Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Saturdav. March 21. 1970 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY adS a.1..rdov MnreIiI- I I,1L 17 rI ./ r V ,, theatre A shoddy guide to chea pie Lps Rp By ANN L. MATTES Broadway has corrupted the imagination. As soon as you hear the words "rock musical," visions of light shows, nude dancers and other such gim- micks are bound to erupt.. Last night's Shoppin', a campus orig- inated rock musical, did not sue- sumb to commercial enterprise., Written and created by Rich- ard Lees and Stephen Welkom, Shoppin' displayed many levels of creative theatre. From the opening set, the stage was a constant source of intriguing vignettes, shifting smoothly by means of a turntable. While individual sets. remained simple, often no more than a bed, door and piano, the actors were be- decked in bright colored cloth- ing and assumed wierd char- acterizations. John Lubens, as Mark ("The Prophet"), and Ned Gershenson as Bennie were bit player highlights. John Slade offered a rather well chosen interpretation of the main character, H., who is like any other guy on campus except that he tends a bit more toward the philosophical. Chris Lahti, his tragic partner "M," never seems to believe in her role and comes off as something quite less than a real person. However, part of the blame must be placed in the writing. In her several appearances, Chris sel- dom completed a sentence, and I think if you tallied the aver- age length of the words she did, speak, they would average about' one syllable per word. Not that monosyllables can't be used ef- f'ectively, but when "H" and "M" hold a prolonged conver- sation in a vertical bed and never convey a thought, the ab- surdity becomes transparent. Members of the Floating Opera, among them Steve Wel- kom, performed on the upper deck of the stage. The group, popular in Ann Arbor, offered excellent musicianship through- out. While at times the volume threatened excess, there were on S-oppin' I no amp distortions or mike feed- back to contend with. Artie Alinikoff's final drum solo re- ceived a round of applause when extended to the entire band, but had been held back, politely, until then. Director Doug Sprigg should pick up the pace in the opening and subsequent sets that involve the main "actors. After the steady rhythm of the band, these performances seem excep- tionaly drawn out and distorted. The question of the relation- ship between the music and the drama always comes up in a musical. In Shoppin' a fragile balance is achieved. The drama did not seem written to string together a number of incon- gruous songs. Nor could there have been the plot without the. music. In this way are the two =Daily-Thomas R. Copi harmonious - an artist must live in two worlds: the world of existence and the world of per- formance. On stage "H" lives in his world of silence, broken only by the intrusions of voices and noises from "him" in the closet. Above stage is his world of performance, music that drowns out the silence. Only at one point do the two worlds meet, and that is when "H" grabs the mike from lead singer Steve Welkom At this moment the life of Prof. Kenneth Rowe's play- whiting class, the parties of the Floating Opera and the private lives of the audience all blend. But the product is not a tragedy as the subtitle (An Electric Tragedy) would suggest. It is a discovery that really finds the worlds merging together. A local book store recently held a sale on cheap classical records; the prices were in- credibly low and the crowds un- usually large. The store manag- ed to unload hundreds of record- ings on the Period label to peo- ple who had obviously never heard anything on the Period label before; those who had, knowythat Period discs almost always sound as if they were pressed on cheesecloth. T h e store also passed off, onto the unwary, opera recordings on the Cetra/Everest label, a label known for half-way decent per- formances presented in distor- tion-laden sonics. Indeed customers need more information on recordings - information no longer provided