16 striking musical sculptures that adorn the world’s streets and parks

22 June 2021, 16:59

Beautiful musical sculptures around the world
Beautiful musical sculptures around the world. Picture: Wiki/Getty

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

Wander through the world’s sweetest-sounding streets with our gallery of musical sculptures – from the beautiful to the bizarre.

From Beethoven’s stern, sandy visage at the East Neuk Festival, to an abstract cluster of organ pipes embodying the spirit of Sibelius’s music, we’ve found some of the world’s most weird and wonderful musical sculptures.

  1. Beethoven’s frown in sand

    A sand sculpture at 2016’s East Neuk Festival in Fife brings Beethoven’s imposing countenance to life.

    Read more: The world’s best classical music venues

    Beethoven sculpture at East Neuk Festival 'Sand in Your Eye'
    Beethoven sculpture at East Neuk Festival 'Sand in Your Eye'. Picture: East Neuk Festival
  2. Sibelius Monument in Sibelius Park

    Artist Sheldon Marshall is the brains behind this intricate sculpture of the beloved Finnish composer in his country’s capital, Helsinki.

    Read more: When it rains, this house makes beautiful music

    Sibelius Monument in Sibelius Park, Helsinki, Finland, by artist Sheldon Marshall
    Sibelius Monument in Sibelius Park, Helsinki, Finland, by artist Sheldon Marshall. Picture: Getty
  3. Sibelius Monument in Sibelius Park

    And next to Sibelius’s steely visage, sits a gigantic abstract monument based on a sound wave made from clusters of over 600 organ pipes. The highest pipe reaches over 27 feet in the air.

    Sibelius Monument in Sibelius Park, Helsinki, Finland, by artist Sheldon Marshall
    Sibelius Monument in Sibelius Park, Helsinki, Finland, by artist Sheldon Marshall. Picture: Getty
  4. Fiddler from the Ground

    This mind-bending sculpture emerges from the foyer of the Stopera concert hall, on the edge of Amsterdam’s Waterlooplein.

    Fiddler from the Ground
    Fiddler from the Ground. Picture: Wiki
  5. Gigantic virtuoso cellist

    On the outskirts of the Theater District in downtown Houston, US, sits a giant cello and a musician who is invisible except for his head and hands. Virtuoso was commissioned as an artwork that “paid homage to music, dance and performing arts”.

    Cellist sculpture
    Cellist sculpture. Picture: Wiki
  6. French horn sand sculpture

    To celebrate John Luther Adams’ specially commissioned work for 32 French horn players at the East Neuk Festival, artists Jamie and Claire carved a magnificent version of the instrument in sand. With all its complex tubes, bells and keys, the sculpture ended up weighing 20 tonnes.

    French horn Sand in Your Eye
    French horn Sand in Your Eye. Picture: East Neuk Festival
  7. The Singing Ringing Tree

    This eerie aeolian harp sculpture, designed by Anna Liu and Mike Tonkin, sits atop a hill overlooking the English town of Burnley in Lancashire.

    The Singing Ringing Tree
    The Singing Ringing Tree. Picture: Getty
  8. The invisible violinist

    This mysterious, treble-some figure stalks the corner of the Marnixstraat and Bloemgracht in Amsterdam.

    Blue Violinist
    Blue Violinist. Picture: Amsterdam For Visitors
  9. Frog trio

    A trio of bronze and copper frogs brings beautiful music to a park and garden, courtesy of artist Beau Smith.

    Frog musical sculpture
    Frog musical sculpture. Picture: Beau Smith
  10. The musical ‘Phoenix’

    Belgian sculptor Louis Halleux aptly named this wonderful musical sculpture – which sits outside the Musical Instrument Museum in Arizona’s capital city – ‘Phoenix’.

    Louis Halleux’s musical sculpture, ‘Phoenix’.
    Louis Halleux’s musical sculpture, ‘Phoenix’. Picture: The Musical Instrument Museum
  11. Mozart in sand

    At the 2013 International Sand Sculpture Festival in the Algarve, the creative minds behind ProSandArt used their tools to sculpt famous musicians and composers from different eras – from Mozart, to Bono and Lady Gaga.

    Mozart sand sculpture
    Mozart sand sculpture. Picture: Wiki
  12. J.S. Bach at St Thomas Church, Leipzig

    Johann Sebastian Bach is immortalised by sculptor Carl Seffner outside St Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, where the great Baroque composer was choir director from 1723 until his death in 1750.

    Statue of JS Bach in courtyard of St Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, where he was organist and musical director
    Statue of JS Bach in courtyard of St Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany, where he was organist and musical director. Picture: Getty
  13. Glenn Gould statue

    Here’s piano legend Glenn Gould, looking extremely dapper in his permanent home in Toronto, Canada.

    Glenn Gould statue in front of CBC building
    Glenn Gould statue in front of CBC building. Picture: Wiki
  14. Franz Liszt’s hand in Budapest

    Liszt’s sculpted hand, part of the Hungarian composer and pianist’s sculpture in Ferenc Square, gives a dual impression of power and dexterity.

    Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt's hand in Ferenc Square, Budapest
    Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt's hand in Ferenc Square, Budapest. Picture: Laszlo Marton/Amy T. Zielinski/Getty Images
  15. Johann Strauss Memorial

    Edmund von Hellmer’s masterpiece depicts the great Johann Strauss in a glittering bronze statue, in Vienna.

    Johann Strauss Memorial by Edmund von Hellmer in Vienna
    Johann Strauss Memorial by Edmund von Hellmer in Vienna. Picture: Getty
  16. Chopin sculpture

    On your next visit to Warsaw, look out for Wacław Szymanowski’s UNESCO-protected depiction of legendary Polish composer-pianist Frédéric Chopin, situated close to the Belvedere Palace.

    Monument to Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), Lazienki park, Warsaw's old town – on UNESCO World Heritage List, 1980
    Monument to Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849), Lazienki park, Warsaw's old town – on UNESCO World Heritage List, 1980. Picture: Getty