The Dresden Symphony Orchestra made musical history and was the first orchestra conducted by a robot. Strictly speaking, it is a mechanical conductor with three arms that can set different rhythms for individual groups in the orchestra. At the premiere of “Robot.Symphony” at the Dresden Hellero Festival Hall yesterday, the technology and musicians worked flawlessly. The audience was enthusiastic and applauded loudly.
The robot has been trained
Symphony director Markus Rindt was able to recruit specialists from the Technical University of Dresden for the project. In the CeTI Cluster of Excellence (Center for Tactile Internet with Human in the Loop), the conductive machine has “learned” how to overcome the rhythms and dynamics of presentation. “We are not aiming to replace connectors in the future,” Rindt said. But they want to break new ground and experience what can happen with a conductor on stage.
At the premiere, the robot performed two previews – Wieland Riesman’s “#kreuzknot” and Andreas Gundlach’s “Semiconductor Masterpiece”. Other works of the evening were conducted by the orchestra's “real” conductor, Norwegian Magnus Lodgaard. Boston Dynamics' robot dog Spot also makes an appearance. The Dresden Symphony Orchestra also celebrated its 25th anniversary with the concert.
The ensemble consists of musicians from several orchestras at home and abroad and adheres exclusively to contemporary music.
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