txt @ concert :(

At its recent Central Park concert with pianist Lang Lang and the Shanghai Symphony, the New York Philharmonic invited concertgoers to vote for an encore via text-messages. Voters got a reply offering a discount on the pianist's next recording and directing them to his Facebook page. Other such interactions have gotten texters offers of ticket discounts and solicitations for donations, Daniel J. Wakin reports in The New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/arts/music/22text.html?_r=1&hp

Am I the only one feeling nostalgic about "please turn off your electronic devices?"

ANOTHER VIEW: Highbrow groups, "which we'd wager are struggling just as much as any other sector in this economy, are no longer willing to thumb their noses at cell phone spam if it means any kind of positive return," Matthew Zuras writes for the online magazine Switched:

http://www.switched.com/2010/07/23/fancy-orchestra-goers-disturbed-by-lowly-text-marketing/