Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesdov. Auoust 5. 1969 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday ~ f auo~iu411 1969--if- rv, .-- I. records Some good Scriabin i cinema Mailer, and 'Weekend' RADICAL CAUCUS General Meeting 4r I By R. A. PERRY Contributing Editor Hot upon the reels of the Mahler, Neilson, and Vaughan Williams revivals has come new interest in Alexander .Scriabin. Scriabin's bi- ography, written by Faubion Sowers with the kind of prolix assiduousness that Newmann granted Wagner, as recently been published by Kodansha, and music magazines have been quick to carry articles pointing out how relevant Scri- abin is to our times. If Mahler expressed the angst of the modern age, then Scriabin, so the story goes, expresses our new penchant for mysticism, sensuality, and even pre-packaged psychedelia. After all, didn't Scriabin, believing he was attuned to the Music of the Spheres, score the, first sound-and-light show? Certainly Scriabin (1872-1915) considered him- self a visionary capable of translating spiritual truths, truths based on his intuitively-felt res- onance with both the heat of the skies and the heat of his loins, into a synaesthetic music ex- pressing the highest, and deepest of man's emo- tional reaches. Yet, despite his public proclama- tions and personal scandals, Scariabin's music, like all music, can never accurately express a mystical experience ("The way that can be told is not the constant way"); it can only, like Tm Wolfe's prose in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, create a mood or feeling redolent of the real thing. Unlike words, music has no literal sig- nificance other than its own glorious sound, and if in mystic yearning it tries to be too specific, it ends up sounding as pompous and fatuous as Oliver Messiaen's Et Exspecto Resur- restionem Mortuorum. Thus, for all of the literary strivings to in- flate Scriabin's music beyond its musical terms, the composer's works are very much of a style and period. His piano music stands between the emotional directness of Chopin, whom Scri- abin idolized, and the poetic diffusion, of Faure. At best, Scriabin's piano music sounds wonder- fully spontaneous and ecstatic; when least ef- fective, it appears random both in composition and in idea. The 12 Etudes, opus 8, were composed when Scriabin was in his early twenties, and perhaps only the Etude in D-sharp minor indicates the ambition to escape into more spiritually potent realms. The other Etudes are lyrical pieces of. varying dramatic weight and most of them are quite beautiful, quite joyful. These pieces have been recently recorded by Morton Estrin on Connoisseur Society CS 2009, and although Estrin is hardly a well-known pianist, his disc .should receive attention. It seems that Estrin made a highly successful Town Hall recital in 1949, and then decided to teach piano rather than concertize. There are, of course, numerous outstanding pianists on con- servatory faculties, but few record companies care to invest in unknown names and in men who do not sell records by playing the circuits. In any case, Connoisseur 'Society, whose cata- log depends largely upon,the magnificent pianist Ivan Moravec, is the type of independent con- cern brave enough and idealistic enough to' record such artists. Estrin's playing is both "natural" and tech- nically skilled. The quality of his pianism ranks high in poetic impulse, structural clarity, and intellectual command of the material. He does not treat these works as mere show pieces for his own self-aggrandisement, but rather ren- ders the lyrical line that evinces the work's co- herent poetry. He does not lean too heavily on these works, as Hilde Somer did in her Mercury recording of various Scriabin piano pieces, and the music breathes much more freely. Scriabin's orchestral music is less well-known or recorded than his piano music; only the Poem of Ecstasy has had any real attention on records or in the concert hall. For that matter, his orchestral music was ill-received in his own time. His First Symphony was hooted down, and his Second Symphony, completed in October, 1901, was called "Scriabin's second cacophony." Columbia has just released the first recording of this latter work (MS 7285), performed by the London Philharmonic under Georg Semkov, and it makes the premiere reception seem but another example of critical ultra-conservatism. If anything, the Second Symphony is unbe- lievably eclectic, a pastiche of Franck and Wag- ner, a flaccid work whose potency is vitiated by an aimless gesturing. Yet, although the sym- phony lacks the incisiveness and fervor of Sria- bin's best piano music, it is not pedestrian. It has many passages of lyric beauty, and though too circumambulatory to hold unswerving at- tention, it establishes a convincing poetic and dramatic ambient. Containing spasms of