THE MICHIGAN DAILY Friday, September 5, 1969 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Friday, September 5, 1 969 records Back to school bargains for the budget collector By R. A. PERRY Timed to coincide with the return of college students to campuses, Angel records has re- released this month a generous selection from their prestigious Great Recordings of the Century catalog. Although most of these recordings have b e e n contin- uously available, at least in bet- ter record shops, what marks this second coming with special distinction is the new price lev- el: these great performances shall now be available on Angel's budget Seraphim line. Economics aside - though certainly Angel's releases are a windfall for the penny-pinching student - these recordings rep- resent marvels of instrumental performance never encountered today. I do not mean that no contemporary pianist or harpsi- chordist can match the techni- que or sensitivity of a Schnabel or Landowska-it is all too easy to respond in a Pavlovian man- ner to these performances' pres- tige - but rather that Schna- bel and Landowska, and Edwin Fischer, Walter Gieseking, My- ra Hell, Alfred Cortot, and Fritz Kreisler all represent an atti- tude toward music and hence a musical style m u c h different from that which presides today. No doubt Charles Rosen can do things digitally that Schna- bel could not; no doubt Rafael Puyana may be as sensitive an artist as Wanda Landowska. The question concerns not sens- itivity but sensibility, the entire aesthetic ambient in which and the unspoken aim to which the artist strives. What marks cer- tain performances from the thirties, forties, and early fif- ties that are now available on Seraphim are qualities of un- derstatement and refinement of utterance that seek almost en- tirely to eschew rhetoric a n d aggression - two terms which apply very much to perform- ance style in the sixties. Idio- syncracies of interpretation, and there are many, never a r i s e merely for self-aggrandisement, a la Glenn Gould's Mozart. Present-day musical artists, having to perform in halls or open arenas of increasing Cecil B. DeMille scale, and having to compete with t h e decibel di- mension of other contemporary musical forms, more often than not strive to expand the con- tent and "message" of the mus- ic at hand. In the "Great Per- formances" mentioned m o r e specifically below, ther e is a salon intimacy where musical meaning comes not from the artists flash bravura but from a communication of the inher- ent sensibility of each musical phrase. It is difficult to know where to begin in Seraphim's releases, but Wanda Landowska's record- ing of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 26 ("Coronation") and Hay- dn's Harpsichord Concerto in D offers as good a vantage point as any. (Seraphim 60116) Lan- dowska was an artist of over- whelming subtlety b o t h in phrasing and in rhythmic ten- sion. Best known, of course, for her single-handed resurrection of the harpsichord and for her interpretations (some would say alterations) of Bach, Landow- ska was as accomplished on the piano, as she proves in this su- preme reading of t h e Mozart Coronation concerto. What is so impressive is not only the exquisite touch and the filigreed runs, but also the bal- ance of parts and the meaning- fulness of her phrasing. As for the balance of parts, one has only to listen to the opening of the larghetto movement and the perfect fulcrum between right and left hand. As for phrasing, it seems absurd to say that an artist can recreate the specific emotions felt by the composer as he penned each note and the succession of notes, but Lan- dowska really makes you feel that she accomplishes this task. How shallow -appears the pro- saic patina of a "gracious style" found in a Casadesus/Szell per- formance when held tip against the phrasing of Landowska, where each moment has crea- tive feeling. Haydn's Harpsichord Concer- to in D, a work of expectable wit and melody, may seem to the purist somewhat errant in Landowska's rendition: the less musicologically inclined will hear the same rubato skills and sparkling touch as in the Mo- zart. The orchestral forces used in these mid - forties recordings were small, and they sound ev- en smaller in reproduction; yet there is no distortion and Lan- dowska is reproduced clearly and with ample force. The ability to make each mus- ical phrase carry poetic mean- ing also belonged to Artur Sch- nabel. Schnabel possessed one of the most