THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursdov. Februarv 4. 1971 whti .uv, 1cvkrU~t ', 417 1 1%'' I records images Beethoven in '70: "YOU MUST S OPEN .J .SHOWS 11:W-3:101 5-P9 .M V.v EE THIS FILM!" - Richard Schickel, Life ACK NICHOLSON rivg "ROTATE 5th Week PIECE, STATE Theatre COLORa 231 S. State DIAL 662-6264 -Daily-Jim Judkis University Baroque Trio: Living up to expectations By DONALD SOSIN Perhaps the major difference in the concert by the Festival, Winds Tuesday, and the Univer- sity Baroque Trio's performance last night was one of expectation. One attended the former with hopes for some very professional playing, considering the repu- tations of the members. The Baroque Trio's offering, on the other hand, lived up to ex- pectation, proving that a relaxed atmosphere can be created with- out sacrificing quality. There is something about baroque music which enables one to play it or listen to it for hoursand not become bored. It has the simplicity of (pardon me) Muzak without the latter's ter- rible cloying and uttter mindless- ness. There is definitely sub- stance to it, but it is more like wading than honest-to-goodness scuba diving. Thus, in the various works presented, by Arne, Bach and his well-known son, Carl Phillip Emanuel, Leclair, and Telemann, one was not interested in trying to comprehend the depths of the composers' souls. One could sim- ply listen and enjoy. The stars of the evening were Florian Mueller, oboeist, and Nelson Hauenstein, flutist. They worked extremely well together and almost /always were the phrasing and dynamics of one duplicated by the other, a con- siderable improvement o v e r their counterparts in the Festival Winds. In matters of tone there was no comparison. Kaplan's strident sound may simply be a result of his schooling, but what- ever the case, it does not blend well, and that is adprime consid- eration. Mueller played sensitive- ly, sometimes even b e i n g drowned in his effort to play un- der when the melody was not his. A similar parallel can be made between Hauenstein, and the Festival Winds' flautist, John Somer. The latter was quite breathy, particularly in low reg- isters, and seemed to share the ensemble's inability to create smooth phrases, Hauenstein was more fluid, and executed the em- bellishments in the Leclair Sona- ta for Flute and Continuo with grace. As for the three trio sonatas by Telemann, Arne, and C.P.E. Bach, the first two modest works in traditional slow-fast- slow-fast form, were carried off nicely, accompanied by the other members of the Trio, Charles Fisher and Lawrence Hurst, on harpsichord and bass respectively. Playing lavish ar- peggios as Fisher does is a styl- istic choice which I do not en- tirely agree with, but this is a matter of taste. The Trio was joined by John McCollum, tenor, and Edwin Grzesnikowski, violin, for the concluding work, Bach's Can- tata No. 189, Meine Seele Rue- hmt und Preist. The perform- ance was not as polished as the was all the more enjoyable for others-the violin -and oboe did its coming not so much through not always mesh as well as the a casual attitude or off-the- flute and oboe, nor was the ten- cuff remarks, as was the case or line always as even as it with the Festival Winds, but could have been. through the music itself, and as Throughout the concert one such, was a more valid experi- had a feeling of relaxation that ence for it. No set grecipe for 'Sensory Soup' M otre By JOHN HARVITH Last of two parts One of the most notable Beet- hoven releases of 1970 was a re- issue of Toscanini's virtually de- finitive 1936 recording of the Seventh Symphony with the New York Philharmonic (VIC 1502). Eric Salzman, in a 1967 Tos- canini Centenary article in Stereo Review, evaluated the Maestro's 1937 readings of Beet- hoven's First, Fourth, and Sixth Symphonies with the BBC Sym- phony, then newly reissued on Seraphim (IC-6015). Salzman flatly stated that there was no difference in interpretation be- tween the 1937 recordings and the ones Toscanini made in the 1950's with the NBC Symphony, and went on to berate Toscanini as a febrile, constricted inter- preter while left-handedly prais- ing him as a great orchestral technician. As a result, Salzman misled his readers in two important re- spects. First, Toscanini's inter- pretive s t y I e was undergoing drastic change between 1929 and 1954, as any perceptive listener can readily glean from a spot- check comparison of representa- tive Toscanini recordings made during this time span. Second, Toscanini, even in his NBC years (1937-54), was never a tense, unyielding automoton, as Salzman would have us believe. The reader can confirm these two assertions by successively listening to this 1936 Toscanini- N.Y. Philharmonic reading of the Beethoven Seventh and the Maestro's 1951 NBC Symphony performance of it (included in Victrola VIC-8000) with a