Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Thursday, May 7; 1970 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY r " r r records I cinema Mixed By R. A. PERRYt I greeted Philips' new record-I ing of the 12 Concerti, Opus 10, by the 18th century Venetian t composer Tomaso Albinoni, with 1 eager anticipations of hearing 1 further samples of this Bar- c oque master's most beautiful t writings for strings. Alzinoni, aE self-labeled "dilettante," wrote1 some of the most charming and . poignant adagios that ever t flowed onto foolscap, and, in- deed, one occasionally finds the 1 cultered hero of an English i novel breathing into his sweet victim's pink and perfumed ear, b "Aimez vous Alboinoni?"] Albinoni's concerti for wind t instruments and strings are es- 1 teemed, especially the Opus 7 1 and Opus 9 set, for their com- 1 bining a sensuousness of line with an originality of detailed instrumentation. Unlike many of 1 his contemporary composers, f who buried interesting melodic a ideas in repetitive forms (for instance the third movement of 1 Dittersdorf's Harp Concerto), Albinoni always-well, almost f impressions Reviewer's nightmare potential. Unlike other recorder players, Bernard Krainis for in- stance, who play with an essen- tially even tone, Bruggen subtle- ly alters tone through breath pressure; he thus elicits a range of expression on the recorder that, to my experience, has not been matched. Needless to say, he commands the requisite dig- ital prowess, and that prowess can at times be mind-boggling. The fascination of Bruggens' latest recital on Telefunken lies in, first, the material: he pre- sents a wonderfully capricious piece by Couperin entitled "Le Rossignol en amour." in which the sopranino recorder imitates the spontaneous warblings of a nightingale, and various works by Telemann, Pepusch, Carr, Van Eyck, and Loeillet. All are first class compositions, and Bruggen blends the spontaneous and the formal in a perfect meld. Secondly, he uses several museum instruments from the "golden age" of recorder manu- facturer. Many are slightly dam- headlong where deliberation is needed, and for once in his re- corded lifetime, his fingers do not help clarify the situation. Glen Gould has been one of the most penetrating, interest- ing, and rewarding pianists of the last fifteen years, ever since his justifiably famed set of Goldberg Variations, but, as he turned his interest to other media as television and radio, his musical performances be- come less credible. On Columbia MS7408, Szell puts the Cleveland Orchestra through their well-trained paces in Kodaly's Hary Janos Suite and Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite. As to be expected, the orchestral playing is a model of timbral balance and ensemble precision, but, as in many Szell recordings, a good deal of the desired razz-ma-tazz is lacking. The Hary Janos Suite especially needs a gruffer, jazzier style, and if you hurry, you can still obtain the excellent Fricsay per- formance on Heliodor, a line now being deleted. Jascha Horenstein has fin- ally been recorded in decent sonics and with a first-class or- chestra. Always spoken of as one of Europe's finest conduc- tors little known in the States (except on Vox recordings of in- ferior sonics), Horenstein has maintained a devoted following. That retinue should increase if a new Nonesuch recording (1- 71236) of Carl Nielsen's Fifth Symphony finds its deserved audience. Nielsen's symphony is highly dramatic, its metaphysic based on an involvement with Nature that may be more im- mediately accessible in the work of Sibelius, but in many ways, Nielsen creates more fascinating instrumental textures than Si- belius ever did. A Danish Mahler, Nielsen in his Fifth Symphony widened his outlook "to iclude a view of humanity as a whole." Horenstein assembles, controls, and molds his forces (the New Philharmonia Orchestra) su- perbly, and the Nonesuch sonics allow one a new appreciation of this conductor, not to mention of the music. Nielsen's shorter work, Saga-Drom, is also in- cluded. One of Victoria de los An- geles' more interesting recitals has recently come out onAngel S-3 6682; it includes songs by Eduardo Toldra, Federico Mom- pou, and Joaquin Rodrigo. I find many of these Catalonian songs similar in style and spirit to the songs of the Auvergne arranged by Canteloube; those by Rodrigo are especially fine. As in other de los Angeles recordings of the last few years, the singer has been too closely miked. Daily Managing Editor Judy Sarasohn has been awarded the $750 college competition grand prize in the Detroit Press Club Foundation's annual writing contest. Miss Sarasohn, whose first place news story on the ar- raignment of John Collins won the grand prize in the three- category contest, is a senior from Briarcliffe, N.Y. The prize was awarded at the foundation's fifth