Excuse the I-told-you-so obnoxiousness, but, as reported today by the intrepid Dan Wakin in the Times, the starry ensemble of violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, clarinetist Anthony McGill and pianist Gabriella Montero essentially mimed the premiere of John Williams' Air and Simple Gifts to a recording of the piece during the Obama inaugural ceremony -- just as I suggested in my post about the event. Let's face it, there's no way those guys could have been warm enough and their instruments in tune enough to sound that good. It's not a big deal, of course. The use of the pre-recorded performance allowed the music to be heard effectively at the ceremony, and, judging by the reactions I've received, the work hit the spot for a lot of people. Kudos to the four players who managed to sync so well in such frigid conditions.