AI and Classical Music

0000: Long established in pop music, it is now making ground in classical music: Music created using AI. We are on the verge of a new age of classical music.

Melodic songs at the push of a button: deep learning is making it possible. What already has an industrial character in the pop world does not stop at the structurally more complex classical music. A few clicks and an algorithm composes a classical string quartet or jams self-devised melodies alongside musicians.
But when will we reach the point where we can no longer distinguish between the creator, a human being, and a machine – and what does that mean for classical music?

In search of answers, we accompany musicians and technicians, question philosophers and take a look back to Mozart's time. Little by little, like a digitally animated puzzle, an initially blurred, then increasingly clear picture of how AI will change the nature of classical music comes together.

The focus is on the development of the AI-human-created opera project "Chasing Waterfalls" and, among other things, the AI vs. human experiment, an AI with star pianist Gabriela Montero in an improvisation battle.

Original title KI und Klassik
Duration 52 minutes
Author Stefan Pannen
Author Bernard Wedig
Executive Producer Christian Nurtsch-Wesener
Producer Claus Wischmann
Production Company WDR/arte, sounding images
Production year 2022