by the once easily accessible "listening booth". It would seem then that Her- bert Russcol's new book, Guide to Lowpriced Classical Records (Hart Publishing, $2.95 in paper- back), would be a highly desir- able item, especially for stu- dents. Unfortunately, Mr. Rus- scol, who has played French horn in the Boston Pops and has contributed articles to High Fi- delity and House and Garden, has written a really stinko book. One can forgive, perhaps, the fact that the book is only semi- literate; a symphony is declar- ed "listenable," and Peter Frankl's playing of some De- bussy piano works is called "en- tirely hearable." "Madame Nov- aes," Russcol comments, "is at- mospheric." Such excruciatingly illiterate glibness could be for- given if only Russcol had ac- complished the practical ends of his manual. One could also pass over such stupidities as calling Beethoven's "Moonlight" Son- ata one of "the 100 classical compositions played most fre- quently by modern orchestras," if only Russicol evinced actual experience with the records he evaluates. When we read about Ravel's Pavane Pour Une In- fante Defunte on Vox 9220 that "Horenstein's direction (of the orchestra) is lively, but the play- ing is indifferent," and we know that the work is actually per- formed there by solo pianist Vlado Perlemuter, we easily lose confidence in Russcol's involve- ment in his task. Certain problems with such a compendium cannot be thrown at the author's feet. Any cata- log of records becomes outdated the month following its publi- cation, and thus some absences from this book's listings are un- avoidable. Nevertheless, t h i s problem can be serious. For in- stance, Russcol lists only one Shostakovitch quartet as being available on a budget label, when actually they are now all available in excellent perform- ances by the Borodin Quartet on the Seraphim label. (Actually, Russcol lists two as 'available, but -the Quartet No. 8 will only be found listed under Borodin- as the flip side of the Borodin D major - since the author has forgotten to relist it under Shostakovitch.) Even granting the problem of new issues, Rus- scol still did not include all that was available to him; he lists only Werner Haas's vol- ume of Debussy piano music, for- getting Frankl's on Vox and De- mus's on Musical Heritage So- ciety. In this book, composers are listed alphabetically, and their works arranged as in Schwann - with certain erratic excep- tions. Eachcomposition receives a brief introduction (e.g., of Geminiani's Opus 2 Concerti Grossi: "this is conservative, un- eventful, unimportant writing, modeled after Corelli.") Then follows a listing of the available budget versions; each entry gets one, two, or three stars - one star signifying "acceptable," two stars meaning "recommend- ed," and three stars equated with "the best at any price." Following this listing, each en- try is very briefly discussed. It soon becomes apparent from Russcol's comments that t h e star system is exceedingly arbi- trary. For instance, in regard- ing Evelyn Crochet's outstand- ing Vox Boxes of the complete piano music of Faure (wonder- ful music, seldom heard), Rus- scol comments that the playing is "elegant" and "kinetic" and goes on to quote critic Harris Goldsmith as saying that he "could hardly conceive of these interpretations being bettered." Yet, for some inexplicable rea- son, only one star is placed next to Miss Crochet's name. Other examples abound and contribute to the lack of rigor in Russcol's star system. Of Toscanini's performance of Respighi's Feste Romane, the author notes: "comfortably be- yond challenge," yet only awards it two stars. In regard to Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy, Russcol lists Kogan's perform- ance (forgetting Rosand's on Vox), calls it "brilliant," b u t gives it two stars. Some of Russcol's preferences must also be challenged, though one is here dealing with much more subjective matters of per- sonal taste. European conduct- ors such as Jascha Horenstein, Hans Rosbaud, and Vaclav Ta- lich never'receive their due ac- colades, while