App to help classical music fans ‘may disturb concerts’
Orchestra hopes the new innovation will help to attract a younger audience
LOVERS of classical music are not famous for their tolerance of distractions during a concert, such as loud pageturning of programmes.
Now an app has been developed which texts notes straight to ticketholders’ phones. It promises to deliver programme notes live as the orchestra plays, allowing curious audience members to read along by the light of their phone screen.
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is the first in Britain to embrace the technology, trialled in Cadogan Hall earlier this year and set to be used at a new Myths and Fairytales season in a designated seating area.
The Octava app is intended to “assist the participant through a musical journey”. Chris Evans, director of press and marketing at the RPO, says its tone is “specifically aimed towards new and potentially younger audiences”.
Bringing new fans to classical music concerts is a major concern for the British arts scene.
The app has already raised eyebrows in the classical community after BBC Music magazine reviewed it.
“I was surprised to see you endorse Octava, an app which sends texts to your phone during a performance with information about the music,” one reader wrote in this month’s edition.
“What happened to the rather quaint idea of reading programme notes before a performance, then simply enjoying the music and not disturbing those around you?”
Oliver Condy, the editor, replied: “We have to agree – programme notes are indeed far superior, and don’t shine brightly in the gloom. But we live in an ever-changing world, and music needs to attract new audiences.”
Encue by Octava, which was developed in the US, is described as a “concert-enhancing app that delivers real-time programme notes to audiences’ mobile or tablet devices”.
It is designed to send information about a performance in time with what is happening on stage, eradicating the need to use a paper programme to swot up on the history or details of a piece of music.
Its publicity material states that it uses “Darkscreen Technology” to avoid distracting those sitting nearby.
The RPO said it had received positive feedback from trials and concerts during the spring, and will now introduce it in a limited seating area during the Myths and Fairytales series, exploring the magical landscapes portrayed in a variety of works by Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Rimsky-korsakov and others from Nov 7.
It follows other technologies aimed at attracting new audiences, including virtual reality experiences.
The Philharmonia Orchestra last year launched a programme where viewers wearing headsets could “step into the heart of the symphony orchestra” to watch a performance of Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony.
The orchestra already has its own app, which offers multi-camera views of performances and interactive commentary.
‘What happened to the quaint idea of reading notes before a performance?’