“Technology is always a threat to live music,” said Bruce Pomahac, director of music at Rodgers & Hammerstein. “When the pianoforte replaced the harpsichord, every harpsichordist was out of a job."
Pomahac was referring, in a New York Times article by Jesse Green in Sunday's paper, to a new technological tool that could replace live musicians in Broadway pit orchestras. I remember reading stories of hungry harpsichordists strolling the streets of Berlin, clutching their precious Goldberg Variations, saying, I can play piano, sure I can, Mister! You betcha. (Auf Deutsch.) While a cigar-chomping impresario said, "Sorry, pal. I got me a pianist this morning. You run along now." (Also auf Deutsch.)