The St. Lawrence String Quartet is possibly the first chamber ensemble to perform a work…on an iPad!  Following Lang Lang’s lead, the quartet aired an online performance of Pachelbel’s Canon – each member holding an iPad in the same way they would their own instrument and having to actually finger a virtual string in the right place to produce their part.  The “Magic Fiddle” app (created by Smule) doesn’t have quite the same appeal as the real thing, as you can imagine, and the Quartet missed the tactile feeling of their own instruments after playing.  So don’t expect to hear any electronic renditions of their Beethoven-Golijov-Mozart program at their PCMS appearance on Friday, February 11.  They have quite a lot of practicing to improve their iPad intonation.  It seems to get worse and worse as the piece progresses.  Obviously not the kind of technological advancement the St. Lawrence Quartet needs to improve their playing – but fun nevertheless.