Thulrsday, February Z4, 11)75
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Five
Thursd0y, February 20, 1 ~75 THE MICHIGAN DAILY rci~e Five
Flute master
Rampal
weaves musical spell
8 Debuts
NEW YORK " -The
Concert Artists Guild, whose
objective is to provide young{
artists with high-level perform-
an ce opportunities, has given
eight awards - to provide Car-
negie Recital Hall debuts next
season.
Auditions in April and May
had 277 entrants. Winners are
pianists Robin McCabe, 25, Pu-
yallup, Wash.; David North-
ington, 26, Macon, Ga.; Gary
Steigerwalt, 23, Slatington, Pa.,
and Alan Weiss, 24, Waterbury,'
promnised
Con.
Guitarist Manuel Barruco, 21,
Newark; cellist Emanuel Gru-
ber, 27, Roumania; mezzo-so-
prano Karen Johnson, 26, Ar-
nold, Pa.. and the Arioso Wind
Quintet
The latter are Nadine Asin,
24, Silver Springs, Md.; Anne
Leck, 19, Duluth; Gary McGee,
22, Portland, Ore.; D a v i d
Wakefield, 22, Durant, Okla.,
and Daniel Worley, 23, Canton,
Ga.
By BETH NISSEN
Place a flute, a piano and harpsichord, Jean-
Pierre Rampal, and Robert Veyron-Lacroix on
a stage and the result is pure, crystal music.
RaMpal, undisputedly one of the greatest
living flutists, and Veyron-Lacroix, a reigning
master of the harpsichord, enthralled a ca-
pacity audience Tuesday night in Rackham
Auditorium.
Rampal and Veyron-Lacroix are musical
Siamese twins; they play in exact metronomi-
cal coordination, moving together with the
music as if they were expert dancing partners.
Rampal seems exempt from the possibility
of technical error. He played frantic triplets,
flashing sixteenth notes and instant grace notes
flawlessly, his fingers flowing liquidly over
the keys of his golden flute.
Veyron-Lacroix accompanied Rampal as he
has for nearly thirty years, with practiced
precision and exact synchronization.
Rampal, a specialist in Baroque soloism,
showcased his magical talent in Handel's "So-
'ata in B Minor" and tongued beautifully
through Michel de la Barre's "Sonata in G
major" and Bach's "Sonata in G minor".
1Rampal's famous crystalline tone and incred-
ible breath control were evident in her per-
formance of Copland's erratically moody and
temperamental "Duo for Flute and Piano".
Proving their versatility, Rampal and Vey-
rono-Lacroix strolled, ran and leaped through
Prokofieff's "Sonata in D major, Op. 94" alter-
nating grace, breathless speed and beautifully
arched soaring between octaves.
Both Rampal and Veyron-Lacroix are tech-
nical wizards; it is the shared musical soul
of the mlutist and pianist/harpsichordist that
makes the pair one of the most recorded and
most concert demanded instrumentalist teams.
Rampal's flute whispers, sings, mourns, calls,
skips 'playfully over intervals, springs to stel-
lar heights with a sweeter and smoother tone
than the clearest, purest soprano voice.
Rampal can change the mood of his playing
as quickly and easily as he changes the ex-
pression on his gentle face. His ability to trans-
late inked notes on a musical staff into mov-
ing, physical expression accounts for his re-
ception by marveling and adoring crowds.
Those admirers gathered Tuesday night
were richly rewarded with a superb perform-
ance and four lilting and beautiful encore
pieces.
BURSLEY HALL Presents
WALK TOGETHER
SOULFUL PEOPLE
TAKE IV
Herbie is Comin-Are You?
Saturday,
Feb. 22,
1975
SHOWTIME 11:30 P.M
Daily Photo by PAULINE LUBENS
Concert flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal
Tickets: Michigan Union Lobby
$4.00 couple, $2.50 single
CAMPUS FLICKS
Records in review
OHN MAYALL WAS ONE of the most important figures in A lle n(
the British blues movement of about six years ago, and he
is still going strong. He is perhaps the only figure left from that
movement who is still playing consistent blues.
