Poge Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Sunday, February 21, 1971
Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, February 21, 1971w
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A
trip with
Serrano Ecology and Poetry
By DAVE FRIEDO
Juan Serrano casually walked
on stage Friday night at Pease
Auditorium on the E a s t e r n
Michigan campus and delighted
the audience with two hours of
superb flamenco guitar playing.
Wearing a white turtle-neck
sweater and tuxedo, Serrano sat
down, smiled to the audience
and began to play. Relaxed and
confident, Serrano. took the
audience in his grip and he
succeeded in moving t h e m
through a varied and well-pac-
ed program, gently pulling the
audience along, never pushing
and never letting go.
Granainas, his first piece,
opened with brilliant, percussive
chords of the beautifully rhy-
thmic flamenco style. The wide
variety of the program, from
the fiery dance, Zapateado, to
the delicate song variations, El
Emigrante, demonstrated that
flamenco music is a rich Span-
ish heritage.
Flamenco generally refers to
a gypsy style of Spanish dance
and dance music characterized
by colorful costumes, seductive
body movements And rhythmi-
cal stamping of the feet. To
retain the rhythm and color of
the gypsy style Serrano -explos-,
ively tore through the six strings
of his guitar and occassionaly
rapped out rhythms with his
hands.
The third piece on the pro-
gram Farrucas, was more melo-
dic and less intense than the
Granainas or Zapateado. De-
scribed as "traditional rhythms
alternating between bold a n d
tranquil moods" the piece con-.
sisted of delicate melodies over
lilting metalic tremelos.
Tarantos was a dark and dis-
sonant rendition of the songs
of Spanish miners. In t h i s
piece Serrano dazzled the aud-
ience with brief technical dis-
plays in which his left hand
produced all the sound.
Alegrias de Cadiz described
as "gay and lively flamenco of
the city of Cadiz" was just that,
and the audience clapped with
heightened enthusiasm and an
occasional 'bravo."
The powerful and driving
dance, Verdiales, and the beau-
tiful Arabic sounding Fantasia,
lured the audience into Solear-
es, amply described in the pro-
gram notes as "sometimes tend-
er, erupting with boundless pas-
sion, this is the mother of fla-
menco." So it was, and the aud-
ience warmly responded.
The second half of the con-
cert opened with Lidia, a study
composed by Mr.. Serrano for
his daughter and followed by
the light and delicate Romeras.
El Emigrante was interesting
because of the contrasting tim-
bres and unusual bass line. Un-
like the regular pulsating rhy-
thms of the bass lines of the
otlaer pieces, the base line in
this piece was syncopated.'
Fandangoes was simply a col-
lection of Spanish fandango
dances. In these Serrano achie-
ved a pleasant blend of con-
trasting major and minor pas-
sages with driving yet some-
times halting rhythms. Here
Serrano once again showed off
the amazing dexterity of his
left hand in several cadenza-
like passages where his left hand
produced all the sound.
Seguiriyas was a serious piece,
somber in quality and portray-
ing the elements of "tragedy and
despair that have often been
the fate of man."
Mantillas de Feria was de-
cidedly less emotional in qual-
ity and texture and was Ser-
rano's only rendition in t h e
Spanish clasical style. He per-
formed it very well and t h e
piece provided a needed change
of pace before the finale of the
evening.
Bulerias, a brilliant and mov-
ing piece, contained the force-
ful rhythms of the flamenco
which the audience had grown
to love under Serrano's superb
control. He never let the fire of
the flamenco style consume him.
Juan Serrano had performed
brilliantly and the audience
simply did not want to let him
leave. After the second encore
the audience came to their feet
and clapped until Serrano re-
apeared, only to implore, "Just
one more."
By GLORIA JANE SMITH
Dan Gerber and Jim Harri-
son are both former teachers
and Michigan State graduates
in their early thirties who now
write poetry. Both have trav-
elled throughout the U n i t e d
States giving-poetry readings at
high schools and universities for
the National Endowment Fund
for the Arts. And both present-
ed their poetry in a joint read-
ing Tuesday,
Harrison, who has been writ-
ing for ten years, read "Na-
tural World," a poem compar-
ing the Blue Whale who "drags
his six foot sex through icy
waters" in futile search of a
gradually growing extinct mate,
with migrating hawks w h o
"have been slaughtered w i t h
pleasure." This tender interest
and concern for nature endures
throughout many of the poems
read by Harrison, who was born
and raised on a farm.
