A Glimpse into the Future
For a quarter of a century, the Dresdner Sinfoniker have been creating innovative contemporary music at the highest artistic level. For their anniversary concert, ROBOTERSINFONIE, the baton was—at times—passed to a robot, a so-called co-bot, trained by a conductor to lead the orchestra. In collaboration with the Cluster of Excellence CeTI at TU Dresden, the robot was taught how to beat time and indicate dynamics.

Humans, Music, and Machines
Musicians from the Dresdner Sinfoniker joined forces with the co-bot to create music as a hybrid artistic and mechanical product. At the heart of the project was the moment of encounter—where machine precision and human creativity merge into something new. Will composers now embark on new paths, inspired by the possibilities of robotic conducting? ROBOTERSINFONIE explores the multifaceted relationship between art and technology.

The Program of ROBOTERSINFONIE
Under the baton of conductor Magnus Loddgard, the evening began with 16 brass players and 4 percussionists performing works by Markus Lehmann-Horn, Konstantia Gourzi, and Wieland Reissmann. After the intermission, Loddgard handed over leadership of the orchestra to his robotic colleague, who was immediately faced with a significant challenge: the world premiere of #kreuzknoten by Wieland Reissmann. Using two of her three arms, the co-bot guided the orchestra confidently through overlapping tempi. #kreuzknoten would have been impossible for a human to conduct: one half of the ensemble began slowly and accelerated, while the other decelerated.

Next came a commissioned work by composer and jazz pianist Andreas Gundlach. In Semiconductor’s Masterpiece, he took advantage of the robot’s ability to conduct a tripartite orchestra through intricate rhythmic passages, each section independently led by one of her three arms. Once again, the unique skills of the co-bot made possible what no human conductor could achieve.

Educational Project: Spot.Me
ROBOTERSINFONIE also included the educational project Spot.Me, featuring 8th and 9th grade students from Dresden-Johannstadt High School. In collaboration with CeTI at TU Dresden, choreographer Norbert Kegel worked with the students to create a dance piece performed with a robotic dog. The creative process offered insights into the world of robotics—particularly quadruped robots—while also raising questions about the present and future roles of emerging technologies. The students’ choreography became the centerpiece of a short film presented during the concert.

Partners & Supporters
Dresdner Sinfoniker | Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung in cooperation with Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden | HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts | TU Dresden | Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) | Wandelbots GmbH | Stiftung Kunst und Musik für Dresden

The Dresdner Sinfoniker are supported by the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism and by the City of Dresden through the Office for Culture and Monument Protection. They are co-financed by tax funds based on the budget passed by the Saxon State Parliament.