Page 1 wo THE MICHIGAN DA1LY Tuesdov. Februarv 27. 1968 Page Iwo THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tu .i y iv ..F whrIinv7 {I1 96R .P music New Directions: Sound of Sounds theatre 'Impossible Really Is 30OU Waslitenaw, Ph. 434-1782 Between Ypsilanti and.Ann Arbor By JIM PETERS It was sound, pure aural sen- sation, that shook the dust off the gold leaf in Rackham Aud. on Saturday night and startled the unsuspecting audience; no appreciation of form or har- mony or strict . counterpoint seemed very relevant. The group of performers in the mu- sic school's Contemporary Di- rections series dealt with tim- bre, rhythm and volume only and these were more than enough. Two complex compositions provided the vehicle: Le Mar- teau sans Maitre (The Master- less Hammer) by Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen's Kontakte (Contacts). They represent the differing, yet modern, methods composers are using; Boulez in this early piece stays in the historical traditions and relies on voice and instruments, while Stock- hausen has roamed entrane- ingly far into the electronic field. Boulez's cantata divides into nine sections around three poems by Rene Char and is scored for seven instruments and alto solo. The parts are very difficult because - Boulez uses two seemingly conflicting techniques in composition. Not only does he divide a melodic line between instruments in the ° style of Webern, but individ- ual instruments also develop their own lines. And these styles intertwine, bits of the whole melodic line of one in- strument serving to complete a melody developed in ensemble. The sound effects are intri- -cate and fascinating, with bits and pieces of sounds flash- ing and turning from one color to another, jumping from per- cussion to flute to vocalist. The things Boulez expects from a guitar! Byron Dailey pulled strings and popped notes, and imitated glissandoes; yet he was always the musician performing, playing a "musi- cal" instrument. It takes skilled musicians to prevent Boulez's pointillism from turning into machine-racket. The conducting and inter- pretation of Sydney Hodkin- son took all Boulez's ~sounds and made s-re they remained music. His control of rhythm seemed to make everyone a bit too tense in the beginning as evidenced by the breakneck speed of the first movement -- faster than I could imagine anyons performing the com- plexities in Le Marteau. But his control was valuable in the perfect fading of the endings, each sound drawn-out and let fade. But, despite the intricacies and convoluting form of the Boulez work, it was paled by the sheer impact of Stockhau- sen's Kontakte. The control center for the work was sprawled in the aisle By STEVE WILDSTROM Tom Ewell closed the perform- ance of The Impossible Years at Hill Aud. last night with a five- minute monologue. While his jokes were not the cleverest thing to hit Ann Arbor in recent months, they did mark the high- light of a rather dismal evening of quasi-comedy. For Ewell fans, the show is saved from total disaster by his delivery and, more importantly. by his foot-shuffling gestures. But even as polished a performer, as Ewell is at something of a loss when required to deal with lines supplied him by a pair of brassiere fetishists. Ewell and accomplices are stuck with at least four bra lines, in- cluding gems like: Little sister: "I don't have a clean bra to wean 2r sent the writer's attempt to make the play contemporary and "in tune." His part as hippie Bar- tholomew Smuts, a name which does the writers little credit, is reminiscent of a type-cast early- 1a~0s beatnik. Tynan kiever talks L.eiow a shout and jabbers ava v in '50's-like jazz jargon and gen- e-:ally makes an ass of himself, much to the discomfiture o peo- ple who have daily contact with r'eal-life hippies. Eric James. as Ewell's collabor- ator on -a book about teenagers another of the play's clever de- vices), is hopeless. Apparently, the character he plays, who ends up as Ewell's son-in-law, is in- tended to be some sort of dip. Yet his execution of the r,1e is so flawed that it is impossible to tell where the insipid oharactec ends and gte insipid acting brns. Even had Impossible Years bee) the best of comedies, it is doubt- fil mrat it could have mi.'n corn- pletely successful at HI 'he P ofessional Theatre Program s att mpt to bring plays to large a idiences is commendable but, aespite Hill's outstanding quai- ties Ps a concert hall, it just is not a theatre. In Iv,. *(l;nLtJK sndlF'NQ Wed.. S;-t.. Sun. 1.