Prof. Ali Nikrang

Ali Nikrang is a multidisciplinary artist, composer, and AI researcher working at the intersection of music and artificial intelligence. His work combines the technical development of AI-based systems with compositional practice as well as artistic and scientific research.
He is a professor of AI and Musical Creation at the University of Music and Theatre Munich and a researcher at the Ars Electronica Futurelab. He studied composition and piano at the Mozarteum University and computer science with a focus on intelligent information systems at Johannes Kepler University. Before joining the Ars Electronica Futurelab in 2011, he worked at the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

A key outcome of his work is Ricercar, research software for symbolic music composition that has been developed at the Ars Electronica Futurelab since 2019 and jointly with the University of Music and Theatre Munich since 2023. A particular focus is on collaboration with emerging composers. Works created using Ricercar have been performed by, among others, the »Münchner Philharmoniker«, the »Münchner Rundfunkorchester«, the »Bruckner Orchester Linz«, the »Augsburger Philharmoniker«, and the »Staatsorchester Darmstadt«.

Another focus is the public outreach on AI from a musical and artistic perspective. Through interviews, radio and television documentaries, and international media features – including on ARTE, 3sat, ZDF, ORF, BR, SWR, and Deutschlandfunk – he shares knowledge about AI and contributes to the societal discussion on creativity and artistic authorship.