Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Saturday, May 10, 1969
PageTwoTHE ICHGAN AIL
-- --urd .ay . 1. 196W I
I
records
As vast as 'Antartica'
By R. A. PERRY
Contributing Editor
Most soundtracks of music
from films are banal, meretrici-
ous affairs that at best briefly
evoke the film scenery; how
many people who have seen
,201 can henceforth hear Thus
Spake Zarathustra and not vis-
ualize Stanley Kubrick's cos-
mology? Mendelssohn't Mid-
summer Night's Dream is for-
ever woven together in my mind
with Max Reinhardt's vaporous
film. Even "Tara's Theme,"
drummed into the brain like
subliminal Musak, brings to the
mind's eye the technicolor
slaughter of the Civil War. A
film score has its day, and then
recordings are dumped into the
bargain bins at K-Mart, treas-
ures for the nostalgic minority.
Yet a few outstanding com-
posers have composed for the
film, men like Erich Korngold,
William Walton, and Ralph
Vaughan Williams, and even
when we lack the intended vis-
ual counterpart, their music
aline often possesses the po-
tency to conjure our own per-
sonal pictorial scenery.
The ability of a good film
score to stand ondits own it at-
tested by a vividly performed
and stunningly recorded per-
formance, newly released by
RCA, of Vaughan Williams'
Seventh S4mphony, his Sinfon-
ia Antartica. Written in 1951-
52, the symphony draws sub-
stantially from Vaughan Wil-
liams' score to the film "Scott
of the Antartic," a movie that
narrated the -couregeous con-
ception and feat of Robert
Scott's tragic trek to the South
Pole. With a thoroughly English
penchant for the Hero as En-
durer (remember lyirs. Minni-
ver?), Vaughan Williams pro-
duced a musical panorama that
glitters in precise pictorial detail
tail of setting and revels, with-
out wallowing in the larger nat-
ural forces that transcend the
individual acts of men.
The Sinfonia Antartica is di-
vided into five movements, each
introduced by a brief verbal
superscription (here read by Sir
Ralph Richardson) that indi-
cate in a loosely poetic way the
general programmatic intent. If
Vaughan Williams lacked the
philosophic penetration a n d
conqqmitant anxieties of Mah-
ler, le did command- just as rich
a palette of instrumental ef-
fects; these immediately appear
in the opening "Prelude" which
establishes both the vastness-
wonderfully suggested by spac-
ious orchestral sonorities and
a wordless women's chorus-
and also the more specific de-
tails of nature-such as the
glittering of icicles-that are
embedded in the monolithic
Antartic environment.
Against this backdrop, a
scherzo movement explores the
fauna ("There go the ships and
CE j
FRIDAY and SATURDAY
The MALTESE}
FALCON
dir. John Huston, 1941
STARRING
Humphrey'Bogart
Mary Astor
Sidney Greenstreet
Peter Lorre
there is that Leviathan"), and
subsequently the music returns
to the basic fact of the barren,
frozen, hostile landscape. Or-
gan and wind-machine are used
effectively throughout. A fourth
movement, introduced by a
quote from Donne ("Love, all
alike, no season knows, or
clime . ) reflects upon the
human hopes of Scott's com-
rades, men who found at the
Pole that Amundse had just
preceded them and who real-
ized the unlikelihood of com-
pleting the return across the ice.
In the fifth movement, the
fading i vigor but unflagging
courage of the men is suggested
by a march tune that becomes
sumsumed by the landscape
themes of the "Prelude;" a con-
cluding soprano vocalise (such
as Vaughan Williams used in
his Third Symphony) finalizes
the snowy remoteness.
Such blatantly programmatic
music, predicated on human
ideals and musical manners that
perhaps smack too much of Vic-
torian earnestness, may seem
dispensible today, though really
music only seems "dated" when
it still poses a threat. Indeed,
certain critics and advocates of
more exploratory musical modi
operandi look upon Vaughan
Williams-along with such fig-
ures as Rachmaninoff and Hin-
demith-as conservatives un-
willing or unable to face the im-
plications of the avant-garde.
Peter Yates, in his important
and imperial book Twentieth
Century Music, said of Vaughan
Williams: "he lacked that auth-
ority of uncompromising genous
which would have d r i v e n
through to create music his
countrymen might have , re-
jected."
Rejection, a certain badge of
honor to Yates, would only have
indicated to Vaughan Williams
a failure of communication that
would be as much his fault as
the audiencese's. This English
composer was a staunch advo-
cate not of the international
avant-garde but of nationalism
in music, and he believed that
universality only came after a
composer realized his identity by
totally and intensely absorbingi
his own national consciousness.
Sinfonia Antartica is in theme
and presentation thus very Eng-
lish, but its powers of pictorial-
ization can be appreciated by
any imaginative listener.
