Doing Good by the 'Bad Boy': Performing George Antheil'sBallet mécanique with Robots

摘要

The Ballet mécanique by George Antheil was a musical composition far ahead of itstime. Written in 1924, it required technology that didn't exist: multiple synchronizedplayer pianos. Not until 1999, with the aid of computers and MIDI, could the piece beperformed the way the composer envisioned it. Since then, it has been played over 20times in North America and Europe. But its most unusual performance was the result ofa collaboration between the authors: one, the music technologist who revived the pieceand the other, a musical robotics expert. At the request of the National Gallery of Art inWashington, DC, they built a completely automated 27-piece orchestra, which playedthe piece nearly 100 times, without a serious failure.