Wednesday, July 7, 2004
PDAs Make It To The Symphony
Posted by Brad Adrian in "ARTICLE" @ 01:00 AM
In an attempt to enhance their patrons' music-listening experience, several U.S. symphony orchestras have begun testing a new PDA-based program for delivering real-time commentary during performances.
An article in PC World describes the program further: "It happens in every classical music concert held in the United States. As soon as the conductor lifts his baton, an excitement-induced dementia afflicts at least 30 percent of the audience. However, a glimmer of hope is appearing, and it's coming from the screen of a personal digital assistant. Several symphony orchestras--including the venerable New York Philharmonic--are testing a PDA-based program called the Concert Companion which provides real-time commentary about the piece being performed. Thus, audience members equipped with Concert Companions in theory will be less likely to doze off or engage in disruptive behavior because a steady stream of enlightening snippets will flash on their PDA screens explaining and putting into context the piece being performed."
This makes terrific sense to me! We've all become accustomed to watching and listening to "director's cuts" and commentaries during movies, and this simply extends that idea to the symphony. Assuming that the commentary is well-written and insightful, this could really make the symphony even more enjoyable. I can envision all kinds of intriguing information I'd like to read while listening to the music:
• Composer's personal data (birthdate, home city, etc.)
• Theme or musical "story" being told
• Inspiration for symphony
• History of noteworthy performances of the symphony
I'm totally serious here. I can expect that some symphony-goers might consider the glowing PDA screens a distraction, but I really enjoy learning the "stories behind the music."
Am I (and the New York Philharmonic) off my rocker?
(Oops. I just realized we've already got a discussion going about this. You can join in here.)
An article in PC World describes the program further: "It happens in every classical music concert held in the United States. As soon as the conductor lifts his baton, an excitement-induced dementia afflicts at least 30 percent of the audience. However, a glimmer of hope is appearing, and it's coming from the screen of a personal digital assistant. Several symphony orchestras--including the venerable New York Philharmonic--are testing a PDA-based program called the Concert Companion which provides real-time commentary about the piece being performed. Thus, audience members equipped with Concert Companions in theory will be less likely to doze off or engage in disruptive behavior because a steady stream of enlightening snippets will flash on their PDA screens explaining and putting into context the piece being performed."
This makes terrific sense to me! We've all become accustomed to watching and listening to "director's cuts" and commentaries during movies, and this simply extends that idea to the symphony. Assuming that the commentary is well-written and insightful, this could really make the symphony even more enjoyable. I can envision all kinds of intriguing information I'd like to read while listening to the music:
• Composer's personal data (birthdate, home city, etc.)
• Theme or musical "story" being told
• Inspiration for symphony
• History of noteworthy performances of the symphony
I'm totally serious here. I can expect that some symphony-goers might consider the glowing PDA screens a distraction, but I really enjoy learning the "stories behind the music."
Am I (and the New York Philharmonic) off my rocker?
(Oops. I just realized we've already got a discussion going about this. You can join in here.)