RCA's release features Andret
Previn conducting the London
Symphony Orchestra, and there
is no competition save an old
;mono recording by Boult. I
Our neurotic /"anti-Communism
complex" getsa penetrating
analysis in this "hard-hitting
report [which] traces the
history and growth of anti-
Russian and anti-Chinese
policies...and suggests more
intelligent alternative actions
for the future."*
AnD-
"Couism
A Report Prepared for the Peace Education
Division of the American Friends
Service committee
$4.50; paper, $1.50
10 HILL & WANG
72 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10011,
- h~sW~
found this Previn/LSO per-
formance marvelous from every
standpoint: instrumental tex-
tures clean and crisp, tutti
forces shaped into awesome but
controlled fortes, a non-self-
aggrandizing devotion to the
evocative potential of the music
itself.
The stereo sound, and I do
not say this perfunctorily, is
splendid: transparent, bass rich,
and with a depth of field (es-
pecially necessary for wind ef-
fects) lacking in too many
modern recordings. This RCA
release augers well for the
promised Vaughan William ser-
ies from Previn and the LSO.
I am very enthusiastic about
another new RCA release, an-
other "travelogue" of sorts, but
by no means a film score. Bert
lioz's Harold in Italy needs little
introduction. Inspired by a read-
ing of Byron's Childe Harold,
Berlioz sought "to put the viola
in the midst of poetic recollec-
tions left me by my wanderings
in Abruzzi." The resulting viola
concerto effects a program less
specifically pictorial than per-
fumed by vague reveries. The
orchestra provides the setting
and the viola expresses the per-
sonal response of the Wanderer.
Walter Trampler, probably the
best violist alive, turns in a
wonderfully sensitive viola per-
formance on a new RCA record-
ing (LSC 3075). His identifica-
tion with the expressive senti-
ments of "Harold" seems com-
plete, convincing, vital and
totally fresh. Like Glumiaux,
cthis artist throws away not one
phrase; his instrument truly
becomes a voice of the poet.
George Pretre conducts the
LSO with equal sensitivity and
precision, although he does not
come near Colin Davis' whip-
ping up of startling, chthonic
forces in the "Orgy of the Brig-
ands" movement.
The fine recorded sound ap-
propriately features the viola, so
much so that now, along with
Casals moaning, S e r k i n 's
stamping, Gould's humming,
and Toscanini's singing, Tramp-
ler's sinuses are forever immor-
talized.
theatre
Junior Light Opera:
The realPeter Pan
By WALLACE IMMEN
If you think that only Mary Martin can play Peter Pan, you
will be pleasantly surprised by the current production of the Ann
Arbor Junior Light Opera,
The play, originally staged to highlight the versatility of Miss
Martin, takes on an intriguing new direction when produced with
a real boy playing Peter and some new dramatic twists.
In this version, a more sensitive portrayal of Peter and a
stripping of some of the play's excess lineage makes for faster-
paced and more substantive action.
The junior light opera's company, consisting entirely of local
talent ranging in age from 6 to 16, presents a delightful evening's
entertainment in spite of, and even aided by, their amateur status.
Their sheer enthusiasm made up for some of the lack of tech-
nical polish. For instance, no professional could have put half as
much excitement into the flying to Neverland as did Layman Allen
as Peter. He whirled and soared, sometimes out of control, but
kept on singing. His tune was virtually drowned out by applause,
Mr. Allen's voice range, however did not match his acting ability
and he at times missed the high notes which were written for a
soprano voice.
Christopher Metas was a traditional Captain Hook, in the style
of Cyril Richard, right down to his well-modulated sneering laugh,
Richard Emmons as Smee and the rest of the motley pirate chorus
played fine comic relief. What the Indian chorus lacked in talent
they made up for in sheer noise.
Peter Pan is a fantasy and so one has to use his imagination
to get the full effect. The scenery, designed by David Emmons, is
true to that spirit; it suggests, and lets the imagination do the
rest. One particularly good effect was a slow swaying of Hook and
the pirates to simulate the rolling of the ship.
Technical problems in lighting and scene changes at times
detracted from the performance, but Tinkerbell should be able to
flash on cue in future performances.
Three separate casts are presenting two performances each. A
matinee on Saturday begins at 1:30 and an evening performance
begins at 8:00. Sunday shows are at 1:30 and 4:30. Tickets are
available at the door.
f
The incredible
string band will be appearing on the only American tour this year at Ford Auditorium in Detroit.
They will present one concert at 8:30 p.m. next Friday.
dance
Plan West Park
dance concert
I'
The Ann Arbor Dance Theatre
will present five new dances
and a revival at a major con-
cert scheduled for early June in
the West Park bandshell.
