Can you hear me now? Symphony plays 'Carmen' on mobile devices - Los Angeles Times
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Can you hear me now? Symphony plays ‘Carmen’ on mobile devices

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First the Bard on iPad and now an all-digital symphony? In an ad for a European bank, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra played “Carmen” entirely on smartphones and tablets.

The 2 1/2-minute spot shows Czech conductor Libor Pesek stepping up to the Prague Public Theatre podium while musicians pull mobile devices from their pockets and behind their chairs — some stacked to appear like flutes, horns and cellos — to play Georges Bizet’s famed piece.

A behind-the-scenes video explains how ad agency B-Roll wired the 60 musicians on 227 different interfaces via Wi-Fi. But one question remains.

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Could patrons keep their phones on for this performance?

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