Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Tuesday,, Apri 18, 1969
Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, April 8, 1969
records
The MoralForce of en Berliner
By R. A. PERRY;
Art, said Wyndham Lewis. is
a series of enormous prefer-
ences. In the visual arts and in
literature, the choices of the
artist or writer compose one set
of preferences and the response
of the audience a second set.
One of the facets of music that
make that branch of the seven
arts so fascinating is that the
performing musician, while try-
ing to express what be believes
were the composer's intentions,
inevitably adds the preferences
of his own sensibility.
A great musician will either
convince you of the "rightness"
of his choices, or at least
(which is no easy matter) in-
volve you, the listener, in the
decision-making process itself.
Rudolf Serkin's recent Univer-
sity Musical recital proved him
to be a pianist in the first cate-
gory. Even if one disagreed with
certain details -- such as the
tempo of the Waldstein allegro
4- one could not help but be
astounded by the unflinching
confidence with which Serkin
planned his assault and carried
it out. Yet, granting his fan-
tastic digital prowess and ap-
plauding the gorgeous colors
that emerge through the prism
of his fist, one could never say
that Serkin lets you experience,
in his pre-packaged and gift-
wrapped presentation, the pro-
cesses of his thought.
To really experience that sec-
ond type of greatness, which in-
volves you anew in repeated
listenings, one should turn to
a pianist such as Claudio Arrau.
A Chilean by birth and a Ber-
liner by choice (if not, as his
pianism indicates, by sensibili-
ty), Arrau is 66 years old and
has played the series of Beet-
hoven piano sonatas more often
that did even Schnabel. His ex-
cellent reputation is firmly es-
tablished; in Europe, but in
America his presence has been
less known.
Philips Records has just re-
leased, supposedly for the first
time in this country, a set of
discs on which Arrau reveals, a
view of the Beethoven sonatas
that he has evolved over fifty
years. On PHS 3-907, Arrau
theatre
I
plays the Appassionata, Pathe-
tique, and Waldstein Sonatas, as
well as sonatas No. 22, 24, 25,
27, and 30.
Just as Glenn Gould's oc-
casional liner notes mirror that
pianist's stress on clarity and
structure, Arrau's notes (he is
preparing a new edition of the
sonatas to be published in Frank-
fort) reveal a German tradition
where themes have Moral Force
and structure emerges from con-
tending emotions. His piano
playing is marked both by -an
intellect not struggling with
architecture (Gould) but with
Idea, and also by a great
strength that finds its best out-
let not in cantabile passages but
in dynamically evolving develop-
mental passages. At all times
ther exists the honest sense of
spontaneous searching to which
Serkin seldom admits.
For instance, in the opening
Vivace of the Sonata No. 30,
Schnabel -opts for pure song,
and the very plastic rendering
of the development happily c.d-
mits back that altered but still
singing theme; Arrau is re-
strained in the opening 'bars
and likewise underplays its re-
turn-for him it is what hap-
pens between these moments
that offers fascination. More-
over, his liner notes corroborate
that for him such lyrics, except
in completely light sonatas such
as No. 24, are spiritual ,oases,
needed for nourishment, but not
to be dwelt upon when the true
Drama and the Struggle of
Beethoven's searching lie be-
tween such moments of elation.
If Arrau's essentially "Sturm
und Drang" approach elicits any
negative feelings, it is only in
'the Allegro Vivace, of Sonata,
No. 24 and Inthe Presto ally
Tedesca of No. 25. In these
movements of charming sim-
plicity, Arrau's touch is light
enough but he does not display
any real sense of gaiety.
His rendition of the Wald-
stein Sonata is marvelous. By
not taking the opening Allegro
Rent your
Roommate with
a'Classified Ad
at the breakneck speed that
Serkin attempted (a n d of
course, pulled off), Arrau in-
volves you in the issues without
losing any of the internal
febrility of the movement.
Most pianists treat the Adagio
introduction to the final Rondo
as a mere resting place. The use
of a slow prelude to finale fire-
works was well-liked by Beet-
hoven; witness the Malinconia
movement of the Sixth Quartet.
