Slave to the rhythm: Three-armed robot conducts German symphony

euronews (in English)

The artistic minds of the Dresden Symphony Orchestra decided to look into the future to commemorate a quarter-century of orchestral music in the German city.

Transcript

00:00The Dresden Symphony Orchestra presented an innovative world premiere on Saturday.

00:08Instead of a flesh-and-bone individual conducting the performance, three robotic arms guided

00:13the musicians as they played a bespoke piece titled Robot Symphony.

00:19We don't want to replace a conductor.

00:22I believe that a human being can always improve.

00:26The rehearsal work, the mimicry.

00:28For example, if you were to play Beethoven, you don't need a robot like that.

00:34That's pointless.

00:35But if you let a piece write what makes up for it,

00:40that the orchestra is playing at different speeds,

00:43in different tempos, then it makes sense.

00:45That doesn't exist all over the world.

00:47The East German Musical Institution celebrated its 25-year anniversary

00:52by looking into the future.

00:54The Dresden Symphony Orchestra is known for pushing boundaries,

00:57which this time even challenged its musicians.

01:00It's something completely different.

01:02It's also without mercy.

01:04It waits for no one. It pulls through like a machine.

01:07Attendees of the debut performance lauded the innovation,

01:11with others stating the piece, riddled with multiple time signatures,

01:15sounded like it came from a single source.

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