Thursday, March 20, 1975 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five Thursday, March 20, 1975 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Fiye Ashkenazy s By CHARLES SMITH A charming little man with scruffy hair and a disarming grin did some amazing things with a piano last night. Vladimir Ashkenazy has a well-de- served reputation as a fine pianist- the audience at his Hill Auditorium re- cital in the University Musical Society Great Performers Series seemed also to enjoy him as a person. Ashkenazy is not the perfect pianist, of course-he does have weaknesses. But his strengths lie in some especially valuable aspects of his playing. His sense of timing and pacing is superb, as is the way that the larger shape of a piece is compelled to appear through his careful manipulation of smaller detailed relationships, and his rhythmic sense is usually precise. In short, he has an excellent ear, and is clearly always listening to and aware of what he is playing. Even more impressive was the clear evidence t h a t Ashkenazy approaches music with an open intelligent mind. Everything which he did was precisely calculated to achieve some definite effect. And yet he is also deeply in- volved emotionally with whatever he is playing, and often he managed project that involvement onto his au ence last night. Most pianists would be fools to op a program with the Mozart A min Rondo, one of the most treacherou deceptively simple pieces around., played by Ashkenazy the piece emerg piano to clarity than is usual in performances di- of Schubert. This Schubert Sonata in particular en can often sound tedious-the long re. or jected sections can be just that, an- us, other time through something which As no one was very interested in the first ed time. On VlIdimir Ashkenazy: "His sense of timing and pacing is superb . . . and is clearly always listening to and aware of what he is play- ing. Ashkenazy approaches music with an open intelli- gent mind. Everything he did was precisely calculated to (Ichieve some definite effect." lazzles Rachmaninoff Preludes, taken from Op. 23 and Op. 32. Rachmaninoff's music is regarded these days with a mixture of sentimental affection and suspicion. No one trusts a composer who could write such unabashedly beautiful music in the middle of the 2tOh century. Yet there is no denying the outstanding musicianship of Rachmaninoff as evi- denced in most of his music. It is all difficult music, and not only in terms of technique. Ashkenazy dealt well with most of the ten pieces which he played. He is perhaps less well suited, either tempermentally or in terms of musical skills, to deal with Rachmaninoff than, say, with Mozart. There were problems with some of the Preludes, problems which I felt were mainly a matter of technique- not being able to quite manage what ' his head told him to do. The G minor Prelude in particular was sloppy, as if Ashkenazy were taking it at a faster speed than he was used to. But, by and large, he is such a su- perb musician that any piece which he plays is worth listening to and these Rachmaninoff pieces were no excep- tion. as surprisingly compelling - everyone in the hall fell under its spell. The Schubert D major Sonata was also precisely calculated for just the right effect. However the effect in this case was one of attacking the piece head on, so that the larger-scale rela- tionships emerged with much greater Ashkenazy avoided this tedium com- pletely. Through an emphasis on brisk tempos and a crisp sound, and a clear understanding of just how he piece works, repeats and all, he managed to make this piece emerge as a new musical experience. Ashkenazy also played a set of ten Daily Photo by KEN FINK Viadirim A shkencazy catnpu4 (1ick4 'Carnal Knowledge: Nichols looks at sex By JAMES VALK j WITH CALCULABLE PREDICTABILITY, Mike Nichols' Carnal; Knowledge fits neatly into his continuing encycopedia of the social nightmare. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was a hellish jungle that took the form of a middle-aged couples aphasic relationship. The Graduate was Nichols' ode to youth-in-stupor, with the deflating realization that life was more than the yellow brick road that became the symbolic pot-of-gold at the end of the path. Catch-22 reduced the humanistic spirit when needed most to little more than tormented lunacy. Now Carnal Knowledge surfaces as a cold installment of human sexual mores. WORKING FROM A SCREENPLAY by Jules Feiffer, Nichols S weavesa chronology of the friendships of two roomates at Amherst in the late 40's: Jonathan, the bawdy machismo of sexual virility, and Sandy, the naive, impressionable innocent a la Summer of '42. Milton Glaser: Graphic genius ..