Nowhere, however, does Beet-
hoven delve simply and yet so
deeply as in the adagio intro-
duction of the Waldstein. With
a great deal of pedal,, Arrau
aptly suggests Beethoven's grow-
ing interest in purely timbral
considerations shorn of explicity
poetic content.
What is so exquisite in this
Sonata No. 21 is the way that
Beethoven's perhaps most beau-
tiful melody emerges - "like a
benediction" says Arrau-out of
this unconscious brooding. It is
indicative of Arrau's approach
that, more than any other
pianist I have ever heard in this
piece, he weights the left hand
as much as the right in this
floating allegretto beginning,
hinting early at the contrasts
that become exploded in the en-
suing Rondo.
I am not saying that in Ar-
rau's interpretations you will
find any complete resolution of
problems; merely that Arrau of-
fers readings of inordinate spon-
taneity and vigor, readings that,
because they are not perfectly
congealed, yield up new dis-
coveries with each hearing.
Philips has provided for the
three records a full piano sound
with bright highs and very iich
bass. They have also, unfor-
tunately, enshrined on the ,inyl
an appreciable tape hiss and
other occasional rude sounds. A
flip of the filter switch, if you
have one, should delete most ,of
the extraneous noise. An at-
tractive booklet with cogent
notes by Arrau is included.
CINEMA 11
Tuesday, April 8
LOUISIANA
STORY~
dir. Robert Fleming
AUD. A-ANGELL
7-9 P.M. 75c.
1m------- COUPON -----m..
THOMPSON'S
' PIZZA.
f 761-0001
Ie
1'100 OFF 1
I Ori a large one item (or more)
pizza. One coupon per pizza. 1
Pick Up Only
* 211 E. Ann St.-Next to
the Armory
Expires April 15
DAILY CLASSIfIEDS
BRING QUICK RESULTS
I
Arru:r The process of an Idea
- q
Arel, Ja'play
in, French, Spanish'
The Michigan Daily, edited and man-
aged by students of the University of
Michigan. News phone: 764-0552. Second
Class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michi-
gan, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor,
Michigan 48104. Published daily Tues-
day through Sunday morning Univer-
sity year. Subscription rates: $9 by
carrier, $101 by mail.
7I
Program Infgrmation 662-,~6264
SHOWS AT 1, 3,5,
7 and 9:05
Tomorrow-LADIES DAY
Ladies Pay Only 75c
Until 6 P.M.
SHADES, OF
"CAT BALLOU"
SHADES OF HAWKS'
"RIO BRAVO" AND
"ELDORADO"
Great Western Humor!
----:
By ANN MUNSTER
Jean Anouilh's Ardele will be
performed by a group of French
students tomorrow and Thurs-
day nights at 8 p.m. in Lydia
Mendelssohn. The Spanish stu-
dents plan a more classical play,
Vorrilla's Don Juan Tenorio this
weekend.
Both plays const-itute part of
the Romance language depart-
ments' ongoing effort to bring
foreign language theatre to Ann
Arbor and to give language stu-
dents the opportunity to exper-
ience theatre in other lang-
uages not merely as literature
but as dramatic works to be
produced. '
Ardele will be the fouth in a
series of highly successful
French plays, which began in
1966 with a performance of
Sarte's Les Mouches.
Ardele is one of Anouilh's later
and more avant-garde plays. It
is a "dark comedy," a delicate
mixture of farce and tragedy
which relies heavily on a sense
of the grotesque.
The plot is a love story about
two hunchbacks and the farc-
ical attempts of the woman
---
(Ardele's) family to prevent her
from eloping with her lover. The
story would be sad, except that
the characters are downright'ri-
diculous.
The theme is the conflict be-
tween an idealistic conception of
love and a despairing visionof
what love is in the real world.
The farcical elements in the
play continually bring out the
discrepancy between the, two.
The tragic outcome is ,expressed
in terms of farce, with a double
suicide taking place at the most
farcial moment.