viril- ity, it represents truly the detumescence of Romanticism. The performance and recording are fine, without being remarkable. Anyone who has cared enough about my opinions to have read these reviews for the past three years has by now realized that I consider Arthur Grumiaux to be one of the most mar- velous violinists playing today. From his early Epic recordings with Clara Haskil to his present recordings for Philips of Bach, Schubert, Berg, Mozart, and Beethoven, he has been constantly sati'sfying. His taste and technique are impec- cable, and he is more attentive to the demands of phrasing each note than'any other violinist I have heard. He equals the young Szigeti. Consequently, his new recording of Mozart's First and Fourth Violin Concerti can be recom- mended unequivocally; Grumiaux's tone is clean, thin, singing, and never breaking; his phrasing is, as always, never perfunctory (an oxymoron, but true). Colin Davis elicits from the London Symphony the kind of articulate accompani- ment usually associated with Szell. This disc is available as Philips PHS 900-236. Grumia x also offers a new reading of the Beethoven concerto, with Alceo Galliera con- ducting the New Philharmonia. (PHS 900-222) I am less enthusiastic about this version, though it can easily be said to be one of the best avail- able. Grumiaux is just a bit too detached, and the performance lacks the final touch of cred- ible drama and infeeling that made his old Epic recording with Van Beinum (deleted) so out- standing. At first glance, Columbia's MS 7251 seems to be a bargain; it offers on one disc both the Brahms Double Concerto and the Mozart Sin- fonia Concertante. In the Brahms, Isaac Stern and Leonard Rose team up under Ormany and the P.O., and in the Mozart, Stern and Walter Trampler follow each other while the London Symphony tries valiantly to follow Stern's in- attentive conducting. Both versions have been available before and both are top hard driven, too sloppy, and too insensitive to compete against numerous performances which respect the music and not merely the players. By FARGO N. DAKOTA Even if Norman Mailer's Beyond the Law had a redeem- ing plot line, the shaky camera work and out-of-focus close-ups which have been a trademark of cameraman D. A. Pennebaker would make it an outstanding movie to avoid. The film is4 basically a look inside a pre- cinct at some detectives inter- rogating such characters as an axe murderer, a man who has urinated in the subways, some motorcycle freaks, and a couple of ladies of the street. There are several fine, though brief, jobs of acting although George Plimpton is heavy-handed as a Lindsay-Kennedyesque m a y o r who drops in on the station to check out reports of brutality. At first it is refreshing to break away from Hollywood un- reality to slam-bang black-and- white close-ups, but this movie will very likely give you a head- ache from physiological brutal- ity upon the eyes. I can not be- lieve that Norman Mailer has nothing to say-he is just un- able to get it across; he pre- sents only a grhiny, tedious pseudo-documentary of police brutality behind the station walls. Beyond the Law is a flimsy film and a waste of your. time. The notorious Jean-Luc God- ard's Weekend has f i n a 11 y made it to Ann Arbor and is simply a magnificent film. As usual. Godard is concerned with epic themes such as man's sla- very to his possessions, i.e. the entire bourgeois way of life. And if the characters occasion- ally give you -a direct lecture about politics, you can somehow let Godard get away with it and not feel that your intelligence has been insulted (though this may have some -psychological i Eternal fools The April Fools is another capital 'H' Hollywood love story which you could enjoy if they either left out the stereotypes (lines, characters, and plots) or added a few new stereotypes. Jack Lem- mon is a standard Jack Lemmonish character, Howard Brubaker. who has just gotten a promotion and is seen klutzing his way about his boss' jet-set party, The Boss is played by Peter Lawford, whose wife is played by Catherine Deneuve. Jack's wife is back home in Darien, Conn. as Catherine Deneuve fondly watches him blunder about the scene. Jack and Cathy go out together and almost miss a good thing because he is so spineless, but a wise middle-aged astrologer (female) helps ring them together: it is hard to believe that as worldly a woman as Miss Deneuve would need or heed such advice. Lemmon, Deneuve, and Lawford play their roles beautifully, but the roles are stale. Lemmon starts out as a character who is too sappy for anyone to bear; even through he effectively portrays the increased strength of character the love affair has given him, writer Hal Dresner tries for too abrupt a change in character. It would have been totally believable had Lemmon asked to go to Paris with Miss Deneuve when they