Cello-playing robot performs with symphony orchestra

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The world’s first joint performance by a symphony orchestra and a robot playing a cello took place in Sweden. The joint performance piece entitled ‘Veer’ was created for the robot by Swedish composer Jacob Mühlrad who said the possibilities of the robotic performance inspired him to reconsider the cello as an instrument. The 33-year-old composer said the experiment is not about replacing human musicians with a robot, but about gaining new insights into the creative process. For example, the unique anatomy of the robotic arms means it is capable of playing “double stops” that a human hand would not be capable of playing and these new possibilities forced Mühlrad to think about the cello in a completely new way. He explains, “[...] suddenly there are a lot of ways to play the cello that I didn’t think about before because of the preconditions of the human and anatomy. So suddenly, the cello has become another instrument for me, thanks to this robot." The robot has the precision to match the most accomplished human musicians. In fact, Mühlrad originally toyed with the idea of composing a technically advanced piece that a human musician would not be able to perform. He resisted and created a slow and simple melody to demonstrate the robot’s expressiveness. Mühlrad does not think the robot’s precision leads to a lack of soul and creativity in the performance and, as it turns out, even the robot is capable of making mistakes which can lead to one of those “happy accidents” in art. He was pleased with this first experiment in Malmö and says it was well received by the audience and orchestra alike. But there has been some criticism as Mühlrad explains, “I received some feedback from some musicians that were a little bit frightened, also from social media—people who are questioning it. But I think it’s reasonable to question things. [...] I also question it.” Mühlrad says there are more plans to continue composing music for the robotic cello and is planning the first performance in the USA for later this year. This article was provided by The Associated Press.