-5-7-9. .Mon_ I*rus., r~hur., Fri., 7-9 WJBK-TV Censors Seeger Detroit television station WJBK tertainers blacklisted from the "Electronic music... is difficult to comprehend in any overview.. ." behind my seat: two huge am- plifiers, . a professional tape deck, snares of wires - all connected to four huge speak- er systems glowering, analytic- ally positioned, around Rack- ham. And this is the other road music has taken, the other idea, of moving on beyond in- struments and human skills to something which I'd dare to call "pure sound." But where and how this "tradition" in so short a time? Names such as Cage and Varese come to mind, pioneers convinced that music can only remain relevant by using contemporary forms. But they are also artists fascinat- ed by the new possibilities of actually creating sound. Imagine charging armies and stampeding elephants and the sound of numming-bird wings and the growl of shoelaces and the splatter of cracking ice coming from all sides, or pass- ing from back to front or side to side. Imagine all these, yet think of none of them; for Stockhau- sen's tape does not flash real sounds across the aural screen. Rather, they are frequencies and distortions and mechanic onomatopoeia. Don't think of life images because electronic music removes the crutch in appreciating music which links all enjoyment to recognizing human experience contained in sound. On stage were William Al- bright and Jerome Hartweg, each surrounded by a barri- cade of percussion instruments. Albright maneuvered between piano, gourds and foot-played cymbals, while Hartweg played seven timpani, wooden chimes, snare drum, gongs, wooden logs and xylophone. Running around on stage they shared the duties of striking two huge gongs. By the end of the piece they both looked exhausted, for each had executed gymnastic con- tortions in stretching to reach every instrument. Their sense of rhythm and timing live up to the demands imposed by the computer-like score, but as the tempo grew faster and faster near the end, their occasional slips were reminders that there is indeed a difference between man and machine. Electronic music such as this is difficult to comprehend in any overview. Certainly it can evoke individual emotions by its piling-on of sounds and vol- umes, but to discuss it as mu- sic requires the perspective of "sound." Playing one sound against another, tone clusters. real and artificial, the compos- er derives form from harmon- ic contrasts and differentia- tion of timbres. Electronic music uses sound as an end, an inevitable, neces- sary combination of pure sounds. It is an attempt at pure expression which must be un- derstood in terms of form rath- er than content, since any rec- ognizable relation to human ex- perience is missing. The audience was smiling the whole time Kontakte was performed. At first I thought it was derisive laughter, but I found myself smiling, too. And it was because I was thrilled; each new sound was really new, demanding me to experience it, to attempt some kind of cata- loguing of sensations. In the 18th century when Bach tempered the chromatic scale, little did he know what would follow. His tw2lve notes passed eventually into myriad quarter-tones, and now have stretched into the infinity of electricity. Big sister: "Why don't you t ry (Channel 2) edited out part of a band-aid?" Pete Seeger's performance on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Situation comed:y stands or falls Hour" Sunday because station ex- on writing and the team of Bob ecutives felt a verse of one of his Fisher and Arth'ur Marx offers songs was in bad taste. very little. Their approach to sex The station inserted a comrner- is particularly disturbing. "Risque" lines, surprisingly tame by c- cial in place of the last verse of temporary thealre standards, are Seeger's anti-war song, "Big Mud- thrown in with a lee: and the cast d." Station WJIM (Channel 6), stands around snickering lamely another CBS-affiliate in Lansing while the audience sits around in carried the full song. embarassment. The play is smutty WJBK General Manager Larry in the truest sense. Carino said the decision to cut the verse, which is about President Ewell's talents are further hin Johnson, was "a matter of tasty." dered by a supportingr cast which, The song, Carino said, refers to despite impressive credentials, the President as "a big fool." seems to have come straight from He said the decision was in no a high school senior production. way political but that the cut was Michaele Meyers, psychiatris t made because the song was a slur Ewell's long-suffering wife. is in "on the office of the President of stiff contrast to Ewell's relaxed the United States." If a similar style. She suffers stylisticaLy, I situation arose in the future, sighs stylistically and is happy Carino said he would do the same