Friday, July 9, 1971 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five Fridy, Jly9,97~THE IC~iAN AILYPageFiv arts Wild, Musical society feature a return to Liszt and omanticism WINNER OF THE GOLD DAVID AWARD Italy's Highest Award for the BEST FILM OF THE YEAR "THE BEST MOVIE THIS YEAR BY EAR! A sumptu- ous, emotionally charged experienced!"_. --Pauline Koel, The New. Yorker By JOHN HARVITH The 'Romantic Revival' made a belated arrival in Ann Arbor last night, as the University Mu- sical Society presented pianist Earl Wild in a program of Mo- zart, Brahms, Chopin and Liszt. By restoring Franz Liszt to the active repertory in its Summer Concert Series, the Society re- newed a time - honored tradi- tion of Romantic virtuosity which hearkened back to the days when Hofmann, Paderewski and Rach- maninoff graced Hill Auditorium. Although this carping critic would have preferred to hear a pianist with Wild's prodigious technique devour a whole program of ob- sure, flamboyant r o m a n t i c works (Alkan, Scharwenka, un- familiar Liszt), each selection he did choose to play highlight- ed a different facet of the virtuo- so's art. For instance, Mozart intended his Variations in G on a Theme by Gluck to be a concert show- piece for his own bravura pianis- tic talents. Listening to Wild's Mozart, unfortunately, one would never have guessed the swash- buckling origins of the varia- tions. While he displayed rare refinement of tone and awareness of how to contrast piano and forte phrases, his whole approach was too delicate and miniaturized a la Gieseking. As a result the composition became a rococo 4 trifle, when with louder dynamics it could have emerged as a vital display piece with bite and verve. Brahms' Capriccios bear an important link to the mainstream of nineteenth - century piano per- formance; they are song - form character pieces, a type of com- 4 position which all Romantic pi- anists kept up their sleeves as crowd - pleasers. Among these often awkward and thickly- scored Brahms' oeuvres only the balletic Capriccio in b could be termed a "greatest hit." For the most part, these works are * weighted down with bombastic rhetoric and pretense masquer- ading as profundity, prime exam- ples of "much ado about noth- ing." Wild didn't seem to be much more enchanted with the Capriccios than was this dis- gruntled reviewer. His perform- ances were rather abrupt, rough- hewn and square. The memory of Artur Rubin- stein's unforgettable Chopin per- formances in Ann Arbor cast a long shadow over Wild's encoun- ter with the Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise. Granting Wild's beautiful tone in an unusu- ally understated Andante, his phrases lacked impetus and con- tour, so that the slow section as a whole didn't cohere. In the Polonaise his nervously ripped off fortissimo octaves and chords didn't mesh with the work's ly- rical moments, yielding an epi- sodic and repetitive sounding per- formance. More plasticity in rhythm and careful building of dynamic levels could have re- deemed Chopin. Artur Schnabel used to say that he only bothered performing compositions which were better than they could ever be interpre- ted. Most works of Franz Liszt present the concert artist with just the opposite situation, for his music sounds only as good as the pianist who is playing it. And Liszt provided Wild with just the vehicle he needed to play his trump cards: incredibly sup- ple virtuosity and endurance. These qualities darted out in the last numbers on this superhuman program. The shimmering, evanescent quality of "Walden- rauschen" (Forest Murmurs' was perfectly captured with a subtly graduated climax; La Campanella was literally hair- raising in its pearling pianissimi and impressive cresdendoed trill, and the Valse Oubliee (an en- core!) sped along in ear-ravish- ing fashion. Overall, Wild was tremendous- ly impressive in his musicality in Liszt, never sentimentalizing this potentially treacly music. Wild's combination of technique to burn plus musicianship warrants his speedy return to Ann Arbor in an all-Liszt program. COOL COMFORT OPEN 6:45 P.M. a F#';TH Foruiv TON ITE AT f 7AV U@90A1 Onee a sucker... . always a sucker Klatu Berrada Niktu The Dependables United Artists Uas 6799 No, this isn't a serious review, cut by cut, of an album called Klatu Berrada Niktu. I mean, I'm aware that nobody cares to hear about Klatu Berrada Niktu, anyway, even if it turned out to be the best album of 1971. Actually, it's one of the worst. I'm just writing this review to bring you all up to date on the Blues Magoos. Now I'm sure, as you all turn over Carole King albums, you don't want to know about the Blues Magoos. But you should, because it's a lesson in how the record industry works. The Blues Magoos were a ter- rible group who exploited the sucker instinct in a lot of teen- agers and rode it to the bank be- hind such ioditic albums as Psy- chedelic Lollypop. So we fell for it, just like we fell for Iron But- terfly, Vanilla Fudge, and The Electric Prunes. But we're all older now, more wiser and so- phisticated in our musical tastes: we don't fall for that shit any- more; you like Laura Nyro, I like Van Morrison, and I know some people who even like Cecil Taylor. You believe we're sophisticated and I believe we're sophisticated, but the record industry doesn't believe we're sophisticated. And since they conceive, produce, and market the stuff we spend mil- lions on, I suspect theyhknow something we don't. And they do. And that is; once a sucker, al- ways a sucker; and if we fell for the Blues Magoos once, we will for the rest of our lives. So here's the leader of the Ma- goos, with some other cat in a duo called the Dependables, and he's singing the lamest rhythm and blues you'll ever hear. But get it, it's got a beautiful, rustic, etherial cover, the back has a picture like Deja Vu; and the (Continued on Page 9) Your Pleasure i Chicken Dinner $1.39 3035 Washtenaw across from Lee Oldsmobile r BElT MIDRASH college of jewish studies SUMMER TERM (July-Aug.) Starting July 6 (after holiday) Classes in HEBREW BEGINNERS M. W. 7:00-8:15 HEBREW INTERMEDIATE M. W. 8:15-9:30 ISRAEL CULTURE (Dance, etc.) WED. 8:30-10:00 REGISTRATION FEE: $5.00 Registration takes place 15 minutes before classes each day (payable once, fee covers all classes) (lasses al HILLEL: 1429 Hill St. INFORMATION: Day-663-4129, Night-971-0309 i- Gei~n3 t± Toge+her o1 if - - r* t* - O*V t 207 E. Liberty