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