Bringing Hollywood to Vienna

Ad Astra Score by Lorne Balfe Recorded at Synchron Stage Vienna

Vienna Symphonic Library is not only one of the leading sample library and music production software developers, having created industry beacons such as the Symphonic Cube, Vienna Ensemble Pro and Vienna MIR Pro. The Austrian company also runs one of the best sounding scoring stages on the planet, Synchron Stage Vienna. The massive building, built in the 1940s for recording film music, houses several control rooms and live rooms, most of all, its iconic “Stage A”. The 5,813 sq. ft. hall is characterized by a particularly warm, pristine and natural ambience and has lent its acoustic signature to numerous international productions, from classical chamber music to international, large-scale orchestral film scores, such as The Meg, Ghost in the Shell, The Girl in the Spider’s Web, The Crown, Blue Planet II and many more.

In July 2019, Synchron Stage Vienna hosted one of the larger scoring sessions, with more than 100 members of the Synchron Stage Orchestra and Choir performing Lorne Balfe’s compositions for his part of the score to Ad Astra. The Scottish composer, a user of Vienna Symphonic Library’s software products, repeatedly chooses Synchron Stage Vienna to record his scores, as he did for Lego Batman, Pacific Rim: Uprising, Ghost in the Shell, Genius, Studio 54, This is Football, Morgan Freeman’s Story of God, and many others. Balfe doesn't withhold his enthusiasm for recording at Synchron Stage Vienna, saying it's “an amazing studio with fantastic musicians and team."

The sci-fi drama Ad Astra was directed by James Gray (The Lost City of Z, We Own the Night, The Immigrant) and stars Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland. Additional portions of the score were composed by Max Richter and recorded at Air Studios, London.