AI Mozart
Pilgrim Uniting Church
Wed Feb 26, 2026

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW WAS WRITTEN BY Microsoft's CopIlot.

Matthew Shiel, a distinguished Scottish pianist, performed original works generated by advanced AI systems. You could call it Mozart 2.0 perhaps. ChatGPT and Matthew shared the narrator and host duties for tonight's performance.

When requested to compose a sonata comparable to Mozart, the AI delivered a piece within twenty-seven seconds, which Matthew played with fluidity, flamboyance, physicality, and intricate flourishes.

Suno AI was subsequently asked to create a sonata in the style of Beethoven, resulting in a composition marked by furious cascades of notes, combined with delicate touches and dramatic elements.

Abstract visuals were featured throughout the show. The next segment showcased a transcription AI tool capable of slowing down texts; this was demonstrated with a slower, beautifully dramatic and melodious Mozart piece.

Following this, the AI presented a jazz blues composition titled Moonlight Blue which was less impressive. A Fats Waller-inspired ragtime followed, offering an upbeat, enjoyable performance. The AI tool Suno AI, was then instructed to create a piece reflecting Scottish traditional music and landscape - it called this Whispering Islands.

Next, a potential number-one hit for Lady Gaga was composed, including AI-generated vocals, resulting in a surprisingly commendable song. The concert continued with a polka and a specially requested piece contemplating the enduring presence of the capsule with human sounds, including music, that was launched in 1977, and where it might be 40,000 years into the future.

Overall, this event proved to be unsettling, inspiring, and profoundly thought-provoking. Matthew Shiel commented that AI generated music has its own character. ChatGPT concluded the evening with a farewell message to the audience.