His recently released album, New Year, New Band, New
Company (ABC Blue Thumb BTSD-6019), presents no astonish-
ing changes; but must rate as one of his strongest albums in By JAMES VALKs
recent years. Recalling the genuinely funny'
Mayall moved permanently to Los Angeles about four years films of the last few yeas can
ago, and the California climate has been working slow changes prove a mind-boggling task.
on his sound. This album completes the change; it is pure Cali- When one sifts througha list of
fornia.the popular films of the seven-
fornia' ties, the fact emerges that,
His new line-up features a woman co-vocalist, an electric omitting Woody Allen acid Mel
piano-player, Rick Vito on guitar, and Sugarcane Harris on vio- Brooks, there has not been any
lin. All the musicians are superlative and the interaction be- degreehof comedic consistencyI
tween them is skilfully subtle. throughout.
There is little that is new here, but the music is infectious Excluding "black" comedies
thehigestdegee f usiianhip Jon My-such as Dr. Strangelove and I
and played with the highest degree of musicianship. John May- Little Murders, there is a no-,
all is one of the finest musicians still playing today, and the ticeable void of straight-forward
fact that he and his new band are in excellent shape bodes well comedy in film. During the '20sr
for the future. and '30s, films by Keroi and,
-Harry Hammitt Chaplin were in the limelight,e
! ! ! while the Marx Brothers., Key-c
T THESE INFLATIONARY TIMES, bargain bins are begin- stone Cops and even Chaplin
TN himself kept the audiences in
ning to look more and more inviting. One of the best records the aisles.t
to make an appearance there recently is The Best of the Ani- The '70s have produced little
mals (Scepter CTN 18026). It is not a greatest hits album, to glare at with the strained re-S
but a live album recorded when the Animals played with Sonny creations of the past era. For
Boy Williamson in Britain in the mid-'60s. Pete's Sake, What's Up Doc?
The album consists almost entirely of rock 'n' roll and up- and the infinitesimally dismal
tempo blues played in the racuous style that was always as- bFreebthe torchearBean h co
sociated with the Stones. But the Animals were among the edy outside the exclusive circle.
foremost practitioners of the form, and they were perhaps the of Allen and Brooks, whicht
best, as this album shows. leads us to the comedy duo ofI
The focal point of the band was always the keyboards, only the '70s.1
organ here, played by Alan Price or Dave Rowberry. Hilton It is almost ludicrous to even:
Valentine on guitar was always undistinguished but on this al- approach contemporary cmedyt
bum he sounds quite adequate. inf B out ling Alleo
and Brooks, as a list of two
All the power of the music was filtered through Eric Bur- Barbra Streisand movies and
don who is certainly close to being the best singer to come out one Richard Rush disaster is;
of Britain in the rock 'n' roll idiom. Here he is in fine shape, hardly any comedic Hall of
his voice growing gruffer and more throaty as the performance Fame.
continues. With minor exceptions, Allenj
con mues.has virtually held a molopolv
There is no way to get around it - this album is superb, on the market since the laotpe
both as music and history, and at the reduced price it is more '60s with his Take the Money
than a bargain- and Run, although he nas been
nd Brooks: Rasing
of cinematic comedy
as 1965. With the co um rcial,
success of Bananas, Allen es-
tablished himself as the pre-
miere comedian of the '70s. 1
Riding his popularity, which;
seems to rise with each proceed-<
ing film, Allen mad: Sleeper,I
and from that work h; fallen'
into favor with such hart nose
critics as Pauline Kael and Vin-
cent Canby.
Mel Brooks, in comparison,
has been a late-bloomn r, a]-!
thoughhe has developed sme-
what of a cult following with his'
early films. Starting apprz.xi-
mately the same time as Allenj
(in film) with his 1968 The Pro-
ducers, Brooks suffered from
cinematic anonymity, and thus
had difficulty in bring~'ig The
Twelve Chairs, his se.g nd film,
to commercial distribution. #
It was not until the success
of last year's Blazing Saddles,
an off-key tribute to the Warner
Brothers' West, that B ron:s
elevated his status as a tine-1
matic comedian.
As much as the two have1
in common, their names, in
their individual humor and ap-!
proach, are not interchangeaole.