intelligent and com- municable musical sensibilities of the century, and his recorded performances of t h e complete Beethoven sonatas offer a com- pendium of supreme musical decision-making in process. For an instant, and perhaps there- fore too facile, appreciation of his art, listen to the opening of the Mozart Sonata. No. 16 in B Flat, K. 570, on Seraphim 60115. What in other pianists' hands emerges simply as a long linear phrase here achieves under Schnabel's fingers the effect of a pendulum movement; at the end of the rather long phrase there comes a very satisfying and almost spiritual sense of, return. Schnabel had this uncanny ability, more so than any other pianist I can recall, to achieve this eternal return in his play- ing, to carry some intuitive quality of the theme (or a lim- ited phrase) through the devel- opmental sections to the recapi- tulation. Listen to the two Schu- bert Impromptus on this disc for some very beautiful music- making. (Incidentally, Schna- bel's performances of the Op. 90 and Op. 142 Impromptus on LHMV-1027 have long been de- leted; if these two can be made available, Seraphim should re- lease the entirety of this impor- tant disc.) Also on this recital are Mozart's Rondo K. 511, Weber's Invitation to the Dance, Brahms' Rhapsody No. 2 and two Brahms Intermezzos. Although Landowska and Sch- nabel are both legendary, the cellist Emanuel Feuermann never received such renown, perhaps because he died at the age of forty in the midst of his career. Quite baldly put, no cellist in this century possessed such a complete command of his in- strument-not even Fournier or Casals. On Seraphim 60117 you can hear his remarkable control deployed in renditions of Schu- bert's Arpeggione Sonata (with Gerald Moore) and Beethoven's Sonata No. 3 in A Major (with Myra Hess), Most remarkable, and what so few even outstand- ing cellists can effect, was Feu- ermann's unified and continu- ous tone quality from the deep- est resonating bass notes to the sweetest, violinistic highs; there was never a break. The Schubert work gets a fantastic performance, spon- taneous without ever verging on the sloppy: a perfect balance of freedom and control. The Bee- thoven is also fine, but a certain constraint and perhaps stiffness intrudes. Nevertheless. Feuer- mann's recordings are all too rare, and at any price this rec- ord (previously available as an English import HQM 1079) should be in your collection. Two other single album Sera- phim releases include an an- thology of Great Voices of the Century, and a recital by Aksel Schiotz of fourteen songs by Carl Nielsen. Space limits ex- tensive comment, but some notice is warranted. The anthology of operatic arias by various legendary sing- ers (60113) is the same album formerly promoted by Angel as a $1 sampler. Highlights include John McCormack's Irish tenor in a cool rendition of Where'er You Walk from Handel's Se- mele, a Debussy song by Maggie Teyte, and Nacht und Traume of Schubert sung by silvery- v o i c e d Elisabeth Schumann. Aksel Schiotz had a lovely tenor voice which combined the earnestness of Bjoerling and the freshness of Wunderlich, and he devoted much of his vocal ef- forts to the art and folk songs of his native Denmark. The Danish composer Nielsen, born in the same year as Sibelius, has received recent, and alas post- humous, acclaim for his sym- phonies and concerti. The four- teen songs on this release (60112) are all lyrical and in- tentionally simple, since Niel- sen was attempting to refute the dramatic surfeit of emotion and composers. The album's effec- tiveness is lessened by an ab- DIAl 8_6A16 "ONEOF THE BEST PICTURES I'VE SEEN THIS YEAR!" srmim Gi, te N*v lor "A PICTURE OF DISTINCTION!" -Saturday Rei., "FASCINATING!" --Time Mopazino R. LEE PLATT msws A RAYMGM STROSS PIN1UCTION ... STARRING RITA TUSHINOHAM ii IA? JiCNRl to.MN M I t Ui !Rk aim, MI II * ALSO* "IMPORTANT! POWERFULI" - NEWSWEEK MAGAZI14E "CERTAINLY THE MOST EXCITING AND MEANINGFUL -FILM IN YEARSI t -LIFE MAGAZINE THE REVOLT THAT STIRRED THE WORLD! SHOWS AT: THURS.