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Music historians and computer scientists team up to complete Beethoven's Unfinished 10th Symphony / The 74

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@RutgersU @soljourno - The 74 writes......When Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827, he was three years removed from the completion of his Ninth Symphony, a work heralded by many as his magnum opus. He had started work on his 10th Symphony but, due to deteriorating health, wasn't able to make much headway: All he left behind were some musical sketches.

 

Ever since then, Beethoven fans and musicologists have puzzled and lamented over what could have been. His notes teased at some magnificent reward, albeit one that seemed forever out of reach.

 

Now, thanks to the work of a team of music historians, musicologists, composers and computer scientists, Beethoven's vision will come to life.

 

@RutgersU @soljourno presided over the artificial intelligence side of the project, leading a group of scientists at the creative AI startup Playform AI that taught a machine both Beethoven's entire body of work and his creative process.

 

A full recording of Beethoven's 10th Symphony is set to be released on Oct. 9, 2021, the same day as the world premiere performance scheduled to take place in Bonn, Germany - the culmination of a two-year-plus effort.

 

This project would not have been possible without the expertise of human historians and musicians. It took an immense amount of work - and, yes, creative thinking - to accomplish this goal.

 

At one point, one of the music experts on the team said that the AI reminded him of an eager music student who practices every day, learns, and becomes better and better.

 

Now that student, having taken the baton from Beethoven, is ready to present the 10th Symphony to the world.

 

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