The composer Joseph Bertolozzi is going to Paris, knowing no French. Why? He intends to make music banging on The Eiffel Tower. From The New York Times:

His mission is to “play the Eiffel Tower” by striking its surfaces, collecting sounds through a microphone and using them as samples for an hourlong composition called “Tower Music.” He eventually hopes for a live, on-site performance of the work to celebrate the tower’s 125th anniversary next year.

What a cool story. Mr. Bertolozzi has spent more than four years on his quest. He raised $40,000 from private donors and convinced the Eiffel Tower administration that he was a legitimate musician. And he’s dedicated:

In preparation for his Parisian experiment, Mr. Bertolozzi studied the design of the Eiffel Tower. He listened to the works of French composers like Ravel and Poulenc, whose pieces have elements of cafe music and street sounds.

The tower, too, serves as “a deeper inspiration for me to try to find new ways of creating sounds,” he said. “So it’s just constant reinvention.”