Grant Covell wrote:
> 
> I posted orginally, just in case there were some folks who have
> visited/worked at IRCAM and could possibly provide some comments.

I visited IRCAM briefly last summer; I was shown around by, and talked 
to an acquaintance who's been working (composing) there for a while 
(half year or year). Very interesting though it only lasted a couple
of hours, since I'd read the book just the week(s) before.
It should be noted that much of what GB describes has changed
drastically since she did her field work in the mid-eighties.
Eg, the attitudes of the directors towards "small machines vs large 
machines" have been reversed it seems (but then the machines have
changed too - or haven't they??).

Still I'd regard the book as an essential read for anyone interested 
in (post-) modernism and/or electro-acoustic (institutional) music. 
She provides brilliant and wide-ranging organization analysis of 
an art institution, of the corporate and other connections to 
technological development, and of the various social roles and 
attitudes of people caught in the middle of it all.

((eew, my Engl. is even worse than usual in this post, well sorry, 
haven't time to better it now))

Cheers,