more familiar conductors on the American scene, of lesser stature, get rank- ed well-up on the author's list- ings. Somehow Horenstein is almost always "out-classed," a favorite word of Russcol's. Typi- cal of all the problems mention- ed above is the entry of the Ko- gan-Barshai-Rostropovich p e r- formance of Beethoven's String Trios Nos. 1 and 3, Opus 9, on the Artia label. Russcol calls is "well-played," and "worth hav- ing just for the exciting cellist Rostropovich;" he awards it, however, one star. Actually, this recording is one of the most exciting performances of cham- ber music to be had at any price; the trio achieve a con- tinuous level of inter-communi- cation while maintaining their individual musical personalities -a feat especially rare when each performer is a virtuoso soloist. Yet, for all of Russcol's fact- ual errors, redunduncies, mean- ingless evaluations, and obvious periuries of his true inexper ience with a number of re- cords, the book still will help many student record collectors now that listening booths no longer exist to serve the public. Mr. Russcol does indicate that Szeryng's renditions of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin on Odyssey are a tre- mendous buy, that Bach's St. Matthew Passion under the baton of Mogens Woldike on Vanguard is an outstanding edi- tion, and that Toscanini re- cordings sh oul d be acquired regardless of monophonic sound. Although Mr. Russcol's book is a very shoddy product, it may still serve, for those over- whelmed by the absurd market- BACH cinema Wishing it had been Ularooned' ing practices of today's record companies, as a guide of some use. Cinema V Great Director's Festival STARTS TUESDAY Tues., Wed.-Mar. 24, 25 FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT'S "The Soft Skin'- JAN NEMEC'S "Oratorio for Prague" Thurs., Fri--Mar. 26, 27 "Alexander" MILOS FORMAN'S "Firemen's Bail" Sat., Sun.-Mar: 28, 29 PETER SELLERS' MASTERPIECES "Heavens Above'- "I'm All Aight, Jack" Mon., Tues.-Mar. 30, 31 SHIRLEY CLARKE'S "Cool World'. MICHAEL ROEMER'S "Nothing But A Man" Wed., Thurs.-Apr. 1, 2 JOSEPH LOSEY'S "The Accident" MICHAEL TRUMAN'S "The Model Murder Case" Fri., Sat.-Apr. 3, 4 BO WIDERBERci'S "Elvira Madigan' KAREL REISZ'S "Morgan' Sun, Mon.-Apr. 5, 6 CLAUDE BERRI'S "The Two of Us' BRUCE BROWN'S "The Endless Summer' Tues., Wed.-Apr. 7, 8 ROBERT DOWNEY'S "Putney Swope" BOULDING BROTHERS' "Rotten to the Core" SPECIAL FESTIVAL TICKETS Tickets may be purchased at regular prices at the time of the show, or in advance in blocks of 8 tickets for $10,00 - these ad- vance tickets can be used at any show. You may come to see each of the eight double fea- tures, or bring yourself and a friend to only four, or any way you like. Advance sales now through Wednesday, March 25 SFIRTH AV NUS AT LIDURTY DOWNTOWN ANN ARBOR INFORMATON 761-9700 I SKI ARGENTINA!I SIGN UP FOR THESE TRIPS: ARGENTINA: Aug. 15-Sept. 1 (about) $460 TUCKERMANS RAVINE} N.H.: April 25-May 5 (about) $25 ALTA, UTAH: April 28-May 10 (about) $150 Get More Details MON DAY, MARCH 23 7:30 P.M IN THE UNION CLUB PRESENTS THE BACH CLUB ENSEMBL E in its Second Annual Concert PROGRAM: Selected Movements from Sonatas for Violin and Piano..........J.S. Bach Piano Concerto in D Minor.............J.S. Bach INTERMISSION Three Short Pieces ............Randolph G. Smith (dedicated to Ruth Pierson) Concerto Movement for Piano Fantasia for Piano ( **WORLD PREM I ERE'**) Sonata Movement for Flute, Violin, and Cello (***WOR LD PREMIERE*** ) Concerto in A Minor for Flute, Violin, Piano and Strings.......J.S. Bach JENNIFER BURKARD, Conductor SUNDAY, MARCH 22-3 P.M. East Quad South Lounge (E. Univ. and H ill St.