Programmers at the University of Malaga have created a computer that is able to produce a piece of music in just 8 minutes.
The computer, known as Iamus (named after a son of Apollo), writes pieces through a system called 'Melomics' which attempts to replicate the evolution of a human composition. Although this is not the first experiment of its type, Iamus is the first computer-composer that doesn’t require any human intervention.
On 2 July 2012 a number of Iamus’s pieces were streamed live from Malaga as part of a concert marking mathematician Alan Turing's 100th anniversary.
Iamus's debut disc of compositions, to be released in September this year, will feature a number of performances by the London Symphony Orchestra. The pianist Gustavo Diaz-Jerez, who will also feature on the album, said members of the LSO were 'surprised' by the quality of the music.
Despite this success, Iamus probably does not spell the end for the human composer. Pieces such as Hello World, for clarinet, piano and violin, do not make for particularly easy listening.
Sophie Gadd