ARTS
The Michigan Daily Sunday, September 19, 1982 P

Records

SLK played bouncy ska last night at Joe's.
New wave, rock, and
ska at Joe's

Liszt Ferene Chamber Orch.
-'A Vono Mesterei'
(Hungaraton)
Intimacy. This is what sets true
chamber music apart from its grand,
symphonic brother. Chamber music
calls for an individual sensitivity from
each member of an ensemble that too
often is neglected in symphony or-
chestras. Each and every chamber
musician must strain to listen and ac-
cordingly adjust his own playing to the
corporate needs of the whole ensemble.
With such an intimate spirit the Liszt
Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, under the
concertmastered directorship of Janos
Rolla, creates music that resounds with
unanimous conviction and precision.
Residing in Budapest, the Liszt
Ferenc Chamber Orchestra consists of
sixteen strings and a harpsichordist. Its
quasi-director leads from his seat as
concertmaster. Diminution of size and
the absence of a conductor set the stage
for attentive and clean music-making.
On their recent release, A Vono
Mesterei (Hungaraton-a lesser known
but nevertheless respected
label-SLPX 12282), a thoughtful and
varied program is presented. The
works are excellent examples of cham-
ber literature from Purcell to Bartok.
The contrast between them is infor-
.Presley
Museum
robbed
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)-Burglars
broke into the Elvis Presley Museum
early Friday and stole jewelry valued
at more than $1 million, the museum's
owner told police.
"They didn't touch anything but
jewelry," Jimmy Velvet said.
"There were several guns, cameras,
TVs and even about $200 in cash laying
out on a desk. They left it all alone."
Velvet said the intruders took about
100 pieces of jewelry-mostly
gold-from seven display cases.
The break-in occurred only hours
before Velvet was to auction off about
100 diamond rings and necklaces before
moving t'he museum to Nashville.
The museum opened last year just
down the street from Presley's man-
sion, Graceland, where the singer died
in 1977 of a heart ailment. The collec-
tion contained, in addition to the
jewelry, three of Presley's
automobiles, furniture, clothing, and
other items that once'belonged to the
"King of rock 'n' roll."
Velvet told police he had two
security guards on duty at the front of
the building Thursday night. But he
said that when he arrived at the
museum Friday morning, he found the
rear door pried open and the jewelry
missing. He said the burglars apparen-
tly cut a security fence at the rear of the
building to gain access to the door.
AN :B3

mative and delightful.
Henry Purcell's Suite includes the
rondeau whose main theme was
borrowed by Benjamin Britten for
clever use in his Young People's
Guide to the Orchestra. The complete
suite is performed with revealing
clarity and proceeds with an unhurried,
stately tempo that pauses naturally
between phrases.
Antonio Vivaldi's Sinfonia in G
major reminds one both of the vigor
and simplicity in movements of The
Four Seasons. The music's vigor
never explodes, and its simple beauty
stays clear of simple-mindedness. The
orchestra's understanding balance
between melodic and harmonic voicing
grants the listener a panoramic view of
the music in its entirety.
Suspensions and arppegiated accom-
paniments abound in Benedetto Mar-
cello's Introduzione, Aria e Presto.
This combination creates continuous
movement below a sustaining super-
structure. Specifically, this is accom-
plished both by tied-over whole-note
suspensions and by maintain general
harmonic direction amidst running
spiccato passages.
Wolfgang Mozart's set of Landler
(country dances) are performed ap-
propriately within the context of their
rural setting. Though harmonically
fundamental (sole use of tonic,
dominant, and subdominant) there is
an unpretentious beauty about the folk
music; it comes from the heart of
robust, lederhosen-slapping peasants.
They are played as such, with even a
reduced, modest vibrato emphasizing
purity of expression.
Unlike the Landler, Bela Bartok's
Rumanian Folk Dances have an
austere beauty; parallel, open fifths
and augmented seconds create a
hollow, haunting mood, while
boisterous double-stops and thick mar-
tele bowing reveals an earthy hear-
tiness. This disparate orchestral
coloring is superbly achieved in this
recording. The result is impressive.
This Hungarian orchestra's eclectic
repertoire proves its versatility.
Though reduction of size limits the
possible depth of sound, it does not
lessen the impact of this ensemble's in-

timate communication with the
listener. The balance in voicing results
in clarity and a homogeneous sound;
and each note is handled with extreme
care and consideration. The chamber
music was intended to be performed.in
a small hall (room.), and so should it be
heard: in a personal environment with
neither pomp nor cerebration, that its
message and beauty may simply be en-
joyed.
-Lauris Kaldjian
Dwarf-'A Little Rock Goes a Long
Way' EP (Merlin)
I'm sorry. Oftentimes I like to give
Detroit-area bands a little bit of a break
or the benefit of several doubts. but no
one could do that for Dwarf in good con-

Daily
Classifieds
Bring
Results

==Mimi


science. You know those awful bands
that played at your high school (and
junior high school) dances, the ones
with the brothers of friends of yours?
That's Dwarf-a good percentage of
their stage work actually has been at
high schools and other disreputable
music places.
Dwarf tries to sound like a lot of more
talented people, Bob Seger among
others. They do have a long playlist of
Detroit-style originals, but songs like
"Out Tonight," "They Say You Do,"
"Girls Come Second," (the most ob-
noxious of all four) and "Coming Down
From Your Love" will never get past
high schools and area bars (and those
occasional University of Michigan
fraternities which subsidize groups like
this).
Sorry guys.
-Ben Ticho
POETRY READING
Mon., Sept. 20, 8 pm
with E. H. Creeth
and Lyn Coffin
reading from their works.
GUILD HOUSE
802 Monroe-662-5169

