Delos Diary

A report in the New York Times of Saturday, May 29, seems to promise more gadgetry invading the symphonic world.
Recently, a New York Philharmonic audience got to "test-drive" a device called the Concert Companion. Described as a hand-held object that delivers on screen a play-by-play analysis of the music as it unfolds, it has been nicknamed CoCo by its creators. It also features program notes and video images, all delivered in real time from a computer backstage.
We can only conjecture how long it will be until commercial messages are added to this visual mix. It would seem to be a natural for the big drug companies which even now run lengthy commercials on any TV program (i.e.: the Tony Awards) which appeals to an older audience. Viagra, Vioxx, arthritis, and migraine remedies all may find their place between analyses of selections by Mozart, Beethoven, Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky.
As we've grown accustomed to seeing art museum-goers moving en masse from painting to painting as instructed by their acoustiguides, so concertgoers may soon react simultaneously to the important moments in the classic masterpieces they are hearing.
Meanwhile the poor souls without a CoCo in hand will simply have to remain in blissful ignorance and listen to the music unadorned, unabashed and unashamed.