A technological feat, appreciated by the public and the musicians themselves, even if the experience has its limits: if the robot can conduct a planned piece, it cannot in fact improvise.
Published on 12/01/2025 06:44
Reading time: 3min
Two evenings in a row, 500 spectators had the privilege of witnessing the prowess of a three-armed conductor robot. The two concerts were given in the prestigious Festspielhaus in Dresden, broadcast live on the internet and the hall was full.
The robot conducted the musicians of the Dresden Symphony Orchestra, who were flesh-and-blood humans. So that its movements were perceived correctly, the robot had a conductor’s baton at the end of each of its three arms, somewhat futuristic, phosphorescent batons. Each one was a different color, all reminiscent of the famous lightsabers of Star Wars.
@sachsen Fernsehen ???? To celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Dresden Symphony Orchestra presented the extraordinary “Robot Symphony” on October 12th and 13th, 2024 in the Festspielhaus Hellerau. ➡ In collaboration with the CeTI Cluster of Excellence at the TU Dresden, an industrial robot came to the conductor’s podium alongside conductor Michael Helmrath. The Dresden Symphony Orchestra surprised their audience with this unique mix of classical music and modern technology. ➡ In the first part of the evening, Helmrath himself conducted works by Markus Lehmann-Horn, Konstantia Gourzi and Wieland Reissmann. After the break, however, the MAiRA Pro S robot took the lead. ➡️ Particularly impressive was Wieland Reissmann’s work #crossknot, in which two orchestral parts performed at different tempos – a task that only the robot could master. The commissioned work Semiconductor’s Masterpiece by Andreas Gundlach also used the robot’s abilities to precisely guide the ensemble through the complex passages. #dresden #saxony #news ♬ Original sound – Sachsen Fernsehen
The team from the Technical University of Dresden worked for two years to develop this robot. Scientists trained him to recognize beat times and indicate the measure. What must be emphasized is that the three arms of the automaton are separate. Each guides, completely independently, the three parts of the orchestra. We also had to take care of the movements of the automaton so that they were fluid and aesthetic, a bit like a real conductor.
Three pieces were composed especially for him. The robot conducted the first work with one arm, the second with two arms and for the third it used all three arms, which would have been impossible for a human conductor. This last piece was titled Semiconductor’s Masterpiece (the semiconductor masterpiece). And the spectators, like the musicians, were enthusiastic. The robot masterfully conducted the orchestra, so to speak. A real conductor was ready to intervene in the event of a robot failure, but this was not necessary.
Andreas Gundlach, the pianist who composed the piece, was also won over, even though writing for a robot represented a challenge. “The big difference is that a human conductor could step in if something unexpected happened, because he can hear and react to what he hears. Our robot could only lead and the orchestra had to follow his movements, for better or for worse. There was therefore no communication between the robot conductor and the musicians. But the whole project worked well technically and the result was very good.
For this robot conductor, it is undoubtedly the very beginning of a long musical career. He will soon conduct other concerts, including one planned in a few weeks in Berlin.
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