Show Review
Tango!
SD Museum of Art - Balboa Park

February 5th 2004

By Casey Rieder, SDAM Staff Writer
©Copyright 2024 SDAM.com/Casey Rieder


Tango music goes hand-in-hand with dancing...or does it? The Camarata Chamber Ensemble's tango concert in the San Diego Museum of Art recently proved otherwise. Replacing tango's dance rhythms with more melodic music, Camarata brought the tango out of the brothels of Buenos Aires and into a concert hall. However, this relocation came at a price.

When I walked into Copley Auditorium, there were roughly 30 other audience members there. I had expected poor attendance, but this was ridiculous! The program stated that Camarata would only perform only songs by Astor Piazzolla (a personal favorite) so I was more hopeful. Once the show started, though, I noticed that something was out of place. First, I figured that I was out of place, considering the audience was mostly middle-aged to elderly couples. However, my opinion changed as the concert progressed.

While the music was great, it didn't have a 'tango' feel. The performers were concentrating too much on their technique that they neglected to feel the music. Tango is a popular music, but Camarata turned it into high-society music. I felt like the group was slightly trapped in its classical music training, and was neglecting tango's visceral power.

Camarata's note-for-note musical accuracy did produce an excellent concert. The ensemble created music primarily for the head, and secondarily for the soul. But in my mind, tangos ought to have the audience dancing in the aisles. This audience, instead, remained firmly planted in its seats, actively listening to (but not participating in) the musical experience.

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