Play It Again, Vladimir (via Computer)

Play It Again, Vladimir (via Computer) - New York Times - this article talks about a really cool technology - attempting to build machine learning (AI) models of piano players playing piano and then reproducing their style by having an AI piano play other pieces in their style. The project started out by trying to revive old recordings not simply remastering them, but recreating them on modern equipment - that is, recreating how the old masters would have played them on modern equipment. The main example in this article is Alfred Cortot's Chopin's Prelude in G (an absolute marvel of a piece). Dr John Walker, a software engineer with classical piano training, has created a technology that re-creates old recordings as live performances (fit for a concert hall). His technology is a piano, or rather, a Disklavier, which is a player piano (one of those automatic pianos) that can replay preformances when you put a CD into a slot above the keyboard. The piano "turing" competition is on - soon we will have Horowitz playing in competition with the Disklavier just like Kasparov played against Deep Blue to prove human ability can extend beyond the mechanical.. or maybe not ;)