were parting after their first night together (without even sleeping together) and she used her eyes to tell him how much she wanted him to be strong and go away with her. In fact, it is unbelievable that anyone could fail to be seduced by her eye movements. But Lemmon is unable to make the big leap until he talks to his outrageously uncaring wife. Similarly, Lawford is confined to being a skirt-chasing negligent husband, who can not even lie about loving his wife when she is about to leave, but only talks of how they do not need love since they have "attraction" and she is so beautiful. There is no conflict for either Lemmon or Deneuve to leave their spouses-there is never any doubt that they will. The April Fools is a Hollywood romance where the lovers are oh-so-good and their mates are totally wrapped up in themselves. When you realize how much all three stars could carry off in a half-way meaningful story, it is painful to see them assigned to pasteboard characters who have to wander through "the jet-set party" and "the discotheque" and "the romantic mansion." In the last half-hour Jack Weston, as Lemmon's lawyer, ap- pears as a superb drunk-pointing up the cost of missed opbortuni- ties, since he once had an extra-marital affair which failed. The increasing pace is seemingly going to lead to something other than what it does-more stereotyped lines and a stock ending. There is no question about the story being a romance, but the humor varies from television situation "faux-pas" comedy (where Lemmon tries to use a phone booth at the party which is actually a sculpture) to tragi-comedy when a very drunk Weston imagines that a car belongs to his old girl friend who has come back to get him; the Shifts in humor are uneven and unbalanced and we are never quite sure what level we are meant to take the love affair on. link-up with the fact that we receive the lectures via sub- titles). We. can listen with intense interest to everything Godard has to say because he presents his stories and ideas with a fresh vibrancy. Weekend has lots of blood and many surreal- istic episodes, but Godard does not depend upon the action alone-he is famous for his vis- ual presentations (as well asj dialogue) and uses a fluidly moving camera and brilliant eye for color to make a very powerful movie. Godard uses whatever shots or dialogue suit his fancy; he is still very self-I conscious of being a film-maer and repeatedly has actors in the film remind us that they are in a movie, but these reminders are not detrimental and trod- ard's pleasure is, more than of- ten enough our own. The movie's plot is about P husband and wife who are out on a drive and are also waiting for the wife's parents to die so they can inherit their. fortune. The bulk of the movie concerns their trip, but lest this give you the impression of a banal story- line, suffice it to say that a. highly amusing God appears during the story as a desperado hitch-hiker, the husband setsj Emily Bronte on fire, and yet the film is e V e n ly paced throughout. In one scene, there has been a tremendous car crash with bloody bodies hanging about the wreckage and the screams of one of the victims hanging in the air. The undaunted wife has escaped the crash unharmed and is dismayed over the loss of her Mercedes purse. It is sur- prising that Godard can criticize modern man so openly without allowing us to have our per- sonal "brilliant" insights into his message, and get away with it, but we must laugh at the violence, cruelty, and blindness of everyone because the exag- gerations are so sadly close tok the truth. When God as the hitch-hiker mentions Christ as being a Communist, we laugh at Him because of our conception of "pinko-commie Red men- aces", because this mad hitch- hiker has given such a false label to Christ; we are shocked when we realize that we did not immediately recognize the truth of the statement because of our fixation with labels. With a combination of burles- que, surrealism, and pure fan- tasy, Godard blasts the twen- tieth century personality of man-although he hardly shows a group of hippie-clothed an- archists as being any better, since they are heartless canni- bals. Godard presents his mes- sage directly enough for every- one to understand, while using inspired film mechanics and a bizarre enough story to enter- tain everyone. Therefore,ewho- ever you be, you should find Weekend well worth your time. 8:00 N A^I'NL'eENERAL CORPORATION LA ST TIMES TODAY FOX EASTERN THEATRES VILL E00-3:15-5t5 375 No. MAPLE RD.