The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, July 26, 1978-Page 5
Burton: Is 'pleasant' enough?
By R. J. SMITH
Along with a couple of other "new
things" going on in the 1960s, a lineage
of almost exclusively white jazz players
began swallowing up whole chunks of
classical technique into their music. By
doing things like shunning traditional
song patterns, and approaches to many
familiar chordal progressions in im-
provisations, and incorporating a
pastiche of strongly unswinging ethnic
and folk melodies into their solos and
arrangements, artists like Paul Winter,
Don Ellis, and Gary Burton did a couple
of things.
For one, they gave the music a daz-
zling richness, a sense of introspection
and even poetry that hadn't been totally
brought out before. At its best this
music is engrossing and warm. But at
its worst, its frequent lack of real swing
can regularly lead to the construction of
plodding, heavy-handed music. It can
be dull, and is often lapped up by the
smart set for its assumed intellectual
nature: unfortunately, it has alienated
blacks, and has often become
background music with an avowed
spiritual slant for college students.
OBVIOUSLY, IT is a dangerous
music to play - it can be uplifting, but
it can be boring and exclusive.
It was thus Monday evening that
Gary Burton delivered a late-evening
set at the Earle, straddling between
these two far points. If he was never
crashingly dull, the music sometimes
struggled to rise above "pleasant." And
if he only briefly created anything of
memorable beauty, he always played
professionally.
Starting out the show, the band whip-
ped through a version of Chick Corea's
song "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly."
It was uptempo, and had Corea's paten-
ted breathtaking chord progressions,
but it still maintained an overall feel of
relaxedness. Drummer Bob Moses
pushed the group, with powerful
spacious drumming concentrated on
his snares and bass drum.
See BURTON, Pages8
Daily Photo by JOHN KNOX
Jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton appeared with his quartet at the Earle jazz night-
club Monday night.
Szeryng, Sandor a flawless duo
By OWEN GLEIBERMAN Beethoven compositions more notable ease of a master. Here was a perfor- as Sandor, especially, was a
Monday evening's performance by for their thoughtful simplicity than for mance where perfect control, a sense heavy throughout, and both p
Henryk Szeryng and Gyorgy Sandor, the supreme lyrical and harmonic that every note had its place, was so seemed to have a bit of trouble
though virtually without flaw, failed to complexities of the composer's later overwhelmingly present that even the taming a steady pace. Ye
leave anyone gasping for more. Doub- works. Hearing these three in a row most difficult passages were fluid and movement was followed by a ha
tless, this can largely be attributed to was something less than inspirational, graceful. Szeryng and Sandor worked Andante, with edgy chromatic
the qualities of the works themselves. and it was only the duo's near-perfect marvelously together; their musical that gave its mysterious, almost
The performance was the first of three rendering of each that gave the per- understanding and compatability were feeling.
devoted to the complete cycle .of formance its life. obvious, as they attacked more The moment that the first,
Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano. SZERYNG, WHO IS teaching master rigorous passages in unison and swayed strains of the C minor Sonata,
Of the four performed on Monday, classes this week at the University, Hewryezeryog, vioInes' paled by comparison. Next to th
three were Opus twelve, early played every note with the consummate GyorgySandorpianist bros works this Sonata is str
Rackham Auditorium thewoktisSnaistr
ot NoRakor. complex and emotionally i
Op. 2, No..... ............Beethoven combining rapid shifts in mos
SonataaNo. 2in A major, concise, often sparse hat
Op.12, No.2.... . . Beethoven motives.
u ff rUsS SonataNo.3inE-fatmajor, C MINOR has always Sa
e r s sa n s S h a tn e r oao.3... .........Beethoven especially well-suited to Beetk
Op. 30,No.2...........Beethoven more brooding and intense
By STEPHEN PICKOVER Presented by the university positions; aside from the Fifth
It is rare that Meadow Brook finds itself in a position to include a second Musical society phony, the Pathetique Sonat
performance of any group, much less a third, due to masses of people delicately through lyrical sections with opening movements of the Third
clamoring for tickets. But, such was the case with "Starship Encounters," a complimentary feelings for tone color Concerto and String Quartet, (
musical conglomeration of themes from the latest craze of the American and rhythmic emphasis. No. 2, all seem to derive
public, science fiction, manifesting itself in movies with incredible special The opening movement of the first deliberate power largely from t
effects and a preoccupation with Vulcans and the Force. sonata displayed this mutual command in which they were conceived
The idea for this musical'bonanza has been around for a while, making amply. Szeryng gave his marked triple- violin and piano sonata has the
its debut in the Hollywood.Bowl last year with the Los Angeles Philharmonic stops an authoritory gustoestablishing sweeping, dynamic lyricism. Th
and Laserium, a laser light show which designers artistically mold to fit the motives cleanly and drawing power movement's rapid -modulations
music. from particularly rhythmic passages. major to minor cut much deept
MEADOW BROOK had even greater plans, scheduling, at first, Leonard The slow second movement, like all the the sweeter sounds of the ev
Nimoy, Star Trek's introspective Vulcan, to "narrate" the performance, slower movements, was highlighted by earlier works.
then William Shatner, the Captain of the Enterprise, both of whom failed to wonderfully vibrant passages in which And this performance was abs
show. People had bought tickets at least a month in advance, and there was Szeryng, high on the D string, sung swathed in intensity. There was
nary an announcement in the papers or radio that Shatner was not ap- sweetly but was always forceful and Szeryng's attacks, and raging1
pearing. While I doubt if Jim Launce, the eventual narrater, did any less of a alive, in the bittersweet lyric sections
job than Shatner would have done, the irresponsibility of the management THE FIRST movement of the A last piece was any indication, th
was the cause of many an angry mother, with crestfallen children holding Major Sonata was the only performan- duo's remaining two concerts,
back the tears. Needless to say, the disappointment did not get the show off ce that fell down, even slightly. This held tonight and Friday at Ra
to the excited and feverish pitch it should have had. Allegro Con Spirito needed more spirito, might well be worth your time.
trifle
layers
main-
t this
unting
scales
Slavic
harsh
Op. 30
concert
e other
ikingly
ature,
d with
rmonic
seemed
ioven's
com-
h Sym-
a, and
d Piano
Op. 18,
their
he key
d. This
e same
e third
s from
er than
ening's
olutely
fire in
passion
. If the
hen this
, to be
ckham,
Richard Hayman, master arranger, notably of muzak, conducted the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He opened the program with the initial theme
from Strauss' Thus Spake Zarathustra, more commonly known as the theme
from 2001, orange drink, aspirin, and numerous other products.
THE SYMPHONY was amplified, of course, which gave it a huge, awe-
inspiring sound during its forte and double forte passages throughout the
evening, but removed all warmth of sound, especially from the strings and
woodwinds. As the piece climaxed, the words "Detroit Symphony" unjum-
bled their way onto the screen that was set up behind the orchestra, by way
of laser lights.
The following two numbers, "I Feel the Earth Move" and the Star
T k .eme were-both:arjngedby yman It, was.here especially
"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown"
based on "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz
presented by
Ann Arbor Civic Theatre
July 26-29 Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre
Tickets: CURTAIN8 om
$4.00 Weds. & Thurs. $4.50 Fri. & Sat.
Children 16 and under who are accompanied by an adult are $1.00 off the
regular price. Weds., July 26
Sex Office (inthe thare lobtby) tillbe op Man. July24 through
Tues..July25 Sa ..oJ 9
I