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