Wednesday (7/22) on his Baltimore Sun blog Clef Notes, Tim Smith writes, “This in from the NSO: Conductor Emil de Cou has prepared real-time program notes to Beethoven’s Sixth that will be beamed to Twitterati sitting on the lawn of Wolf Trap July 30. It’s an interesting variation on a palm-held device, tried out by some orchestras a few years ago, that texted program notes as a performance was in progress. There were skeptics then, and I can imagine there will be howls and scowls from some corners about the Twitter application, but you just know this was bound to happen. And what a great thing this will be for those folks who can’t go more than a minute or two without staring down at some sort of electronic device in their hands.” Smith quotes from the orchestra’s press release: “The messages will begin during intermission and provide facts about Beethoven’s life and work. Once the concert begins, the tweets will be sent at specific points in the score, becoming streaming program notes that mark musical signposts depicting Beethoven’s symphonic tribute to a day in the country.”
Posted July 23, 2009