~ S. $4pt4 By ARLENE WANETICK Medal awards. An enormous sense of growrh, The two days that Mr. Glaser excitement, and inspiration was in Ann Arbor were spent swept through the University's largely in seminars with a r t School of Art on March 17 and students, critiquing their wcrk, 18 with the presence of Milzon explaining his own, and discus- Glaser, the New York graphic sing on a small, informal basis designer internationally known the dynamics of the artist' s role ly not in the ousiness f'r the aailable to the artist in a most cash. He says, "It is mniportan, personal sense is wnat we all Veterans Add $100 to Your GI Benefits Call ROTC, 764-2401 as a leader in the field. Presently, Mr. Glaser is on the faculty at the School of Vis- ual Arts, co-founder of Push Pin Studios, Design Director and Chairman of the Board of New York magazine, and Vice Presi- dent of the Village Voice. His work has been exhibited throughout the world, and has bestowed him with several Gold' in the world today. At these times he stressed the importance of individual re- sponsibility for the dire,: i one' takes and the amount of energy1 the work itself reflec s as a criterion for success. Although Mr. Glaser's work has soared to such popUla'iUy that he is free to refuse aninter- esting projects, he is de'init'- to be aware of your owe needs and your own particular percep- tion of the world and deal with it accordingly. "If you don't care o work for someone else and be ac,?g in a big machine, d.1I do it. Stick with your convictions. But if you do go in that direc~'.i:>, it is willed by vou. Don thi ime disappointments on .ecaomiC demands or any of various oth- er excuses. "It involves the issue of prior- ities and it involves taking risks. But the constant change, growth and development tha* is strive for anyway . . . is.il' it?" On Monday evening he gave a public lecture entitled "Time and Graphics," drawing t h e largest crowd of any guest his year. Here he used slides :>f his work, largely pasters, illustra- tions, book and recrd iackets to show how 'le ;sals w i r h the problem of exoressiag I h 2 passage of time -n visual teriws. In this environment, as in the more intimate workshops, he maintained a relaxed, easygo- ing rapport with his listeners as evidenced by their overwhelm- ing response. lie spoke freely, articulately, and candidly. Mr. Glaser's work clearly re- flects his personality- imagina- tive, alive, witty, intelligent, and exploding with ene::gr. Yet per- haps his greatest qUty is the Arts Institute show sheds ioht nn. French. nnliticni art But protege disciple from the master learns the youngster,and Sandy, now of the conveniently influential Jonathan, becomes a of the cold intimacy of mechanical sexuality. 9/w z - 7 0 W qu Years later, with Jonathan a tax lawyer and Sandy a doctor, the collegiate scenario has become a cancerous way of life, simply accepted without consideration. Sex is the only viable3 asset to a continuum of lifestyles-perpetrating the warped fal- lacies of youth to their disintegration of human concern. JONATHAN'S FIXATION WITH the female breast is temporarily fullfilled with the presence of a TV starlet, only to have the, feeble relationship deteriorate further with oncoming impotence, the ultimate in mental castration to his persona. Sandy has divorced his Amherst "sweetheart," manipulated his way through an affair and finally ends up with a spaced-out1 girl half his age. Any intellectual idealism once possessed has1 left him. He has become an entity unto himself. The film is classically what one might expect from a mix of Nichols and Feiffer: a pentratingly naked film that exposes{ satirical truths through long, dialectic sequences. BUT NICHOLS' WORK REMAINS bleak throughout, ultimately failing to resolve itself as his past films have done, even on the strictly superficial level as Yossarian's catharsism in Catch-22. It is a film that refuses to compromise its ideals, allowing its disconsolated pathos the final, victory. -Jonathan and Sandy are victims of their own carnal knowledge, and remain captives of their own persistence. Carnal Knowledge is not a commentary on society and its mores, but one of personal attitudes-ideological worlds unique toI themselves, isolated from the relevance needed to allow them the chance for alteration. fFEIFFER'S CHARACTERS ARE mere cardboard cutouts that live for physical fullfillment, recalling fond memories of past affairs through slide shows in sterile living rooms. In a particularly affective sequence, Nichols pits both Jonathan and Sandy, once adolescents of the '40s, against the ' towering