Hoping For Younger Audience, Kimmel Adding Haydn Opuses
July 1, 2008 –
In a bold attempt to lure younger audiences, Kimmel Center officials have announced that they will be offering performances of Joseph Haydn's spirited early opuses in the months to come. "For the past six years, the Kimmel Center has been burdened by the perception that it's stuffy and inclusive," Anne Ewers, the center's president and CEO, said yesterday. "Which is why we're excited to announce the addition of some of Haydn's, um, 'cooler' works to our program."
 Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia Inquirer's classical music critic, was lukewarm to the idea. "I understand that, like many classical institutions, the Kimmel is experiencing a general graying of its audience," he said. "But by staging performances of, say, Symphony No. 94, they run the risk of transforming Verizon Hall into a veritable Lollapalooza." The Broad St. Review's Dan Rottenberg agreed. "This is nothing more than pandering to the 'teenybopper' crowd," he said. "And it's a dangerously slippery slope. The next thing you know, they'll be playing mid-period Berlioz–or, heaven forbid, Tchaikovsky."
Meanwhile, the Kimmel's newly-intended audience was thrilled by Ewers' announcement. "I've never been to a show there, but with the new Haydn stuff, I'm definitely going," said 19-year-old UArts student Rhena Jasey. "Especially if they play Symphony No. 104... ooh, ooh–or Opus 50, No. 1!" Such a reaction seemed to be exactly what Ewers had hoped for. "We knew we'd be taking a chance by offering this sort of 'edgy' fare," she said. "But at the Kimmel, now more than ever, we're all about taking chances."
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PennPraxis Urges Addition of Pineapple to Fruit-Salad Stand
July 1, 2008 –
PennPraxis, the planning group which in November offered bold ideas for transforming Penn's Landing, has seemingly scaled back its ambitions–presenting a new plan yesterday in which the riverfront's only improvement would be the addition of pineapple to its fruit-salad stand. "Our previous plan involved extending the east-west street grid to the water, expanding green space, and adding hiking and biking paths," said Harris Steinberg, head of the University of Pennsylvania design group, as he bit into a thick chunk of the yellow fruit. "But after months of debate, we feel that adding pineapple to [the stand's] current mix of watermelon, banana, and honeydew would be a far more cost-effective–and mouth-watering–fix."
 Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron hailed the proposal as both sensible and tasty. "PennPraxis' original plan was exciting, comprehensive, and visionary in its scope," she said. "But it would also take many billions and many years to implement. By contrast, a quality pineapple can be had for three or four dollars–and incorporated into a salad within the hour." Councilman Frank DiCicco, whose district includes Penn's Landing, was also supportive of the downscaled plan. "It would've been nice for us to have a genuine waterfront destination like Baltimore, Chicago, or San Francisco," he said. "But it's also nice to have a cool slice of pineapple on a hot summer day."
Mayor Michael Nutter, meanwhile, expressed disappointment at Steinberg's latest plan. "Now, don't get me wrong–I like pineapple as much as anybody," he said. "But I thought that PennPraxis' initial vision would ultimately be of greater benefit to Philadelphia. Even if pineapple is full of Vitamin C." Steinberg, though, seemed to disagree. "Simply put, we want people to enjoy Penn's Landing," he said, the juice running down his chin. "The question is: do you want to spend three bucks or five billion? To us, the answer is deliciously clear."
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