AI-assisted piano allows disabled musicians in Tokyo to perform Christmas show

Yurina Furukawa (in blue), who has a rare muscle condition called congenital myopathy and requires breathing assistance, playing an AI-powered piano during a Christmas concert of Beethoven's 'Symphony No 9' with the Yokohama Sinfonietta orchestra in Tokyo. Photo: AFP

Inside the wood-panelled auditorium of one of Tokyo's most prestigious concert halls, 24-year-old Kiwa Usami presses just one index finger to the piano and summons the colossal swells of Beethoven's Ode To Joy, accompanied by an orchestra and choir.

Usami, who has cerebral palsy, was one of three musicians with disabilities performing Symphony No. 9 with the Yokohama Sinfonietta at Suntory Hall on Thursday using an artificial intelligence-powered piano.