annual din- ner last month. By DONALD KUBIT Zabriskie Point, now showing at the State theater, is a movie of ambivalence, a reviewer's nightmare, because he must shy away from making a final judgement on its merit and con- tent himself with a discussion of the film's good and bad points. My reaction is two-fold. There are certain things that really impress me and there are other things that disgust me. The scorecard is balanced which leaves me with the impression that it is an acceptable movie, but nothing to get ecstatic over. Directed by Michelangelo An- tonioni (Blow-Up) Zabriskie Point is a movie about America, the country we have all learned to love and hate simultaneously. The basic theme is a common one for Antonioni - contem- porary man's alienation from his environment. And if there is an answer to our society's problems it is embedded in the attitudes and energy of our alienated youth. Now this may sound a lot like all the other recent Amer- ican films with the heroes being the sensitive individuals and the bad guys characterized as the middle-aged members of the es- tablishment, but the distinction here is too sharp. Although you can't tell from the color of their hats, it is often too obvious who you are suppose to side with. The storyline is equally far- fetched and even a simple ex- planation of it is more than dif- ficult. A young man. (Mark Frechette) steals an airplane to escape from the turmoil around him. His action is not criminal, but a desire to free himself, to "get of the ground." He meets an equally disillusioned girl (Daria Halprin) and they pro- ceed to make love in the depths of Death Valley. He then paints the stolen plane in a liberated fashion and returns it. The authorities fail to see the humor of the situation and he is killed when the plane lands. The girl learns of his fate on her car radio and relieves her frustra- tion by envisioning her bosses plus desert resort blowing itself to bits thereby revenging her friend's death and predicting the eventual end of current American civilization. What happens in the interim is an exhibition of American vices at their best, including the dehumanizing effect of big busi- ness, police brutality, the lack of sufficient gun control, and the ridiculousness of fat middle- class Americans traveling around the country in their camper. All this is suppose to convey just how desolate the conditions in America are, and you can't deny that it is true, but it is the only answer an orgy in the most life- less spot in the country? Antonioni's technique is the= key issue. It is hard to imagine how someone can be a genius on some counts and absolutely atrocious on others. The photography is fantastic. The scenery is perfect for some- one who is willing to allow the camera to capture the natural beauty and the feeling that it emits. At times you wonder if he is not holding the shot too long, but patience is a must in ap- preciating the colors that seem alive. The visual effects are superb. The last scene which shows symbols of American affluence being destroyed is surrealistic, as slow motion depicts the intricacy and captivating awe of some- thing being demolished. The negative points are more depressing than usual because you would like to believe that Antonioni could have done bet- ter. The dialogue is scanty and hideous, you almost believe that the movie could have been bet- ter without it. By concerning himself with "types" the char- acters are unreal, placed in si- tuations where their actions are obvious and they. have no chance to progress or offer a change of pace by catching the viewer off guard. The two stars epitomize the "beautiful people" category and you wish they could talk with their mouths as well as they, talk with their eyes. Another big flaw is that any continuity the movie may have had was left on the cut- ting room floor. Not only are the scenes distinguished by un- comfortable blackouts, but the movie is also held together by past pretenses and future ex- pectations. Antonioni definitely has a pessimistic view of America and nowadays who doesn't? You can get awful tired of people saying how rotten it is in America, what interests you is some an- swers. After seeing Zabriskie Paint I thought about it, but was more curious to see who was on Cavett's show and what was happening at Kent State. This film is aimed at the "youth audience," it says what young people want to hear, but this satisfaction quickly turns into apathy when you realize that Antonioni is right but secretly wonder so what? ~TAT E HELD OVER! 2nd WEEK... Shows at: 1-3-5-7:05 & 9:15 P.M. ALNTONION1's n a 1P01 NT® Gay Liberation Front general meeting- THURS., MAY 7 3rd floor 8:30 P.M. Union ALL WELCOME (girls too!) Info. 665-7502 Order Your Daily Now Phone 764-0558 DDIAL 8-641]6 ° "The year's ultimate spec- tacle, in the best sense, is Luchino Visconti's