At the Philadelphia Orchestra’s February 1 “Orchestra After 5” event, Amy He and Andres Amarilla of the Philadelphia Argentine Tango School perform in the Kimmel Center. Photo by Yong Kim/The Philadelphia Inquirer.
In Friday’s (2/2) Philadelphia Inquirer, Peter Dobrin writes, “Leaders of the Philadelphia Orchestra are trying mightily to meet listeners where they are, and Thursday they rolled out their latest secret weapon: tango…. A crowd of perhaps a couple hundred gathered in the Kimmel Center lobby for themed cocktails and Brazilian tunes played by Ernesto’s Club. Dubbed ‘Orchestra After 5’ … ‘a classical concert with a casual vibe,’ the new series’ tagline offers. This first one began in the lobby, moved on to a one-hour concert starting at 6:30, and finished with an informal post-concert chat. If the goal was to lure listeners beyond the traditional base, it was a wild success. The audience … was made up of a mix of young and old, couples and singles, newbies and loyal fans. Inside Verizon Hall, a little more than two dozen Philadelphia Orchestra musicians performed … Concertmaster David Kim was the superb soloist, Xian Zhang the expressive and imaginative conductor, and the music a ‘musical collage 250 years in the making,’ as Tristan Rais-Sherman, the amiable host, pointed out…. What this latest format does signal, in a hopeful way, is the orchestra’s awareness that evolution is not just necessary, but a constant.”