Both have wavered from their
original style after succiss had
been established, but nether
have crossed into the other's ex- of humor to run rampan.
clusive domain. Brooks is at his best when
Allen's early films, in th reeking with bad taste Blazing
theoretical context, were little Saddles, which has been accus
more than vaguely co inected ed of going overboard in that
series of vignettes that allowed denartment, has more crude
the director forum for his ha- guffaws per minutes than any of
mor. his other works, but departs
Both Take the Money ond Run from being a sustained comedic
and Bananas left the audiencejwok
limp with laughtertthrougi- Straining for laughs that are
len's endless progreis*of of simply not there, the fil7i comn-
visuaI one-liners but both were es off insanely funny at times,
VIOUCII vuc-isiicia, l vriw i
highly uncinematic events.
Everything You Always WantedI
to Know About Sex . . . was
dependent on outrageous visual
gags that were extenledl into
seventor eight larger vignettes
that attempted to attan some
degree of coherency.j
With Sleeper, Allen has plac-
ed a claim as a more "classi-
cal" film director, creatin>, a
work that attempts to su ;tain a
consistent level throughout.
Brooks' style has wavered!
throughout his career. The Pro-!
ducers, based on an outrageous
premise of overselling a sur-
flop play by 25,000 per cen' , i.= 1
perhaps his most su -cesful1
work, with the vehicle allowing
an absurd framework to pass
as legitimate content, thus per-
mitting Brooks' warpaJ ense
while being uncomfortah'y ted-
io-s at others.
With Young Frankenstein
Brooks has returned t t h e
theatre of intent, pursui tg a re-
fined work of both cinematic
intelligence and comedic integ-
rity. Sacrificing the hard-core
vrcks that marked Blazing Sad-
dies, Young Frankenstein is
Brooks realized by Bro fks him-
self: a film that allows con-
trolled insanity to prevail with-
in the cinematic structure that
is strictly maintained througn-
out.
It appears that bo> Alien
and Brooks have a blaru check
to total directorial freedom 'n
the future. But while Brooks has
discovered his ultimate vehicle
for humor, Allen is wandering
away from his. Allen's humor is
best in short spurts, a well set
up joke that hits and ruis.
Allen's sustenance tends to
linger, thus depriving hi-n of
the necessary structure needed
to maintain the most effec+;ve
use of his wit. Where Brooks
works best within the longevity
of an idea, Allen, as director,
is most successful waen aban-
doning strict cinematic con-
formity.
While Sleeper was his most
critcially successful work, it
was hardly his wittiest. It at-
tempted to exist as a conerent
piece of film, but 'n the pro-
cess lost the edge of Allen's
humor. Striving for cinematic
sophistication, the film ulti-
mately compromised Alien's
comedic potential.
It is, admittedly, unfair to
strictly label each individual
work as 'good" or "had'. But
Allen and Brooks rossess dif-
ferent types of humor,, each
lending itself best to a differing
cinematic mode.
--Harry Hammitt
in front of the camera as early.
PRE-INVENTORY
Paperback
Department
BOOK
SALE
ALL BOOKS
on the
MEZZANINE
NOW
30% off
AT
FOLL1ETT'S
MICHIGAN GOOK STORE
STATE STREET
End of the Diag
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
STUDENT LABORATORY THEATRE
PRESENTS
A Free Afternoon of Theatre
Contribution by TED SHINE
ARENA THEATRE
FRIEZE BUILDING
4:10 p.m.
FEB. 19 & 20, 1975
A Black Theatre Workshop Production
the t " "r i cooperative;
TONIGHT ONLY!
THURS., FEB. 20
ZABRISKI E
POINT
Antonioni's lyrical masterpiece
in Professional 35mm wide screen!
AUD. A, ANGELL HALL
7:00& 9:00 $1.25
-TONIGHT ONLY-
Ann Arbor Indochina Peace Campaign
Presents
Fil
the last concerts of Bill Graham's
legendary Rock Pallace.
GROUPS INCLUDE:
Ai
AJI
Ile"
The Grateful Dead
Jefferson Airplane
Santana
Topmorrow: THE LAST DETAIL
MLB 3
7&9
Hot Tuna
Quicksiler Messenger Service
Cold Blood
Natural Science Auditorium
7:30 & 9:30
NICHOLAS RAY NIGHT
On this and next Thursday, we are presenting double feature showings
of four films of Nicholas Ray, a fine director of the 40's and 50's.
JAMES DEAN in
DRRI IWIT14'IIT A CAIC (nt '7)
- iq
(
I
Feb. 20
Thursday
Only $1.25
FRIDAY & SATURDAY
February 21 & 22, 1975
-COMING---
8: 00 P.M.
I