extra- ordinary n e w fiI m "The Damned." It may be the chef d'oeuvre of the great Italian director! A rare treat . . . the film triumphs!" -Vincent Canby, N.Y. Times [UHINJ ONIS ()MME a * M' TECHNICOLOR" AN ALFRED LEVY-EVLER HAGIAG PRODUCTION DIRK INGRID HELMUT HELMUT RENAUD UMBERTO ALBRECHT' THURS., FRI., MON. AT 7:30 SAT., SUN. AT 1 :30, 4:30, 7:30 KEEP AHEAD Of YOUR HAIR! 0 NO WAITING 0 8 BARBERS 0 OPEN 6 DAYS Arborland-Comous Maole Vi.aeme The Dascola Barbers I always-managed to avoid suc- cumbing to mere repetition (an aspect of Baroque music which makes it so accessible) and found interesting ways to turn a phrase. The Opus 10, in this premiere recording on Philips S-C 71 AX 308, disappoints in certain ways. The score, in a Dutch manu- script, was discovered in 1965' in Sweden by a Danish musicol- ogist. If the program notes had not insisted on the authorship of these twelve concerti for vio- lin, strings, and continuo. I probably would not have ven- tured to assign them to Al- binoni. Lacking are a certain airy suspension, a certain warm- th, and even the evanescent adagios which tell of Albinoni's hand. Part of the problem-though problem is to harsh a word- may be attributed to the fact that the concerti are performed by the famed Italian ensemble, I Musici. Now I Musici are an outstanding organization, and the twelve musicians (six violins, two violas, two cellos, a double- bass, and harpsichord) have achieved a cohesiveness and precision that won even Tocani- ni's applause. Yet they are es- sentially a very serious-sounding group whose style is marked by a certain motoric drive that hardly deigns to linger over Al- binoni's sighs of lethargic plea- sure. Established Albinoni fans will no doubt want to own this set, well-recorded now that Philips imports their discs, but the un- initiated may well find the best introduction to Albinoni to be the MHS recording of varied concerti for strings and wood- winds (MHS 664), which, hap- pily enough, is conducted by Karl Ristenpart. One new recording which I would like to recommend with- out the slightest hesitation is a recital by Franz Bruggen en- titled "Recorder Music with M u s e u m Instruments, circa 1700." It may be found on the Telefunken label, SAWT 9545- A Ex. Bruggen is that rare musician who has chosen a secondary instrument, and elevated it, through his mastery and art- istry, to primary interest and aged; it is astounding to read in the liner notes that the so- pranino recorder used for the Couperin has a damaged air slit, for not the least sense of hesitancy appears in Bruggens' performance. Telefunken, a German com- pany which, in my opinion, pro- 'vides the best sound in the busi- ness, even better than D.G.G. and certainly far superior to any sound recording manufac- tured in America provides ex- cellent notes on the music' and on the instruments, and, of course, immaculate sonics. A recording that should be avoided by all but the curious and affluent is Glenn Gould's latest Columbia album; on MS 7413, Gould proves that he can hack around not only with Mo- zart but with Beethoven as well. Gould has written that the only reason to perform a piece of music is to try to "do it dif- ferently;" thus he has given up concertizing, which he sees as leading to a calcification of in- terpretation. On records, he has sought to preserve especially his uniquely well-delineated Bach and his highly up-tempo Mo- zart. 'His newest assault on Beethoven seeks again "to do it differently," and the results are disasterous. Gould offers three "favorite" sonatas: the "Pathetique," the "Appassionata," and the "Moon- light." As an example of Gould's approach on this disc, let me just mention his way with the "Moonlight." He obviously finds the nickname to the Sonata No. 14 a lot of balderdash, but in his debunking, he throws out the baby with the bathwater. The sonata normally opens slowly and quietly ,or, to use Gould's own words,' with "d i f f i d e n t charm." Gould, however, begins mezzo-forte and at a goodly pace, which, quite simply, leaves him no place to go. In a way, this sonata is Beethoven's Bo- lero, and each movement accel- erates, in mood as well as in tempo, what preceeded; as Gould puts it, "The Moonlight Sonata escalates from first note to last." Thus, by beginning at an appreciable plateau, Gould destroys the archetectonics of the entire piece. In the other sonatas too, Gould tends to rush Aft~ i :4- ""'''""""""""" """"""" rr i. """""" 1 NGC THEATRE CORPORATION A NATIONAL GENERAL COMPANY 14 Fox VILLBGE 375 No. MAPLE RD.-7694300 MON.-FRI.-7:20-9:30 SAT.-SUN.-1:00-3:00 5:10-7:20-9:30 An Ingo Preminger Production Color by.DE LUXE' . Panavision* LiR CINEMABUL BEGINS THE SUMMER SEASON with A CHAPLIN FEATURE. FRIDAY and SATURDAY MAY 8 and 9 7 & 9:05 Architecture 662-8871 75cAuditorium Ems I I I Ir _. 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