The presentation of catastro-
phe through farce represents a
significant trend in the develop-
ment of contemporary French
theatre. Farce bears the burden
of a dark and despairing view of
life. Laughter is viewed as the
appropriate accompaniment to
catastrophe in a dark and de-
spairing age.
Ardele is also living theatre
in the sense that it relies heav-
1y on audience participation.
The laughter of the audience in
response to this mixture of tra-
gedy and farce is a test of An-
onihil's despairing vision.
I
r
DIAL 8-6416
Wednesday Ig LADIES DAY
MACPHEN MEL
MOON PICTURE
"FACES"
is
"ONE OF THE,
YEAR'S
10 BEST!"
-Judith 'Cgist -ilNew York Times
'FACIES"
Is
"A PHENOMENALLY
GOOD PICTURE!"
-Newsweek.
DIAL 5-6290
ENTERTAINMENT "a re-
markable story . .. an experience.
C I if f Robertson's performance
could not bet better."
-WINSTED, N.Y. POST
ACADEMY AWARD
NOMINEE
BEST ACTOR-
CLIFF ROBERTSON
TECHNICOLOR
TECHNISCOPE
"SO ABSORBING AND
SO GOOD THAT ONE
IS HELD FROM
BEGINNING TO END."
-COMMONWEAL
I
t
i
i
{
I
I
i
s
I
4
i
4c
I
I
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING:
TO ST. MATTHEW
Tuesday-April 8th (today)
7, 9, and 1 1 P.M.
IIIRWT ( lYOU3B
330 MAYNARD
Come if you wont-
Pay what you can
RESISTANCE
PASOLINI
SPONSQRS:
(Italian Marxist)
)Xdlok O#j
769-1593
I
I
605 E. William
"THE STRUGGLE"
D. W. Griffith
Hal Skelly, Zita Johann
TUES., WED., APR. 8, 9
8:00, 10:00 75c
Read and Use
Daily Class f ied s
1
_.,
There will be discussions about, resistarce after each
showing (basement of Canterbury)
I
:OmM
A
-~ '
3020 Washtenaw, Ph. 434-1782
Between Ypsilanti & Ann Arbor
NOW SHOWING
FEATURE TIMES
Thurs., Fri.
7:00-9:00
Sat, Sun., Mon., Tues.,
1 -3-5-7-9
Hopwood Lecture
Peter De Vries, Novelist
Author of:
THE TUNNEL OF LOVE, COMFORT
ME WITH APPLES, THE MACKEREL
PLAZA, THROUGH THE FIELDS OF
CLOVER, THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB,
THE CAT'S PAJAMAS, WITCH'S
MILK, and others. Member of the Na-
tional Institute of Arts q nd Letters.
Frequent contributer to THE NEW
YORKER.
(I
I
"FACES"
Is
"A MILESTONE! A
FINE ACHIEVEMENT!"
-Judith Crist
ANDY'S AN
EX-MARINE y
TURNED -
PREACHER-.IN......
THE WACKIEST E P CH Lif
EVTERTANEN!
ENERTANEN! AUNIVERSAPICTURE,TECH NICaLUR;
Peter De Vries
"EXPLORING INNERSPACE"
Announcement of Hopwood Awards for 1969
will follow the lecture
Wednesday, April 9, 8:00 P.M.
Rackham Lecture Hall
5
>EPTEMBER 16-28
SARO
YAN'S
I I
.I
ROMANCE LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT
Presents, In French,
-II
JOHN CASSAVETES'
FACES,
READ AND USE
DAILY CLASSIFIEDS
I
I
ffuI4
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
LI
i
Another delightful APA revival of an American clasic.!
SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 12
Ghelderode 's
"A whiff of satanical sulphur"
by the author of the APA hit "Pantagleize"
I
"
"
..
Directed by John Houseman
"
OCTOBER 14-26
Gogol's
f Theii Directed b
~~jI *S tfl ephen Pot
111 t
n.nmm
y
rte r
A
& "Ai
W
I