,1 Page Two Rostropovich charms on a classical theme THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, January 16,,1972- THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, January 16,. 1972 . I Airplane grounded as Heavenly Blue fly Alice's Film Series ULYSSES U based on the novel by James Joyce SUN. 7 & 9:30 Admission $1.00 New Public Health Auditorium on Washington Heights near Markley Dorm .R :- .i+:.:7::."'. '.'.%.v., 2. . ......... . .... .-.. n .. '.' ? . GR". By DONALD SOSIN Mstislav Rostropovich is the. greatest of living cellists, but in his program in Hill Auditorium last night sponsored by the Uni- versity Musical Society, he most often turned his superb musi- cianship to music that probably isn't worthy of his efforts. This is not to say that an Adagio by Bach, or Beethoven's Variations on a theme from The. Magic Miute are not charniing pieces, or that the Richard Strauss Sonata in F does not have its worthwhile moments, but there seemed to be a lack of substance to most of the music, The work that came closest to giving a feeling of some real depth was the concluding offer- ing, the Sonata in C by Proko- fiev. Written for Rostropovich, the piece juxtaposes harsh, bit- ing themes with sauve, lyrical ones in a manner familiar to those who know the composer's ballets and late symphonies. Most effective was the scherzo- like second movement, reminis- cent of folk themes (like Dix- ie!?) and children's games. But the first and third move- ments both e n d e d rather strangely, off on a tangent from the main direction in each case. This left the impression that the sonata as a whole was not up to the high standard that Prokofiev reached in many other works. Rostropovich and his accom- panist, Alexander Dedukhin, did the piece ample justice, though, more than had been the case a week ago in New York, when Vasso Devetzi assisted. At that time there was a real lack of collaboration between the per- formers. Last night things were better; actually ensemble-wise Order Your Subscription 764-0558 things