stylistically, doing a b s o l u t e 1 y thing. nothing naturally. Considerable controversy was Lynn Bilek, as -The Teenrge raised several months ago when it Daughter who causes Impossible was learned that CBS has refused Years for her parents, is supposed to let Seeger sing the song on the, to develop during the course of show and had also censored sev- the play from Teenage Girl to eral skits with political references. Young'Wife. The only things she Carino said phone calls to the does to make the development station had been numerous and convincing is change clothes and predominantly opposed to the sta- lose her virginity. tion's editing of the song. He de- Connie Otto is the perfect pre- clined to disclose the number of cocious brat as the younger complaints the station had re- daughter. Unfortunately, she fails ceived. totally to develop beyond the con- Seeger's initial appearance on ventional stereotype of the role. the Smothers show last fall was Bearded William Tynan, who the first time he had been on has performed with the highly- television in over 15 years. In the acclaimed American Shakespeare early fifties, he was one of a Festival Theatre, seems to repre- ' number of na'tionally known en- The "DARLING" of "DOCTOR ZHIVAGO" networks during the McCa tily in- vestigations. At that time, Seeger was called to testify before a congressional investigating committee. When- ever any of the committee mem- bers asked him a question, Seeger would strum his guitar once and say nothing. Finally, the com- mittee members threatened him with being charged with contempt of c(,mimittee. His reply: "Sir, I have nothing but contempt for this committee." w"" " -- " ww""w"" """"w- " w"-- - "- w""""w" "" " - Thompson's PIZZA ' TH I S COUPON IS GOOD FOR I --off 50c off---- ON A MEDIUM OR LARGE ONE ITEM (Ok MORE) PIZZA COUPON Is Good Only Monday thru Wednesday, Feb. 26-28 'mww mm m wmmi "wmmm "rwwmwiwminmw" inimmmminwinmmm A YEAR AT TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY 1968-1969 An accredited program open to qualified American stu- dents interested in exploring the various aspects of life in Israel while earning academic credit. Programs For: JUNIOR YEAR -:- FRESHMAN YEAR Scholarships Available For Further Information Contact: The Secretary for Academic Affairs The American Friends of the Tel Aviv University, Inc. 41 East 42d Street New York, N.Y. 10017 MU 7-5651 NATONA ~EERA...COR.ORATION Read Daily Classifieds Ads r 4 DIAL 5-6290 f - - -- LAST CHANCE to buy one of your favorite albums or an album for one of your favorite people before you go home. All the violent beauty of ' Thomas Hardy's immortal love story! meets the "'GEORGY GIRL" Boy in the LOVE STORY OF THE YEAR! M ETRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER A JOSEPH JANNI PRODUCTION JULIE CHRISTIE TERENCE STAMP PETER FINCH ;;ALAN BATES #" THIRD WEEK NATIONAL GENER AL CORPORATION FOX EASTERN THEATRES S FO. VILL GE 375 No. MAPLE ,RD. *769'1300 MON.-THUR. 7 :00-9 :00 FRI. & SAT. 3:00-5:00-7:00-9:00-11:00 SUN. 1:00-3:00-5:00-7:00-9:00 DOORS OPEN-Mon.-Fri. 6:30 p.m. Sat. 2:50 p.m. Sun. 12:45 p.m. ADVANCE TICKETS: Sat.-Sun. 5:30-7:00 show Saturday only 7:30-9:00 show 9:30-11:00 slow U LYa LAST 2 DAYS-7:00 and 9:100 kI . PANAVISION . METROCM no Shows at 1:00-3:30-6:10-8:50 * Mats. 1.50; Eves. 1.75 MUSIC SHOP NO 2-0675 417 E. Liberty Just Past the AA Bank N I WINNER 7 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS! INCLUDING * BEST Picture * BEST Screen Play * OVER 21? Register to Vote STARTS THURSDAY-7:00 and 9:15 "LA GUERRE EST FINIE" - - - Today Thru Limited i 11 New Politics Party will provide Today Th ru ' Thursday Twin Classics En I Limited Engagement! core! ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS ... AFIEM 6 jIA I Richard Harris ONE SHOW ONLY "THIS SPORTING Starting at LIFE" 7:15 I a,.'e nn* * BEST Cinema Tog raphy* * BEST ACTRESS -Anne Bancroft- * BEST ACTOR -Dustin Hoffman- I v RIDES to and from City Hall Leaving the Fishbowl 9 A.M., 2 P.M. February 26, 27, 28 4 I * BEST SUPPORTING, -Katharine Ross- BEST DIRECTOR * -Mike Nichols- ACTRESS * q Wednesday) ~and' i - wfW,, tl aM *UI W Md iRE NTON- nodes oWARMt IIUM-1Y ARDW uPINK TECHNICOLOR* FROM WARNER BROS.-SEVEN ARTS See Feature at 1:00-3:00-5:00-7:05-9:10 SUNDAY Matinees are not continuous Order Your Daily Now- Phone 764-0558 I - -- - - - I E Wednesday is Ladies Day Continuous from 1 P.M. TOM COURTNEY "LONELINESS of the LONG DISTANCE RUNNER" j I 1' FRIDAY: "THE UNHIBITED" _! fJ CINEMA H1 TONIGHT CITIZEN KANE ICI OPENS TOMORROW EUGENE IONESCO'S n uuLinrr n JOSEPH E.LEVINE "AES MIKE NICHOLS LAWRENCE TURMAN P-ODIXTION 4 4 PETITIONS for plannin committee I THE GRADUATE I I I