Modular synth alchemist Suzanne Ciani activates the popular Schlossberg lift in Graz, Austria, with a sound installation composed specifically for the elevator. For a year the futuristic, alluring cabin is changed into an associative and aurally imaginative chamber of wonders as a contribution to Elevate Festival’s permanent Music for Elevators project in Schlossberg Park. Ciani’s ethereal sci-fi elevator sounds transform the outside world into a cinematically evocative backdrop. 

As a pioneering figure in electronic music and modular synthesis, Ciani bridges technological innovation with emotional and spatial experience. Her legacy has a natural affinity with Music for Elevators, a long-term installation launched in 2020 by Elevate Festival and Finnish artist Jimi Tenor to infuse the everyday space with experimental sound practices. Integrating modular synthesiser compositions into the elevator journey fosters a dialogue between contemporary sound art and public space, opening the genre to a universal audience. The passengers taking the lift experience their transitional environment through a new auditory lens, challenging preconceived notions of where and how art can be encountered.

Part of New Perspectives for Action. A project by Re-Imagine Europe, co funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union. Produced in cooperation with Universalmuseum Joanneum – Institut für Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Steiermark and Holding Graz.

Commissioned by Elevate
Premiere: Elevate Festival 2025 (AT)