Sejong Soloists and NFT Classics Society 'Cobbett' Series II

NEW YORK (January 27, 2023) — NFT Classics Society minted the second series of the Stradivarius Violin “Cobbett” NFT collection on December 27, 2022, and as of January 27, 2023 they have dropped (i.e. shared, gifted) the entire collection. This series follows in the style of their first, blending the highest quality performances of classical masterpieces with stunning original visual artwork. These NFTs are the result of the continued collaboration between the internationally-acclaimed chamber orchestra Sejong Soloists and AI Network, and, instead of being sold, are offered as gifts to the Sejong Soloists concert-going community.

This new collection of 350 NFTs, named “Cobbett” for the famous “Cobbett” Stradivarius violin, centers on a staple of the classical musical repertoire: the Fugue from Bach’s Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor. This release features performance by Sejong Soloists violinist Stephen Kim, production by six-time Grammy-winning producer and engineer Da-Hong Seetoo,  and artwork by multi-faceted artist and musician Amy Kang. Kang’s artwork for this series is based on — and interactive with — the music of each NFT. 

The collection comes in three tiers: Maestro, Virtuoso, and Prodigy. The Maestro and Virtuoso tiers feature a recording of the Fugue by Stephen Kim on the “Cobbett” violin. As the music plays, the artwork develops in tandem, and the result is a beautiful, syncretic, and distinctive piece of multi-medium art. “The Maestro and Virtuoso pieces are visual representations of the Bach Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, Fugue. I use color as the language to bridge the worlds of art and music together,” said Amy Kang.

The Prodigy tier features unique AI-generated music in the style of Bach’s Fugue. This is accomplished via AI sound models developed by POZA Labs, a South Korean AI music company, which utilize the artificial intelligence model used in the area of natural language processing (NLP) and are created from the AI’s analysis of Bach’s Fugue. Amy’s artwork is based on the AI-generated music, for which she created “color scores” where the color of each stripe or square indicates the pitch, and the width and size represent the length of the note. 

Rather than being commodities listed for sale, these NFTs are given as gifts, “mementos” of in-person performances. Sejong Soloists intends to continue its program of NFT development expressly for this purpose in conjunction with future concerts, with the hope of fostering a deeper sense of community amongst its audience members.

“Partnering with AI companies gives Sejong Soloists the opportunity to expand the classical music community in new ways, building on its history of community development in art music through cutting edge technology. By creating NFTs, we can give our audience a unique memento that also helps keep them connected to the larger ecosystem of music-lovers,” said Kyung Kang, Creative and Executive Director of Sejong Soloists.