In much the same vein of
thought, Gerber followed with
"The Last of a Species," a poem
writen instead about the homo-
sapien. "You are growing old,"
he read, 'your seeds drying in
dreams of others who will not
come."
"The litterbug will gather lit-
ter along ten miles of country
road," Gerber, who has b e e n
writing for eight years, r e a d
from "Penal Code," a poem
speaking about fitting retribu-
tion. "If you don't understand,"
he continued, 'I love you, soar-
ing in the limits of your skin."
"I write this out of h a r d
silence to be rid of it," Harri-
son read from "American Girl,"
a poem speaking with the Cal-
vinist notion of what a woman
is. "They are confections, put-
together beings," he read, "piti-
ful creatures, calcined, watery,
with air-brushed bodies an d
brains." Harrison admitted that
the poem was written about the
"sensation of growing up in the
fifties."
"We are burning the bodies of
dinosaurs," Gerber read f r o m
"Dinosaurs," a poem inspired by
Sinclair Oil Co.'s use of the
green Dino' as their trademark.
"I suddenly realized," he e x -
plained, "that the gasoline pow-
er in automobiles actually com-
es from the decayed remains of
dinosaurs."
Much of the poetry read
seemed to be based on the per-
sonal experiences of the poets.
Gerber, who had once been a
sports-car racer, read "Getting
to Zero," a poem which talked
about racing and its groupies,
who "want to be the last to
love a man who may die to-
morrow." In the poem, the race
itself begins in blue smoke."
There's no-one, I'm flying," Ger-
ber read, "NO ONE."
Harison read "Cowgirl," a
poem about a woman with "in-
decently strong thighs" who
won the west." This is one, he
explained, that he "tells his
wife is not autobiographical."
The poets read, and then it
was over. It had been an inter-
esting hour -- neither especially
good, nor especially bad.
(t
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A taste of strings in the air
By DONALD SO SIN
A few weeks ago Ann Arbor
was swept by a flurry of winds.
Now it looks as though t h e
strings are having their turn.
Friday night marked the de-
but of a new instrumental group
from the music school, the
Michigan Chamber Players. It
was formed by Prof. Paul Ma-
kanowitzky, who Joined the fa-
culty in September. A violinist
and teacher of considerable re-
putation, he has studied with
Thibaud and Boulanger, in ad-
dition to his lifelong associa-
tion with Ivan Galamian. Be-
sides his heavy teaching load
in Ann Arbor, Makanowitzky
commutes to Philadelphia every
week, where he has pupils at the
Curtis Institute.
I went to talk to him about
the new group, and he told me
that selected students of each
string teacher were invited to
join, thus combining a high lev-
el of musicianship with a willing
attitude, somewhat different
from that inrthe University Or-
chestra, where participation is
required and there is a conse-
quently lower degree of esprit
de corps.
Makanowitzky said that t h e
concert Friday would be a kind
of trial run, so that the faculty
and students could judge t h e
group's viabilly and its future
could be determined. One point
he emphasized was that, al-
though he was conducting two
of the works, his word was not
law and suggestions from every-
one were welcome. This demo-
cratic feeling was reinforced by
a look at the printed program,
which listed all performers in
alphabetical order,, and one
would have had to pick at ran-
dom from among the thirty-nine
to find the one faculty member
if one did not know who-he was.
Thurs there was a good deal of
anticipation in the large crowd
that turned out to hear the en-
semble in Rackham Friday. The
program began with Bach, and
moved to Mozart and Tschai-
kowsky.
From the first notes of the
Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, it
became clear that this was go-
ing to be an extraordinary con-
cert. The tempo was brisk and
as the work progressed one was
tickled by the interchange of
voices, all the more apparent
because of a pared-down group
of ten. Makanowitzky sat first
chair and demonstrated superb
control of bow and dynamics as
well as blending with the oth-
ers despite an altogether differ-
ent tone quality. The last move-
ment was equally brilliant, and
at a breakneck clip that left one
drained.
The full ensemble, includink
six wind players, then perform-
ed Mozart's Symphony No. 33, K.
319. It was at this point that
one began to see the shortcom-
ings of the group, not in intona-
tion or precision, which were at
a rlevel as high as many pro-
fessional orchestras, but in mat-
ters of tempo and dynamics. All
the movements were taken at
speeds greater than they need-
ed to be, and there was an in-
tensity of sound that almost
never let up. This was also the
case in the Tsehaikowski Seren-
ade; where one would have ap-
preciated greater attention to
the dynamic markings and a
more sensitive shaping of lines.
This is a detail which requires
more skill with the baton than
Makanowitzky seemed to exhib-
it.
Obviously the group was key-
ed up for the concert, but their
enthusiasm got out of control,
and they ended up having a
good time at the expense of the
music.
Still, the quality of the play-
ers is not to be denied. W i t h
refinement (and a reduction in
the violins for the sake of bal-
ance) this could well become a
first-rate ensemble. First, how-
ever, their exuberance must be
harnessed, so that good music
can be created as well as good
sound.
In other string events of the
week, there was the recital by
Edwin Grzesnikowski and Louis
Nagel Thursday which was great
fun. The musical high point was
the Beethoven c minor Sonata
Op. 30, No. 2, crisply if some-
what unemotionally played. In
this and the Pergolesi Sonata
which preceded it, one listened
more to Nagel, whose fine musi-
cianship was always evident. In
the latter part of the program
the violin got its chance. From
a technical standpoint, the Fi-
nale of the Saint-Saens Sonata
in d minor was phenomenal. A
perpetual motion to end all per-
petual motions, it gave Grzesni-
kowski a chance to display his
stunning bow control, and as the
work progressed to a tempo
faster than which would be in-
conceivable, one could only sit
back and laugh; although t h e
sonata is devoid of music con-
tent it was so brilliantly done
that one had to enjoy it.
The Wieniawski Cappricio
Valse that followed would have
best been left to the end, for
after its naive melodies, inter-
spersed with breathtaking runs
and harmonics, the pieces by
Vieuxtemps and Paganini which
concluded the program were an
anticlimax.
AUDITIONS
FOR ANN ARBOR CIVIC THEATRE'S
PRODUCTION OF
"IN WHITE AMERICA"
will be held from 7:30-10:30 P.M.
MONDAY, FEB. 22
TUESDAY, FEB. 23
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 24
at Civic Theatre Bldg.
210 Mulholland Dr.
Roles for 3 blacks and 3 whites
ALLAN SCHRElBER-Director
PERFORMANCES APRIL 21-24 AT LYDIA MENDELSSOHN
The Project Community
presents
IKE & TINA TU1RNER REVUElu U
'Friday, March 12th j TICKETS ON SALE,
Fishbowl, Union,
Hill Aud. Students International
$3.s0-3.0O-2.s0
2 shOWs BLOCK TICKETS
(25 or mare for 7 onl
7&9:30$3 .00-2.50-2.00
I
NONVIOLENCE and GENOCIDE
RESPONSES TO THE HOLOCAUST
DISCUSSION WITH
RABBI JOWL POUPKO
H I LLEL
.HARRY
AMERICAN FRIENDS
MAN EY
SERVICE COMMITTEE
t. HILLEL (1429 Hill)
SUN., FEB.24
p.m
presents
ISAAC STERN
World-renowned Violinist
IN RECITAL-IN HILL AUDITORIUM
Sun., Feb. 21, 2:30
PROGRAM
TRANSCENDENTIAL
MEDITATION
As Taught By'
MAHARISHI
MAHESH
YOGI
INTRODUCTORY LECTURE:
- ----_ -
I
NEW VOCATIONS RAP
35c BUFFET
Sonata in B-flat, K. 454
Sonata No. 3, Op. 25.
Sonata No. 1 in G, Op. 78
Divertimento.
*.Mozart
.. Enesco
. Brahms
Stravinsky
LAST 3 DAYS
"FuRRy,
povocatilve,l
ahlGcingu
and
somehow,
very fine."
-Now York Times
NOON, MON., FEB. 22
COME AND TALK ABOUT
the good things you're doing
the good things you'd like to be doing
how you live or how you'd like to live
OR STOP IN OTHER TIMES: 8:30-4:30, MON.-FRI.
NEW VOCATIONS
GUILD HOUSE
802 MONROE
TICKETS: $7.00-$6.50-$6.00-$5.00-$3.50-$2.50
at
The University Musical Society
Burton Tower, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
Office Hours: Mon. thru Fri., 9 to 4:30; Sat., 9 to 12
(Telephone 665-3717)
(Also at Auditorium Box Office 1 2 hours before performance time)
Wednesday evening, February 24
at 8 P.M. in Auditorium B, Angell Hall
,i
----------------
E.
I
HEAR
Arthur Gish
Pastor in Church of the Brethren, author of The New
Left and Christian Radicalism, pacifist, tax resister,
lecturer
1
I
It
0
Sunday:
6:30 p.m.-"Radical Christianity"
at University Reformed Church
8:30 p.m.-"Christianity & Revolution"
I ~
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