purpose-built for the kind of high-bandwidth, low-latency transmission that a live symphony orchestra demands.

Each of the twelve partner locations — from Athens to Tallinn, from Warsaw to Madrid — is anchored at a university or conservatoire with direct access to their national research network (NREN). These national networks feed into GÉANT, forming an end-to-end scientific infrastructure with deterministic, measurable performance.

At the heart of the network sits a bare-metal server in Frankfurt, co-located directly on the GÉANT backbone. Unlike cloud-based solutions, this server introduces no additional latency handoff points. The performance is predictable, stable, and built for the demands of live performance.

In June 2026, Prof. Carôt presented the Europasinfonie technical architecture at TNC26 — the annual conference of the European research networking community, held at the Helsinki Music Hall — to an audience of network engineers and institutional leaders from across Europe. The presentation was streamed live worldwide. GÉANT’s CEO, Lise Fuhr, and Gilles Massen, RESTENA CEO & GÉANT Board Chair, expressed strong enthusiasm for the project. GÉANT’s lead network specialist, Sebastiano Boscaglione, is personally optimising the signal routing between all twelve cities.

The research and education networking community has identified Europasinfonie as an ideal use case — one that demonstrates the extraordinary capability of Europe’s scientific infrastructure to a broad public audience.

The Testing Timeline

Europasinfonie has been in active technical development since 2023. This is not a project that tests on the day. The path to June 2027 includes systematic technical validation at every stage.

2023–2025 — Proof of Concept
Initial multi-country tests with partner musicians, supported by the Allianz Foundation. First evidence that real-time cross-border ensemble performance is achievable.

2026 — Build Phase
Technical infrastructure development across all twelve partner locations. Network route optimisation with GÉANT. Equipment installation and initial site testing.

October 2026 — First Full Network Test
All twelve locations connected simultaneously for the first comprehensive end-to-end rehearsal of the complete network topology.

February and April 2027 — Network Tests
Two more full network tests to continue the evaluation and preparation of the European network

May 2027 — Ensemble Rehearsal Phase
Sectional rehearsals, full ensemble rehearsals, and final technical validation with conductor Andrea Molino.

June 2027 — Concert
Main performance at MESSE DRESDEN. Simultaneous satellite events at partner venues across Europe. Live stream worldwide.

The Partners

Europasinfonie is built on the expertise of leading scientific and technical institutions.

Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications (HHI)
One of Europe’s leading applied research institutions in digital communications, signal processing, and media technology.

PxB Studios
Specialists in high-performance audio-visual production for complex live events.

GÉANT
The pan-European research and education network, connecting over 50 million users at research institutions across 40 countries.

CESNET
A research institution and the Czech e-infrastructure for universities and research institutions. A developer of the MVTP (Modular Video Transmission Platform).

DISK Systems
AV integrator and AV systems designer. A distributor of the MVTP technology.

A More Sustainable Concert Format

Europasinfonie is not only a technological milestone. It is also a model for a more sustainable future in classical music.

A traditional European concert tour involving twelve orchestras from twelve countries would require hundreds of international flights, weeks of travel, and a significant carbon footprint. Europasinfonie achieves the same artistic result — twelve ensembles, one concert — with each musician performing from their home city.

The estimated CO₂ reduction compared to a touring format: 70 %

Distance, in this project, is not overcome by travel. It is overcome by light — moving through fibre-optic cable at the speed of physics.