“A TRIBUTE TO ETERNITY” BY HANS ZIMMER AND PROFESSOR BRIAN COX PERFORMED LIVE BY AN ORCHESTRA FOR THE FIRST TIME
Schaffhausen/London, 2nd August 2024: “A Tribute to Eternity”, a piece of music created in collaboration by Academy Award®-winning film score composer Hans Zimmer and the renowned physicist Professor Brian Cox, has been performed live by an orchestra for the first time. Earlier this year, the duo collaborated to create music inspired by the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer’s new Portugieser collection and the Portugieser Eternal Calendar. The orchestral performance took place at the Royal Opera House in London during Brian Cox’s live show “Symphonic Horizons” featuring the Britten Sinfonia conducted by Daniel Harding.
At Watches and Wonders 2024, IWC Schaffhausen introduced its new Portugieser collection and the Portugieser Eternal Calendar. Building on its comprehensive expertise in developing mechanical calendars, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer’s first secular perpetual calendar automatically takes into account the complex leap-year exception rules of the Gregorian calendar. It also features a moon phase display with a world-record-breaking accuracy of more than 45 million years. To present this marvel of engineering and craftsmanship, IWC embarked on a collaboration with Academy Award®-winning music composer Hans Zimmer and renowned physicist Professor Brian Cox, one of the foremost scientific communicators. In what marked a rare collaboration between a music composer and a scientist, the unlikely duo exchanged ideas about art, science and time. Inspired by the unique perspectives shared by Brian Cox, Hans Zimmer composed “A Tribute to Eternity”, reflecting the beauty and timeless nature of the Portugieser. Now, for the first time, the music has been played live by a full orchestra.
PERFORMANCE AT THE PRESTIGIOUS ROYAL OPERA HOUSE IN LONDON
The orchestral premiere of “A Tribute to Eternity” took place in London, where Brian Cox is currently performing “Symphonic Horizons” at the Royal Opera House. The string of eight nights at this venue marks the first time Brian Cox has taken his critically acclaimed show to the UK. Bringing together extraordinary imagery with some of the greatest orchestral music ever written, Brian Cox examines cosmic ideas and creates the links between cosmology and music composed by Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and Jean Sibelius. “Symphonic Horizons” features the Britten Sinfonia orchestra conducted by Daniel Harding, one of the most recognised British conductors of our times. The audience witnessed a passionate live performance of “A Tribute to Eternity”, which beautifully brought out the characteristic attributes of Hans Zimmer’s composing style. Before the performance, Brian Cox shared some insights into his conversation with Hans Zimmer with the audience and introduced the piece.
“A Tribute to Eternity” is available on Spotify here.
IWC Schaffhausen is the Engineer of Watchmaking. In 1868, the American watchmaker and engineer Florentine Ariosto Jones established the ‘International Watch Company’ in Schaffhausen in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. By combining the best of human craftsmanship and creativity with cutting-edge industrial technology and processes, he laid the foundation for IWC’s unique engineering approach to watchmaking.
IWC’s distinctive and pure design is brought to life through collections ranging from elegant dress watches to sports and luxury sports watches, notably the Portugieser, Portofino, Pilot’s Watches and Ingenieur. Over its more than 150-year history, IWC has earned a reputation for creating professional instrument watches and functional complications, especially chronographs and calendars, which are ingenious, robust and easy to use.
A pioneer in the use of titanium and ceramic, IWC specializes in performance materials such as Ceratanium®. IWC’s advanced engineering division XPL develops technologies that enhance the durability of mechanical watches and extend their applications to environments with extreme conditions such as jet aviation and human spaceflight.
IWC is a leader in luxury watchmaking, crafting timepieces built to last for generations and continuously improving every aspect of how it manufactures, distributes and services its watches responsibly. Empowering the next generation of engineers, the brand also partners with organizations that work globally to support children and young people. IWC. EngineeredTM.