The company now numbers
about 30 dancers. They meet
regularly on Mondays from 8-10
p.m. at the Ann Arbor High
School auditorium.
The June concert may also
include a sculpture display by
Richard Turner and a live music
performance by Jerry Hartweg.
A University dance student,
Dana Reitz, is creating a new
group dance called "Vision" for
the concert.
Both Taya Bergmann and
Sylvia Turner are also choreo-
graphing new group works for
the concert. Elizabeth Weil
Bergmann will return to Ann
Arbor Dance Theatre to produce
a new solo and perform in other
works.-
In addition, Phil Stamps has
been commissioned by the dance
theatre to choreograph a new
group work for the concert.
Ann Young's "Caracole" will
also be presented in a revived
version which has been enlarged
to include the men who have
joined the company.
Other summer activities are
also being planned by the group.
The company this year has
undergone what its president,
Ann Woodward, calls a "tre-
mendous resurgence" due to the
active participation of an "un-f
precedented" number of able
dancers and choreographers.
Dance classes are provided by
the company, taught by Stamps.
Order Your Dail
y
Now-
Phone: 764-0558
10 No Deposit 'FREE service
per month Required and delivery
' CallUU
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Tuesday: 8:30
THE NEW SCHOOL COLLE65E
I is the senior college of the New School for Social Research, an urban university
# located in Greenwich Village with all of New York City for its campus. There
4 e.' are three main New School units. One is the Graduate Faculty, a leading center
Ra in the Social Sciences that offers training to 2,400 masters and doctoral students
~ 4 :' under scholars like Economist Robert Heilbroner, Political Scientist Saul K.
Padover, and Philosopher Hannah Arendt. A second is the New School evening
division, which provides a vast range of courses, workshops, and lectures for
some 12,000 New Yorkers annually, and-serves as a major cultural center for the community-at-
large with programs of concerts, films, modern dance and art exhibitions. The newest unit is the
NEW SCHOOL COLLEGE
an undergraduate program, limited to 500 students. The College offers a two-year program for
students whto have already completed their sophomore year elsewhere, and who are interested in
earning their B.A. with emphasis in humanities or social science; in a program which considers
undergraduate education important in itself.
Instead of lectures, every class in the College is designed as a seminar, with about twenty students
sitting around a table to learn through participatory discussion. Instead of textbooks, the student
confronts the actual works produced by great minds of the past and the present-Aristotle and
Sartre; Freud and Erikson, Sophocles and Pinter. Marx and Marcuse, Shakespeare and Picasso,
Joyce and Antonioni. Instead of requiring its teachers to engage in specialized research and publi-
cation, the College has a faculty whose primary commitment is to teaching, and it frees them from
extrinsic demands so that they can concentrate their talents on the instructional program. Instead
of taking a collection of unrelated courses, students take i Divisional Program-a set of courses
designed by the faculty to fit together into a total educational experience. And instead of a-major,"
each student pursues his own Individual Study Program, in which he investigates, in considerable
depth and over a two-year period, a problem of his own choosing under the guidance of a tutor.
The student takes three year-long courses during his first year and two year-long courses during
his second. This constitutes his Divisional Program. The rest of his time is spent in Individual Stud-
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at Hillel-1429 Hill Street
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THE DIVISIONAL PROGRAM: Unlike most
colleges, we are not divided into specialized
departments like English, History, or Psychol-
ogy. We have only two Divisions-the Humani-
ties and the Social Sciences. The entering
student normally elects to study in either the
humanities or the social sciences, but may
choose to work in both.
The significance of this unorthodox Divi-
sional structure is twofold. It means that the
student takes courses at an advanced level that
are genuinely interdisciplinary rather than nar-
rowly specialized. And it means that the student
is free, in the Individual Study portion of his
program, to investigate a problem that defies
the boundaries of conventional departments,
perhaps cutting across philosophy and drama,
or psychology and economics.
THE HUMANITIES: The humanities com-
prise all the creations of man-in music, paint-
ing, and literature, in history, science, and
philosophy. Yet at most colleges, a student who
wishes to study these creations at an advanced
level must limit himself arbitrarily to the study
of a single kind, and even to a single country
or period. There is no "department" at most
colleges that will allow him to major in both
Thomas Mann and Dostoyevsky, both Pinter
and Proust. And even when he limits his study
to one of these figures, the intellectual tools
that he requires for exploring the ideas of that
writer in depth can only be acquired by taking
courses in still other departments-philosophy
or theology or psychology. Similarly, a student
who majors in the conventional philosophy de-
partment cannot develop, within his specialized
courses, the aesthetic sensitivity that he needs
to penetrate fully the philosophy of thinkers
such as Plato and Nietzsche and Heidegger,
whose philosophic visions are expressed by
means of image, myth, and dramatic action no
less than by rational discourse. It is for these
reasons that our study of the humanities is in-
terdisciplinary rather than fragmented into de-
partmental "majors."