me- tronome. and score. He will then discover that the 1936 Toscan- ini engages in striking changes of tempo within phrases as well as between sections of a move- ment. Thus, the first movement introduction rapidly accelerates from the slowly intoned opening measure, despite Beethoven's single tempo marking of poco sostenuto, Tempi in the 1951 rendition are more rigidly maintained, though the phrases still breathe through subtly calculated tempo fluctuations. However, the great- er flexibility and rhythmic free- dom of the earlier performance yield a more serene allegretto, a less forced trio section in the scherzo, and a finale wherein tension is carefully built to a white-hot orgasmic fury by means of painstakingly gauged crescendi and a stunning faster tempo for the final tutti state- ment of the principal theme. Notwithstanding the a b o v e- mentioned tempo changes, Tos- canini commands this unflag- ging impetus throughout by ju- dicious rhythmic punctuation, maintenance of the utmost transparency in orchestral tex- ture, near-perfect instrumental articulation, and clockwork pre- cision in ensemble. Anyone who still holds the misconceptio~n that Toscanini served as t h e machine-age p r o to t ype for George Szell's frenetic, nervous Beethoven readings had b e s t lend this disc an ear. It stands unchallenged in the realm of Beethoven symphonic recordings as the ideal synthe- sis of texual accuracy and per- sonal interpretive utterance. lustration of the latter. Just as Toscanini was the se- minal force behind injecting faithfulness to the score into the interpretation of Beethoven's orchestral works in this century, Artur Schnabel assumed the role of musical janitor, uncluttering late Romantic mannerisms in the interpretation of Beethov- en's piano compositions. This disc of the Fourth Con- certo (VIC-1505) should go far toward dismissing any claim of constricted pianism on Schna- bel's part, since it discloses no trace of crabbed pedagogy or dry intellectualism. Realizing the inherent tension present in the concerto's first movement due to Beethoven's persistent avoi- dance of tonic-rooted harmonic resolution, Schnabel masterful- ly funnels the listener's atten- tion to this inner turmoil by in- flecting the solo lines through the subtlest of nuances, unleash- ing liquid streams of sound with controlled damper pedal wash- es and coaxing forth pianistic tones of ethereal refinement and beauty. In contrast to Schnabel's understatement of the soloist's role vis 'a vis the orchestra, his ultimately explosive account of Beethoven's own cadenza re- leases this movement's massive accumulation of unrelieved ten- sion, allowing it to conclude on a high plane of fulfillment. Schnabel's gradual usurpation of power. from a ferociously threatening orchestra in the fol- lowing "andante con moto" movement is capped by a cres- cendo trill of incredibly expres- sive anguish. In addition, the spirited "rondo" is brought off in delightfully supple fashion. Stock's rapport with his soloist is exemplary throughout, mak- ing this one of the finest orches- tral collaborations Schnabel has been accorded in any of his con- certo recordings. As long-time connoisseurs of the Schwann Catalog are doubt- less aware, there are two other Schnabel recordings of the Beet- hoven Fourth extant (done in 1932 and 1946), though currently out of print. For years now, cri- tics have been hotly debating the relative musical merits of this trinity of discs, each having its undeniable claim to greatness. I must confess, after painstak- ing side-by-side scrutiny of all three readings, that for me, at least, the present Victrola release represents Schnabel's greatest achievement with this music. This carefully considered choice rests on several grounds. First, The Place to Meet INTERESTING People BACH CLUB presents David Lipson performing & discussing some of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. the obvious superiority of Stock's orchestra over the flabby, ragged sound of Sargent's 1932 accom- paniment. and the satisfactory, but not overly distinguished job by Dobrowen's ensemble in 1946. Second, Schnabel's total release in the 1942 first movement ca- denza is never even remotely ap- proached in the flaccid accounts of 1932 and 1946, despite the even greater flow and control reveal- ed elsewhere in the remarkableI 1946 reading (highly recommend- ed for reissue by Seraphim). The excessively delicate 1932 traver- sal, moreover, has moments of superficial loveliness which to- tally destroy the underlying ten- sion probed so memorably in the later renditions. Neither does Schnabel reproduce the inexor- able drama of the 1942 slow movement with Sargent or Do- browen. The 1942 Schnabel-S t o c k "Emperor" Concerto (VIC-1511), conversely, combines excellent sonics with one of the finest available readings of this much- maligned work. Pianists