flourescent skyscrapers of the city night, now matura- tions of the '70s. Yet little has changed. If anything their lives have stagnated-decaying from the lack of any mutual progres- sion. What started out as youthful inquisitiveness and agression has grown into a debacle of waste, yielding little more than a franticI attempt to regain sexual prowess; a search that Nichols proves has no resolution, By JOAN RUHELA 1 ing his arim on a cloud. The current exhibit at the De- Richard Swain, who is tea rn- troit Institute of Arts proves ing a one-credit course on that French art from 1774 to French art of this time, says 1830 does much more than glor- that since government and l(y- ify fat old monarchs with white alties were changing so quick- faces in fancy clothes. ly, it was sometimes hard to Many art historians think the paint political paintings because exhibition, sponsored by the De- their heroes might soon be un- troit Institute of Arts in con- derdogs. MctionwithMuseuNew o r Therefore, when David was and the French Reunion des the director of the French art Musees Nationaux, shows that academy, he urged variety and there are flaws in the way weeveryday subject matter, Swain have categorized the art of this.I says. Many paintings of this sort, which haven't attracted as time. s t much attention as the political Perhaps political paintings have been emphasized because they most easily fit into cate- gories. Most neo-classical paint- ings portray scenes from antiq- -h liliflE uity and are said to be rational and controlled. In Jacques-Louis David's PRE "Death of Socrates," which warns us against a society that uW E D D condemns a man like Socrates, the characters seem posed, for exmatic art, in contrast, is B LC considered emotional and spon- taneous. Liberty, in Delacroix' Dir CLAUDE C "Liberty Leading the People," seems to have spontaneously Two lovers kill off thei nicked uip a flag from her dead ehr upneu!I comrade to lead the people dur- other Suspenseful! In ing an uprising. Non - political paintings are{TON1CGHT, T harder to categorize, though 7 & 9 Ad. A Thetis, like most neo-classical nudes, turns her back to us in Ingres' "Jupiter and Thetis.' -- But her clothes are falling off erotically as she leans against Also, the painting almost looks M U S K I like modern art because of its unearthly setting.J upiter de- fies the laws of nature by rest- i I ,i and modesty, recogniinI his suc- cessful designs while confessing ones, had until now been stored the weaker ones. For most stu- away for over 100 years. dents, this had a verv reassar- "Minor" paintings in the ex- ing kind of significance, as it hibit include such commonplace brought their vision of "one subject matter as young men who has made it" into a more playing cricket, a highway be- realistic, human p3rsp.active. ing built of large bricks, and In each of his designs, Mi. brightly - dressed pilgrims com- as iacutely e ofts ing hm rmafatdyi Glaser is acutely aware of h ighome from a feast day in a audience he is designin o.-, bull cart. and emphasizes thi; as a c: ti- Another painting gives us an cal consideration. "I couldn't idea of the philosophy of the possibly use the same design time by showing intellectual concept for the cover of an art man studying experiments, phy- schoolcatalog, geared to stu- samanudighexperments ,phy dents who think visually, as Is sical man with a woman, and would if my intat were selling moral man with his family. gas, which would be ouite a different approac;. k 'Never during Nis slay did Mr. Glaser feel bored, pressured, or disappointed. He was warm and E charismatic at all times, and U well-received by the many stu- CI SENTIS ING IN )OD HABROL, 1973 r spouses to marry each French. hurs., Mar. 20 Angell Hall 1.25 dents who met him. The University of Michigan Professional Theatre Program INGMAR BERGMAN'S 1956 THE SEVENTH SEAL This serious Swedish film is well known for its metaphysical overtones underlying a medieval knight's journey home from the Crusades, but its best feature is, as in a film like CITIZEN KANE, that it is a very effec- tively made movie. As a result, the atmosphere of the Black Plague, the game of chess with Death, and the fine acting by Max von Sydow and Bibi Anderson are images as powerful as the work as a whole, which is about the end of the world as the Dark Ages knew it. FRI.: Filmmaker Sylvia Spring Will Appear at Showings of the Feminist MADELEINE EST ... TONIGHT AT OLD ARCH. AUD. CINEMA GUILD 7 & 9:05 ADM. ONLY $1.00 March 20 & 21 EMUs .Pease Aud. 8 p.m. $3.00 6. _ general t ;: ';r" : ','" :;ti:. f fp"r r{ r x.:;r.; ;, :. "., .... ;. -r,;,r:5 , .:. 'r: .:rs.';" l ; !:k ..... ;: