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May-
Festival: Musical welcome
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The annual May Festival, pre-
snted by the University Musi-
cal Society will begin April 29
and continue through May 2.
This year's series promises to
be one of the best ever pre-
sented.
The May Festival is the start
of the summer music session at
the University and brings some
of the best classical artists from
all over the world to Ann Ar-
bor, as well as making use of
local talent.
Along with Christopher Prrk-
ening and Barbara Nissman, as
well as the University C h o r a 1
Union, this year's guest artists
include Leontyne Price, soprano;
and Andre Watts, pianist.
Miss Price has sung at the
Metropolitan Opera in New
York, La Scala, in Milan, the
Vienna State Opera, the NBC
Opera Company, and the Bol-
shoi Opera in the U.S.S.R.
She made her Metropolitan
Opera debut as Leonora in 11
Trovatore to a 42 minute ova-
tion. This was the most pro-
longed demonstration of enthus-
iasm ever witnesses at the Met.
Her role as Cleopatra in Sam-
uel Barber's new opera Anthony
and Cleopatra won her the most
coveted honors in the history
of music She sings with the Or-
chestra Tuesday. April 29.
While the May Festival marks
the brginning of the spring-
summer concert series, this year
there will be a brief int-riude
as the University Musical So-
ciety with the coo?) ration of
th, National Endowm'nt for the
Arts and the Michigan Council
for the Arts present the Merce
Cunnnhamn Dance Company.
The sound systm , and the
rl"etronics which will be used
in th' April 13 con-ccrt were de-
vised by composers John Cage,
David Tudor and Gordon Mum-
ma.
The Merce Cunningham Dance
Company is part of the artist
in residence program. Through-
out the week the company will
be giving demonstrations and
teaching master classes at the
University, as well as at sur-
rounding schools. The Cunning-
ham DancefTroupe is one of
the most famous all around
troupes in the country.
A special music seminar, open
to the public, will be held in Hill
Auditorium.
Tickets will be on sale an
hour and a half before the Tues-
day performance at the Hill
Auditorium Box Office.
music'
Christopher Parkening, who saw his first triumphs
while still in his teens, has since become acclaimed over
the last few seasons as America's first virtuoso of the
classical guitar.
In 1968, Parkening, joined Andres Segovia and a
distinguished panel of judges in judging the International
Guitar Competition.
No first prize was awarded in the contest.
Instead, by virtue of his two concerts at the
Competition the judges awarded him the'.silver plaque
usually given to the first prize winner. Parkening will
be playing with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Sunday,
May 2, under the direction of Thor Johnson. Also on the
same program will be the University Choral Union featur-
ing Maralyn Niska, soprano; Eleanor Felver, contralto;
John Stewart, tenor; and Donald Bell, bass.
Barbara Nissmann, a 1
will be the guest artist i
May Festival. A pupil of Gy
Bachelor, Master and Doct
sity. She was also awarded1
of Music's highest honor
and a three year federal g
studies.
As a result of winning
tions Miss Nissman has app
Symphony, the Kalamazoo
Symphony Orchestra. She
the Ann Arbor Symphony
as well as making many pr
cational Television network
'Cho*cC
EDO Festival Music and Pan-
tomime: October 5 - December
5, 1971. Edo Festival Pantomime
which was greatly influenced by
Shinto tradition dates back to
the 7th century. The Edo Bay-
ashi group, an "intangible cul-
tural treasure" from Tokyo, has
sought to preserve this ancient
art form. This troupe is com-
posed of masked dancers who
enact the serious and humorous
legends of Japan's past to the
musical accompaniment of flute
and drums. The comic dance
stories present farcial situations
involving inept servants, cred-
ulous feudal lords and super-
natural animals, depicting a
wide range of human foibles
and pretensions. The more ser-
sous sacred dances, or "kagura,"
recount the fascinating tales of
Japanese mythology. As no dis-
guise is used, this pantomime is
more universally understand-
able than kyogen (the satirical
plays interspersed between Noh
dramas). Included in the reper-
toire is the famous Kotobuki
Jishi, or Lion Dance. The sump-
tuous costumes, resplendent in
color, and the great variety of
intriguing masks create heigh-
tened visual interest in this per-
formance.
P'ansori: February 1 - April
1, 1972. Kim So-Hee, one of
Korea's most distinguished sing-
ers, will present the art of
P'ansori, the legendary stories
of her country. The singer, ac- s
companied only by a barrel
drum, must sustain the interest
of the audience by assuming the I
dramatic roles of all the char-
acters in the story, as well as
singing the narrative portions
select
of the legends. Thus, only a
,consummate artist can perform
this vanishing art. A great var-
iety of techniques such as fals-
etto and vibrato are employed,
and microtones play an import-
ant role in the melodic struc-
ture.
In addition, this program will
include three musicians'who are
proficient on several traditional
Korean instruments and who
will present a wide spectrum
of Korea's musical arts. The
Sanjo improvisational music
will be played on such instru-
ments as the kayageum (a 12-
stringed lute-like instrument)
and the kuhmoongo (a 6-string-
ed instrument). The musicians
will also present some court
chamber music which will in-
clude wind and string instru-
ments,
Shantung Traditional Music:
March 15 - May 15, 1972. The
Lu Sheng Ensemble, known only
through recordings in the Unit-
ed States, will appear for the
first time here and present the
exciting and emotional music of
Shantung. This music, primar-
ily ceremonial in nature, has
been preserved unchanged for
centuries. The principal instru-
ments used are wind and per-
cussion.
The program will also intro-
duce outstanding performers on
the p'i-p'a (a 4-stringed man-
dolin), the cheng (a 1.6-stringed
zither), and the nan-hu (a 2-
stringed violin).
The first announcement of
musical and dance attractions
scheduled for the inaugural
year of the new Power Center
for the Performing Arts is made
S00
'ions in
by Gail Rector, President of
the University Musical Society.
The new building, now in the
final stages of construction on
the campus, is a gift of the Eu-
gene B. Power family to the
University of Michigan.
Several new concepts of pre-
sentation are to be introduced
in the format in series subscrip-
tions of ten events offered in
the new center, beginning Oc-
tober 15, and ending April 16,
in this second announcement of
the 1971-72 season of the So-
ciety's list of International Pre-
sentations. (Last month, ten
events each for Hill Auditorium
and Rackham Auditorium were,
announced by the Musical So-
ciety.)
Headlined as a "Choice Series"
the concert-goers will have the
opportunity of selecting a n y
four, or eight, of the ten attrac-
tions at a special series price.
Three of these attractions of-
fer second performances. Thus
a subscriber may choose t w o
dance - two concerts, or a stu-
dent could select two (or four)
in each semester, or a family
could choose according to par-
ticular favorites -- for young
or old .- weekdays or week-
ends - avoiding the conflicts
of other concerts and entertain-
ment or commitments.
All subscription sales will be
filled in the sequence received.
Single events, not sold out in se-
lected series, will be put on sale
next September.
Marcel Marceau, the fascinat-
ing French pantomimist, will
be the feature for the first of
these presentations on October
15 and 16. On October 30, the.
Sierra Leone Dance Company
varied series
from Africa will perform f o r
the first time in Ann Arbor.
Ballet comes next on Novem-
ber 10 with the popular Cana-
dian company, the Royal Win-
nipeg Ballet.
A unique musical group, the
Swingle Singers from P a r i s,
made popular world-wide by
their foreign tours and record-
ings of classical and jazz im-
provisations, is among this
"Choice" list, to make their lo-
cal debut November 19.
Following closely, on Novem-
ber 20 and 21, a special "fes-
tival pair" of programs will be
given by CHORICA -- a mod-
ern dance theater company
from Athens, Greece. Choreo-
graphy, music, and speech are
combined in adaptations from
the ancient Greek dance dramas,
comedies and tragedies, direct-
ed by Zouzou Nicoloudi, a n d
brought direct from Athens on
their first American tour.
Unprecedented, scheduled on
a Thanksgiving holiday, Satur-
day afternoon, November 27,
will be a special treat for young
balletomanes in Ann Arbor, a
full length production of "Cin-
derella" (music by Prokofieff)
by the National Ballet of Wash-
ington D.C. The new Power
Center stage with ample dimen-
sions makes this "first" pro-
duction possible.
The second semester's "Choice"
will emphasize musical diversity.
January 17, the Paris Chamber
Orchestra, led by Paul Kuentz,
and featuring soloists Adolf
Scherbaum (trumpet) and Bar-
bara Schlick (soprano), w i l l
give the first of two successive
concerts. The second, January
19, will include, with those solo-
ists, a chorus from our Uni-
versity Choral Union. Donald
Bryant, conductor, will share the
program with Mr. Kuents.
Two very different kinds of
recitals follow: a lieder program
will be sung on February 17 by
the leading baritone from Mun-
ich opera, Herman Prey. On
March 1, the instruments of
guitar and lute will provide a
special test for acoustics in the
new hall as performed by Jul-
ian Bream from London.
The musical season closes on
Sunday, April 16, with the New
York Pro Musica's colorful and
authentic production of a med-
ieval court masque, "An Enter-
tainment for Elizabeth."
Further information, includ-
ing printed brochures, are avail-
able at the office of the Uni-
versity Musical Society in Bur-
ton Memorial Tower, Ann Ar-
bor. Phone: 665-3717.
"This new series is offered
by the University Musical So-
ciety," says President Rector,
"to provide the most interest-
ing attractions of music and
dance available, and together
with our established program
will serve a wide public of stu-
dents and area resident. T h e
Musical Society joins with oth-
er sponsors who participate in
this full year's--dedication of
the new Center. After ten years
(and sixty dance programs lat-
er) presenting attractions on
the inadequate stage and make-
shift proscenium of Hill Audi-
torium, we are very happy to
have this new modern stage
house at the University to en-
able us to expand our format
of annual presentations."
-- ---
THE ANN ARBOR 1971
APRIL
29, 50; and MAY 1,
2
-PROGRAMS-
THURSDAY, APRIL 29
8:30 P.M.
EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor
LEONTYNE PRICE, Soprano
Two Portraits, Op. 5......... Bartok
"Dove sono" from Le Nozzo
di Figaro ..............Mozart
"Ritorna vincitor" from Aida . . Verdi
LEONTYNE PRICE
Symphony No. 8 in
B minor .............. Schubert
Four Last Songs...........R. Strauss
"Pace, pace" from La Forza
del Destino . ............Verdi
MISS PRICE
"Till Eulenspiegel".......R. Strauss
FRIDAY, APRIL 30
8:30 P.M.
Alumni night during
Commencement Week
THOR JOHNSON, Conductor ('35)
UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION
MARALIN, NISKA, Soprano
DONALD BELL, Bass
BARBARA NISSMAN, Pianist ('69)
"Sea Symphony" . . Vaughn Williams
UNIVERSITY CHORAL UNION,
MARALIN NISKA and DONALD BELL,
Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
Rachmaninoff
BARBARA NISSMAN
Miss Nissman, Doctoral Graduate of
School of Music makes debut
SATURDAY, MAY 1
8:30 P.M.
EUGENE ORMANDY, Conductor
Sinfonietta .............. Janacek
"La Mer" ............ kDebussy
Symphony No. 5.......... Prokofieff
TH(
MA
ELE
JI
CHRISTC
Great Mc
UNIV
"Fantasia
Gentil-
CH
S
EUGE
A
Toccata,
"Enigma'
Concerto
PRESENTED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
In Hill Auditorium-The Philadelphia Orchestra at All Concerts
Page Twelve THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Sunday, April 11, 1971 Sunday, April 11, 1-971
THE MICHIGAN DAILY