usually employ one of two interpretive extremes in the Emperor: a no- holds barred virtuoso exploita- tion of the score's considerable technical demands on the one hand, versus an underplayed, intelligent emphasis on the con- certo's musical qualities, on the other. Rudolf Serkin provides the prime example of the for- mer approach in his often taste- less punching out of the notes, while Gieseking's finely-etched tonal embroidery is a perfect 11- Schnabel's 1942 rendering of the score is a sort of golden mean between the two polari- ties, and of his three disc ver- sions (t h e others being with Sargent in 1932 and Dobrowen in 1946) by far the strongest in terms of technical execution and orchestral support. I ALL SHOWIS ALL TIMES admission only 99c ANNIVERSARY SPE(IAL I r ' AMP, Y I celebrations ONE WEEK ONLY DIAL 662-6264 COLOR A COMION LE AE TONIGHT'S SHOWS 7&9 cinema, ; 482"ON . OO 't ME E H TED PARKING mmommomommmom By ANITA CRONE Circuses are usually billed as one, two, or three-ring, accord- ing to the number of acts going on at one time. It would be ex- tremely difficult to classify the Retinel Circus in such a manner. No one knows how many "acts" there will be until about half- way into the performance. In the Retinel Circus the performers are the audience, and the audi- ence is the performers. TherRetinel Circus is a con- glomeration of light shows, mu- sic, various forms of the arts, media, film, drama, light struc- tures ad infinitum. It is also six or less people who travel around the country in a converted school bus With lots of equipment and open minds to "whatever peo- ple in the area are in to," said Ian, one of the Circus members. The bus in which the Circus travels happened to break down in Ann Arbor, and so the Retinel Circus will be presenting "Sen- sory Soup" Sunday at 8:30 in the Union Ballroom. Essentially, the Circus brings lights, instruments and the like with them, but not enough to go around. The people in the com- munity come with whatever ideas and props they have, and every- one gets together and plays, or works, or has a generally good time. There are no real "acts" per se. Instead, if someone wants to play the guitar, he does, while others watch, or make a light show, or play instruments, while still others paint or do whatever else they want to. According to Robert, another member of the Circus, Sunday, the people will try to build an in- flatable structure where people can get inside, while images will be projected outside. Results of other Retinel Circus performances have been a radio station in Rochdale, a suburb of Toronto, art - type commune houses, and 29 acres of land in Maine on which the Circus hopes to start a summer retreat for people involved in all kinds of art. The Circus instigates-the peo- ple continue. The Retinel Circus is made up of six people who have known each other from 2 to 10 years. The three members who are in Ann Arbor come from South America, Cleveland, and Pana- ma. They came to Ann Arbor from Toronto, They had heard that Ann Arbor was the home of the White Panthers, so they de- cided that they would make a side-trip here to see "what was happening". They got here, and as they were planning to leave discovered that the bus would need an engine overhaul. So they stayed. The performance in the Union is free, as are most of the Circus' events. "The only time we charge is when we need the bread," ex- plained Ian, and then it is usually when we play with another group." This was done in New York last summer, when the Cir- cus did three John Sinclair bene- fits, one of them with Miles Davis. There will be an organizational meeting tonight at 7:30 at 1309 Washtenaw, Apt. 3 to find out what kinds of media arts people in Ann Arbor are involved in. The Circus, working in con- junction with the Free University for Sunday's performance will "get a hall, lots of electricity, and hope the people will bring the energy to get it moving." I FINAL WEEK ! TONIGHT at 8:00! SPECIAL STUDENT DISCOUNT! k Lit CA' 9 " ,,9 K PRIOR TO BROAITWA! The witty new version of Moliere's 0000000000000000000000000 0 0 0 0 o 0 o 0 00 0 0 0000000000000OOOOOO0ooooOOOOO0oooooooo by RICHARD WILBUR °t TEHNPORTER 'HARVEY,"PR1ATELIVFS' &'SHOWJ()1F'" refreshments afterwards! Thu., Feb. 4-8 p.m. S. Quad -W. Lounge "Magnificent !" -Ann Arbor News starring "Superb Comedy !" IDEWOIN) -Daily 0. EVERYONE WELCOME! IAN C 0 o R4Ioora -R kpmro 0 cof fe 0 djcccstor Postively no musical knowledge needed!!! Further info, call: 764-7638, 663-2827. ATTENTION: From now on Bach Club Daily ads will generally ap- pear only on Thursday. FREE AND A STELLAR NEW YORK CAST1 HOT APPLE CIDER r I I I GUILD WHAT ARE CHABROL Eriiu iAiur?7 I the ann arbor film co-operative presents: stanley kubrick's 2001:* a space odyssey 'I - f n- " ;,r,.. '_',"< ms. ;t . , - 7 with each and "a cinnamon stick" r; t II ww.w.. illl ppop- 111 11