Twittering a symphony concert

Today (July 30), the National Symphony Orchestra will experiment with twittering during a concert at its outdoor venue at Wolf Trap:

"With this first ever in-time symphonic Twitter you can have the conductor as your personal guide through Beethoven's most colorful and atmospheric work,” explained NSO @ Wolf Trap Festival Conductor Emil de Cou. “I have designed the tweets to go perfectly with ideas I have about the piece as I conduct it but also some interesting commentary to go along with the sights and sounds of Beethoven's day in the countryside: an adult musical pop-up book written for first timers and concert veterans alike."

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.

Please note that the Filene Center does not allow electronic devices to be used in the main house, only on the lawn.

Again, this is only for a portion of the audience at Wolf Trap. I personally think it is a great idea, one that might open up a score for some people. I think lots of patrons can star strong with a score, following it at the beginning, but lose the line later and get frustrated. A tweet might put a few back on track.

Of course it depends on the repertoire ("Four Dance Episodes" from Copland's "Rodeo," Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto (Sarah Chang) and Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral") and the quality of the tweets (written by the night's conductor, Emil de Cou). I look forward to reports on how it went. Maybe we will see this in the future, esp. since the worthy concert companion experiment didn't do so well.