-.769-IO73 "-o " : 30-:5 * STARTS TOMORROW * WA LT DISNEY productions' ... the masked bandit TECHNICOLOR' lse DISNEY TECHNICa OR eyv DIAL NOW e8-6416 A Film by NORMAN MAILER presented by Grove Press "fit has guts, humor, and a1eh atv"-CUE PLUS 2nd FEATURE GROVE PRESS PRESENTS JEAN-LUC GODARD'S WEEKEND STIARRING MIREILLE DARC AND JEAN YANNE. if _________ ------u TON IGHT Rm. 3529, S.A.B. RADICAL FILM SERIES presents The official British entry at the Venice Film Festival 1965 goodtimes,' wonderf4ullimes, Produced and Directed by LIONEL ROGOSIN 0 CINE FORUM at Venice 0 FIRST PRIZE at Leipziq Film Festival Good Times, Wonderful Times "SATIRIC. THRUST at the smugness complacencv and stupidity of people who do not grasp the an~gulsh, horror and desolation that may be caused by war and warmongers.", Crowther, N.Y. Times Good Times, Wonderful Times IRONIC AND Good Times, Wonderful Times "A PROVOCATIVE, IMPORTANT MOVIE to stir the conscience. You owe it to' vourself to experiejpce this sardonic powerfully - conceived f'rilm" Wolfe, Cue Good Times, Wonderful Times " A CALL DAILY OFFICIAL BULLETIN Day ,Calendar TUESDAY, AUGUST 5 Audio-Visual Education Center Sum- mer Previews - Volcano Surtsey: Me- kong (Edited Version); and How Solid is Rock: Multipurpose Room, Under- graduate library, 3:00 p.m. Degree Recital - John Peterson, or- ga n: Hill Auditorium, 8:00 pm. University Players - Michigan Rep- ertory 69 - The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster: Lydia Mendelssohn The- ater, 8:00 p.m. Dept, of Political Science w i ll be showing films on the French-Canadian situation at 7:30 p.m. in the Multi- purpose Room, Undergrad. Library. Dis- cu~sion is to follow. eoneral, Notic.s Summer Commencement Exercises August 10, 1969I To be held at 2:00 p.m. in Hill Au- ditorium. All graduates of t h e 1969 spring-summer term may attend. I Reception for graduates, their rela-: tives and friendsin MichiganLeague Ballroom immediately following t h e ceremony. Please enter League at westI entrance.; Tickets: Four to each prospective grad- uate, to be distributed from Monday. July 28, to Friday, August 9, at Diploma Department, 1518 L.S. & A. Building, except on Saturday, August 2, when of- fice will be closed. Academic Costume: May be rented at Moe Sport Shop, 711 North University Avenue. Orders should be placed imme- diately, and MUST be placed before July 19. Assembly for Graduates: At 1:00 p.m. in Natural Science Auditorium. Mar- shals will direct graduates to proper stations.. Programs: To be distributed at Hill Auditorium. Announcements: There will be a lim- ited number of graduation announce- ments for sale at the Information Desk, IFirst Floor Lobby, LAS. & A. Building. Candidates who qualify for a doctor-- al degree from the Graduate School andI Who Attend The Commencement Ex- ercises will be presented a hood by the University as part of the ceremony, Foreign Visitors Week, of August 5-12 The following foreign, visitors can be reached through the Foreign Visitor Division of the Visitor and Guest Re- lations Office. Rooms 22-24, Michigan, Union. Telephone: 764-2148. Dr. Albert Butros; Chairman, Depart- ment of English, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. August 4-7. Dr. Der Margossian, Director of Eng-j lish Language Studies, Erevan State University, Erevan, Armenia. Aug. 5. Dr. Hoshmatollah Niayesh; Dean of Student Affairs, and Chairman, Depart- ment of Engineering Graphics and Ma- chine Design, Ayra-Mehr '}Technical University, Teheran, Iran. Aug. 6-10. Dr. Hossein Ali Anvari; Professor of! Electrical Engineering, Ayra - Mehr Technical University, Teheran, Iran. Aug. 6-10. Dr. Kazem Kormi; Chairman, Depart- ment of Mechanical Engineering, Ayra- (Continued on Page 3) - - - - - - . -- - - - -- - ~a >v a s v 1 ai tii c THE SCHOOL OF MUSIC and DEPARTMENT OF ART present Nicolai's opera "The. Merry Wives of WlinIdsor" (in English) August 15, 16, 18, 19-8:00 P.M. LYDIA MENDELSSOHN THEATRE All tickets $3.00 Mail orders accepted, Make checks payable to the University of Michigan." Send self-addressed, stamped envelope to School of Music Opera, Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. Box Office opens Monday, August 11, 12:30-5:00 P.M. ii sin s repor anW iI1ELRisU to action, a worning and a punch it is difficult to ignore RoRo- in the soft underbelly of society. abrasive thought-provoking Rocosin has managed briliantly t of contemporary society to set the present world teetering the film is Shattering." on the stem of a Martini., !t Carroll, Doily News should be seen." Newsweek WED., AUG. 6th-7:00, 8:30, 10:00, 11:30 P.M. Admission 75c CANTERBURY HOUSE-330 Maynard I: 41 rl The University of Michigan Gilbert.& Sullivan' Society. is now accepting petitions 11 W, STUDENT CONTROL OF STUDENT MONEY THROUGH U. of M. STUDENT CREDIT UNION for Fall 1969 Scheduled Production: RUDDIGORE November 19-22 i I Organization and Election Meeting North Campus Commons Tuesday, August 5th, 7:30 P.M. BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP: -PERSONAL LOANS -SAVINGS ACCOUNTS Petitioning for: Producer Director -CHECK CASHING --CONSUMER INFORMA TION -RETURN OF ALL PROFIT'S THP11 Musical Director Set Designer Costume Designer 1 n- II i