High Tech Classical
YES, these are music stands. Apple laptop computers instead of sheet music. And in this case, the music displayed is in Beethoven’s original hand.
This New York Times article explains how “the digital tide washing over society is lapping at the shores of classical music. The Borromeo players have embraced it in their daily musical lives like no other major chamber music group. They record nearly all of their concerts. They have forsaken paper musical parts in favor of MacBooks nestled on special music stands, paging forward and back with foot pedals. They have replaced old-fashioned tuning devices and metronomes with programs on their laptops.”
It’s just one example of how technology and the internet are affecting all businesses, including the arts.
No more anxious turning of pages either: these guys—the Borromeo String Quartet—use foot pedals to turn the electronic page.
Read about the author, Daniel Wakin.
Learn about the Borromeo String Quartet.
Images from the New York Times.
