Dresden’s Symphony Orchestra will celebrate its 25^th anniversary with the Robot Symphony on October 12 and 13, 2024. The concert at the Festspielhaus Hellerau in Dresden, which was largely sponsored by the Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung, promises to be extra special to mark this important date: Conductor Magnus Loddgard will have the honor of sharing the conductor's podium with an industrial robot. In collaboration with the Cluster of Excellence CeTI (Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop) at TUD Dresden University of Technology, the robot is learning how to keep a beat and how to display musical dynamics.

"Cooperation between humans and robots has always spurred on our research at CeTI. Our vision is an active collaboration in which robots support humans, and human skills are transferred to robotics. This becomes exciting and relevant for tasks that an individual cannot perform without assistance, but also for complex work that requires a high degree of reliable precision. We are looking forward to a musical extravaganza that combines research and culture — it is a collaboration that shouldn't be missed! We would like to wholeheartedly congratulate Dresden’s Symphony Orchestra on its 25^th anniversary."
Prof. Frank Fitzek, CeTI’s Speaker

The first part of the concert will feature a world premiere by Markus Lehmann-Horn, as well as works by Konstantia Gourzi and Wieland Reissmann. After the interval, conductor Magnus Loddgard will pass the baton to the robot. Conlon Nancarrow's Canon X and the anniversary work commissioned by Andreas Gundlach utilize all facets of mechanical conducting, in particular the rhythmic-motor skills of the robo-conductor.

"As it’s our anniversary, we had Nancarrow's famous Canon X, originally written for a self-playing piano, arranged for our orchestra. In this piece, the human and the robot parts of the orchestra will cross over each other in tempo, respectively speeding up and slowing down at the same time. While performing such a feat is an almost impossible task for a human, it poses no problem for the robot. But will our musicians be able to follow two robot arms acting in opposite directions? I guess we will find out."
Markus Rindt, Artistic Director of Dresden’s Symphony Orchestra,

At the same time, the Robot Symphony also includes an educational aspect with the participation of pupils in grades 8 and 9 from the Dresden-Johannstadt Grammar School. In collaboration with CeTI at TU Dresden, Dresden-based choreographer Norbert Kegel will work with the young participants to develop a choreography in which they will interact with a robot dog. This creative process gives them an insight into the world of robotics and inspires them to pose questions about the current and future use of novel technologies. The choreography created by the students will form the centerpiece of a short film that will be presented at the concert.

Dresden’s Symphony Orchestra is looking to surprise and challenge its audience with the Robot Symphony project. As in previous projects, they want to use music as a medium to address socially relevant topics and pose important questions: How do we — and how do artists — deal with new technologies that are capable of fundamentally changing our society? Where could major opportunities be nestled alongside known risks? Is it possible that a new, completely unique form of musical expression is emerging as a result of the collaboration between man and machine? And does this set the stage for further interpretation and charisma? In the Robot Symphony, humans have creative control and the final say. But the boundaries are becoming more blurry.

Contact:
Dresden’s Symphony Orchestra                   TUD Dresden University of Technology / CeTI
Markus Rindt                                                   Doreen Böttcher
              
+49 156 7938 6770                                          +49 351 463-40407
www.dresdner-sinfoniker.de                   www.ceti.one

Cooperation partners of the Robot Symphony

Dresden’s Symphony Orchestra | Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung | HELLERAU - European Center for the Arts | TUD Dresden University of Technology | Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) | Neura Robotics GmbH | Wandelbots GmbH | Foundation for Art and Music in Dresden

Dresden’s Symphony Orchestra is supported by the City of Dresden (Office for Culture and Monument Protection) and the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism.

Cluster of Excellence CeTI is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Free State of Saxony as part of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Government.