-FRI. 7:15 ONLY! SATURDAY and SUNDAY Battle of Alqiers 1:15-3:10-9:05 Leather Boys 3:15 & 7:10 P.M. -Daily-Larry Robbins Wanda14( Ll(Inotvslk -Daily-Larry Robbins finan tmel Feuern n Macbeltto open APA fall season sense of texts: a synopsis of a song is no substitute for a bi- lingual translation. No record- ing dates are given; they are desired since Schiotz's voice quality is not consistent throughout. Seraphim has also released four three-record sets, one de- voted to "six chamber music complexity of late Romantic masterpieces," one to "six leg- endary pianists," one to "six concertos" featuring said leg-- endary artists, and one to Hans 'Hotter's singing of Schubert's Die Winterreise and Schwange- sang. These shall be discussed in a future review. TONIGHT ELLIOT, KUPELIAN, PECK ELECTRIC JAZZ at MARK'S 9:30 $100 605 E. William CD1RCLE BOOKS Zei., Yoga, Taroi Alche-niy. Astrology. Theosophby ITarot, l vcPara~psyhology 215 S. SrA IL . ,.2nd Floor L 10 P.M. 769-1583 Pilot Program Presents SIDNEY POITIER in R AISIN IN THE SUN at .ALICE'S RESTAURANT Alice Lloyd Hall TONIGHT 8:30 P.M. 50C The eighth consecutive APA fall festival will open September 16 with a new version of Mac- beth, directed by Ellis Rabb, artis- tic director of the company. Sept. 16 The festival, will run from Sept. 16 through Oct. 26 will also feature Noel Coward's Private Hopw0ood announced Over $325 in awards were given in the summer Hopwood contestj in creative writing. The awards were presented August 21, by Ro- bert Haugh, chairman of the Hop- wood committee. In the essay division a $75 awards was given to Katharine Davidson, a 1969 graduate of thej education school for "Joyce's Role as Narrator in Ulysses." James Dalza, a senior in the engineering collage won the $75C fiction award for "The Hooker." Awards totalling $175 were granted to three entries in the poetry division. Jane L. Sprague. a graduate student in special edu- cation won the top prize of $75 for "One Winding Road," Sister Ingrid Peterson, grad, won $50 for "Moments of Sun," and a $50 award w as g-iven to JeffreyI Roadmar, a literary college fresh- man for "The Plastic and Plexi- glass." NEW YORK TIME DETROIT F1 WALL S Lives, and the American premierj of Michel dc Ghelderode's T h e Chronicles of Hell. Rabb's version of Macbeth is a last minute insertion to the program after its successful stag- ing this summer at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. This pro- duction replaces the previously scheduled The Time of Your Life. Sada Thompson, winner of the Obie Award and the Vernon Rice Award will play Lady Macbeth, Richard Easton, who appeared with the repetory company last year, will portray Macbeth. Broadway star' Tammy Grimes and the British actor Brian Bed- ford, will star in a revival of Coward's Private Lives. Stephen Porter, who directed last year's APA productions of The Show Off and The Misanthrope, w il l direct this production. The American premier of The Chronicles of Hell, will be the second production of the F aI I Festival. Patrick Hines, former leading msmber of the American KI IShakespeare Festival, will portray the corrupt prelate. The produc- 662-4241 740 Packard 662-4251 tion will be directed by John Houseman, who staged the APA production of Pantagleize in last year's festival. vn WEL COME BACK STUDENT After the Fall F'estival in Ann Arbor, the APA will begin a na- tional tour of colleges and univer- sities. Individual and series tick- ets are currently on sale at the (with Student ID.) Professional Theatre Program SHIRTS 33c Ticket office in Lydia Mendels- n Hangers or Packagedwith Dry Cleaning Order sohn Theatre. Ho n hru Fri.7:30 a.m. to URpSm. Coin Operated Laundry Open MEE PREonS. Saturday 7 :3 0 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Sun. 7:30a.m. to 11 p.m. TREET JOURNAIL WHAT IS THE -an all-campus orchestra!uo -sponsored by MUSKET and G&S! -performing 3 hit shows! DON'T MISS THE MASS MEETING SEPT. 15, 8 P.M.,-ROOM 3A-UNION UNIVERSITY THEATRE ORCHESTRA WINNER! ACADEMY JAWARDS INCLUDING BEST ACTRESS KATHARINE., HEPBURN ' .J. 'The Lion in Winter" is about love and hate between a man and a woman and their sons. It's also about politics, vengeance, greed and ambition. In other words it's about life. WINNER! NEW YORK FILM CRITICS BEST PICTURE OF THE YEARo! Delivered Daily and Sunday to All University Dormitories. Morning paper delivered before 7:00 every day. 11 £lhletih ii 'cpapurrService 668-6911 for information and subscription - - - - - - -~ -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BIC YCL E SALE 60 USED BICYCLES C iurmivl antamLar % "Seasons hange" OR The Baille of Chicago presented on the first anniversary of the Chicago Police Riot. This response to Mayor Daley's Telecast shows what really happened last year in Chicago. ALSO: LAUREL and HARDY "The Second Hundred Years" KEYSTONE COPS N I JOSEPH E. LEVNE " -"ANAVCOEMBASSYFILM P TER O'TO[E u. a - !KATHARIN 1-I :PW1DMI I i L _I .