We have designed a set of courses that fit
together into a comprehensive investigation of
the creations of man. It is possible for us in
a single course to juxtapose a treatise by Kant,
a novel by Barth, and a movie by Godard in
order to deal fully with the problem under in-
vestigation. The emphasis is less on assembling
information about particular works than on/"
discovering the methods of understanding and
appreciation that can be applied to any work.
The goal is to provide tools of analysis that
will extend the student's insight into the hu-
manities when he pursues his own Individual
Study.
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: The most worth-
while research in the social. sciences tends to
involve two or more specialties simultaneously.
Schumpeter was an economist, but Capitalism,
Socialism and Democracy is .,is well philo-
sophic, political and historical. Myrdal is an
economist, but The American Negro draws on
many fields. Arendt is a philosopher, but To-
talitarianism is historical; sociological and psy-
chological. And current efforts to understand
such diverse phenomena as the underdeveloped
nations, fascism, poverty, and hippies look to
all of the social science disciplines. We have
therefore constructed an upper-level program1
THE INDIVIDUAL STUDY PROGRAM:
One-quarter of the junior year and one-half
of the senior year are reserved for individual-
ized study. The student pursues his own spe-
cial interests under the guidance of a faculty
tutor and by means of the analytical tools he
is developing in the Divisional Program; his
work generally culminates in a written paper.
Some students form ther own seminars or en-
list members of the faculty to offer special
courses; others take courses from the vast
programs, graduate, undergraduate, and adult,'
available at the New School for Social Re-
search-courses taught by such visiting special-
ists as Paul Douglas Rollo May, Bayard Rustin,
Leslie Fiedler, Lee Strasberg, Allen Ginsberg:'
and others choose to work independently of
any course structure, under the direct super-
vision of their tutors. The possibilities for In-
dividual Study are initiated by the student
himself and limited only by his imagination
and intelligence.
THE INTER-DIVISIONAL CORE: At the
center of the Divisional Program are the
courses in which students and faculty from
both of the Divisions come together for inter-
sive collaboration on common concerns. Per-
haps no other aspect of the College embodies
as radical a departure from the dominant
trends in American education as this one, which
we call the Inter-Divisional Core. Its purpose
is to discover new intellectual arts for dealing
with the problems men confront when they
try to know and act. We conceive these in-
tellectual arts as modern adaptations of the
old "liberal arts," whose original function was
to "liberate" men from old ways of seeing
and doing.
The readings in these courses are drawn from
all the areas of knowledge-humanities, social
sciences, natural sciences, and philosophy. They
are selected to shed new light on some of the
fundamental issues underlying all knowledge
and activity, issues like the relation between
fact and value, theory and practice, subjec-
tivity and objectivity, thought and action. In a
rigorous and serious manner, the courses in-
vestigate questions like these: Are there "arts"
-of discovery-intellectual strategies for hitting
upon new solutions to problems? Are there
any "hard facts" in the world-facts that can't
be altered by the perspective from which they
are.viewed? Is there a method for making one-
self into an innovator rather than a passive.
transmitter of outside forces?
THIS PROGRAM is now three years old. It has
drawn students from over 300 colleges and
universities throughout the U.S. Although it
emphasizes the value of education for its own
sake, substantial numbers of its graduates have
been admitted to top-ranking graduate schools.
Tuition and fees are $1700. Most of the stu-
dents live in private quarters near the School.
We do not provide housing. We have no gym-
nasium. Only teachers, students, classrooms
and books.
------mamummmmmm ---mmmm
;
NOW!
''3 mindeamn.rv mulm-
DIAL
8-6416
_T2 Irv.TlbTra
tmMalladwy
A onemrarymsc-
film....Captures the
pop musical willingnessp
to hurl yourself into
things without all the
action stopping
self-consciousness of
an earlier generation.!t
-Renato Adler,
New York Times
"Yeah, the camera
iade love to the
Monterey Pop Festiva[
...a beautiful, well-
done, OK-fantastic-film,
doing what a film should and rarey'
does do, by taking anreal-life event
and creating a living form, another
reality...'ve just seen a film that's
worth seeing. 72 minutes of what music }
can do and what a filmmaker with
some heart can do."
-Lita Eliscu, East Village Other
IWhat is your mind-blowing level?
A guitar being raped at a pop festival?
Something more substantial, like Ravi
Shankar tearing loose with a dazzling
display of musicianship? So much
-- - -------n m m-m
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Admissions Office
THE NEW SCHOOL
COLLEGE
NW S.L OR C RSmCH
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