} ADMISSION 75c 2nd EXCITING WEEK-ENDS MONDAY S By DONALD KUBIT Along with the plastic astro- nauts free in every box of your favorite cereal and the NASA T-shirts your little brother re- ceived for .Christmas, Marooned is a movie attempting to cash in on the aura of America's space program. However, it has become obvious that spaceshots are no longer inherently excit- ing. We have b e e n saturated with America's progress in this field; days and even weeks of thorough television coverage which has created an. a i r of disinterest. Marooned, which uses docu- mentary elements, as well as a touch of science fiction, never really develops into anything that could be classified as "thrilling" and instead appears as an elongated Mattel' com- mercial for Johnny Space Pilot. ' The story deals w i t h three astronauts, w h o after a five month mission in outer space, discover their ship has failed them and they are unable to re- turn to earth; thus setting the stage for a fantastic rescue plan. Throw in the reactions of their courageous wives, and the frenzy of preparing such a res- cue in only 42 hours (before the astronauts oxygen supply runs out) and you have a film that is supposed to keep the viewer on the edge of his seat, but of- fers little in the way of tension 'or drama to keep him there. The cast is filled with many competent names, but with lim- iting roles they are puppets go- ing through the motions with a -dialogue as inspiring as "Roger Wilco, over and out." Gregory Peck, as the head of the space program, relies on the omniscience of t h e computer. Believing that accidents are in- evitable and even ,necessary for the program's future, he is hard core and willing to shrug off the entire incident as a statis- tical error. Only a phone con- versation with the ' President (concerned over the American image and worried about public outcry) and the persistent opti- mism of one of his associates (David Jansen) that the rescue mission can work, alters the chief's staunchness and puts the gears of the plan in motion. Of the three astronauts, Gene Hackman does the best job as a man who cracks under the pressure. James Franciscus is the whiz kid of the trio, continuing work on his Ph.D. thesis while the oxygen runs out. His "devotion to truth" seems a bit inhuman, but his ability to keep calm changes the ,fate of the crew. Director John Sturges, who also did "Ice Station Zebra", has apparently neither lost his fasci- nation for glittering machines nor improved his inability to develop the human condition be- yond the point of hollowness. Marooned is long, over two hours, and in order to keep peo- ple interested for that length of time, you have to literally knock them out of their seats. Unfor- tunately, during this movie you're lucky if you can sit through it without adjusting your position at least f i f t y times. Part of the reason Maroon- ed fails to make the grade could be related to a change of atti- tudes, away from the fascination of the American space program to more important national in- terests. The producers of t h e film have even put in a plug for continuing space explora- tion at its present rate, in order to shoot for the stars. Marooned does indeed make an attempt to reach the moon and beyond, but comes to a screech- ing halt before it even gets off the pad. Thank God the Fox Village has good popcorn (and com- fortable seats) otherwise, it would have been a totally dis- appointing evening. V 47I- UNIVERSITY REFORMED (HURCH East Huron at.Fletcher (behind Rackham) I /1A CAMILA SPARVl OWNHILL RACER .niw .JAMFS SALTFR ncm e-DR -AAmwr wrov r- o IFTH P rUM Sun.-7:10, 9:00 FIPYi IEN$E At IBERTY DOWNTOWN ANN ARBAO" Fri. . 7:E 9,FR T:57 INOMTO 6.70 Fri. & St. 7: 19, 11 :50 n4 NEW MUSIC FOR ORCHESTRA SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 8:00 P.M. Hill Auditorium CONTEMPORARY DIRECTIONS ENSEMBLE "The last wr in thrillers. T 1, --Gone Shalit, Look Magazine 'I GERALD PLAIN ROBERT MORRIS aCHATtaNOOgaCHOO Sydney Hodkinson, conductor Wireless Richmond Browne, conductor SUNDAY 10:30 A.M.-"Those Hopeless Situations" CALVIN S. MALEFYT speaking 5:30 P.M.-Collegiate Supper 7:30 P.M.-Concert-Hope College Chapel Choir, Holland, Michigan 11 i UNIVERSITY PHILHARMONIA I I e ,p TAIE HELD OVER! 2nd WEEK SHOWS AT: 1:00-3:00-5:00 7:00 & 9:10 P.M. I 11 AI 14 I NOMINATED FOR 9 ACADEMY AWARDS I I I . . t # "BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR" -National Board of Review A-! - 0.1 I I at .'U:,. 4 * '" '"' ' 'i '., "