A'
D
U
4
I.
F

comics
SHOW OFF YOUR TALENT:
Performers needed for
LAUGH TRACK,
Ann Arbor's only showcase
Every Wednesday night at 9:00
In the U-Club
Call 763-1107 and ask for Alan,
or stop by the UAC office,
2105 Michigan Union

By Ben Ticho
'T WAS AN evening of variety
ALand quality, a meeting of the old
professional and the coming young
bunch. Friday evening's concert of
VVT, Ragnar Kvaran, and SLK at Joe's
Star Lounge also portended the coming
of a successful Cruisin' Ann Arbor
record compilation of local music in
December. Which means success for
the Ann Arbor Music Project, the
organizers of the four-night recording
event which concluded last night wit h
Baal, Non Fiction and the Cult Heroes.
I'll pass quickly over VVT, the
opening band, only because Friday was
the first time I'd heard them and I'm
really not sure what to make of them
yet, quite frankly. This new wave-style
group from Ypsilanti did a fine cover of
"Homo Sapien Too" but seemed to drift
slowly downward thereafter. They
played a little tentatively at times, and
the vocals suffered accordingly. Still,
I'd be glad to see them again.
Ragnar Kvaran was a completely
different story, providing the evening's
first major shift in style as the group
opened with "The Witness" and "So
Long Sleazoid," launching into
sophisticated rock that was never ten-
tative. Lead singer Kvaran is a veteran
of the Ann Arbor music scene, and his
years of experience paid off in a
remarkable display of assuredness and
integrity, with a distinctively personal
'approach. I feel safe in stating that
Ragnar Kvaran isn't copying
anybody which is saying a lot in Ann
Arbor. Poetic ramblings like "Drift"
recall some early Springsteen devotion
-to dramatics, and that scruffy
European voice reminds me a little of
Skids, but really the whole act is
unique.

The record producers may have a
slight problem getting Kvaran's voice
to come out well, as heavy instrumen-
tals drowned many lyrics out. With just
a little more funk, this band could eclip-
se the moderate national attention the
Wrecked on Love EP received last
year.
Highlights of Kvaran's all-originals
set included amusing "Lving in a Car-
toon" ("It's a Mickey Mouse Affair")
with an "I Want Candy" beat, an urgent
version of the group's single release
"Desparate Characters," and the
grand finale of "Wrecked on Love," in-
cluding Terry Vogel's screaming
guitar solo.
SLK emerged at 12:30 to the frenzied
cheers of legions of dancers, some of
whom had been waiting outsside for
several hours. Ann Arbor's favorite ska
band didn't disappoint anybody; and
with good reason: a corpse could dance
to SLK. Following warm-up covers of
"Concrete Jungle" and "Ranking Full
Stop," the group played a long string of
originals, including "Lorale," "So
Hard" (a combination of rap, ABC and
the Clash's "Magnificent Seven"),
"Watching the Tube," ("What does it
tell you? Nothing at all!"), and
"Trigger Talk."
SLK at its best has a crisp, clear
sound and a very identifiable beat with
a good complement of sax work, guitar
solos, and keyboard playing. They're
also showing an admirable attention to
lyrics (social and atmospheric) in
originals. They lacked some of
Kvaran's spontaneity on Friday night,
but album recording doesn't always
lend well to live experimentation.
Ska, wave, and rock. There may be
some musical promise in this little
village after all.



BEFORE AFTER
This is me before I started going to Michigan This is after one short year as a Michigan En-
Ensemble Theatre productions. Loose, poor, un- semble Theatregoer. Respected, influential,
happy, and alone. rich.
HOW MICHIGAN ENSEMBLE THEATRE CHANGED MY LIFE

[

2INDIVIDUAL THEATRES
5th Ave ot Lberty 761.4700


IRRESITIBLE"
VINCENT CANBY
N.Y. TIMES

S befre
8:00 p.

k &
Jacobsons
tTthI0 & I IAI LI
LIJCII IN
You are cordially invited
to share an evening with
I I lt V [0UIN , pianist and AItTET & UCAU4 %"A)% , designers
for the benefit of the
University Musical Society

Gregory's
Girl. (PG)
SAT, SUN-12:50, 2:40, 4:40
6:30, 8:20, 10:10
MON-6:30, 8:20, 10:10

Quite recently, after an afternoon
shopping in New York, I was boar-
ding my helicopter for the trip to
Washington, when the school friend
and aide I'd been shopping with said,
"You know, Helen, I've always won-
dered how an unpretentious, sincere
woman like yourself came to be so
influential, so respected, so . . . ex-
citing?"
Tears welled in my eyes. "Times
weren't always this rosey, Cindy old
chum."
My thoughts traveled back, back to
the Nightmares, before the law firm,
the public office, the corporate sup-
port, before I earned my pilots licen-
se and discovered a new horizon in
life....
Once, I was a bit like you.
Drinking two dollar and fifty cents
Lambrusco out of dixie cups, wat-
ching Bob Eubanks on the Newlywed
Game while I did my nails, cruising
the meat market bars looking for
easy businessmen. I looked like a
million bucks, but I couldn't have af-
forded cab fare from Pizza Bobs Up-
town to Pizza Bobs Downtown.
Finally, I hit bottom....
Picked up by the Toledo Police for
mooning a Judge in the parking lot of
a Meiler Thrifty Acres.
My last friend in this whole world,
Leslie MacNee, drummed sense into
my head as she drove me home that
night.
"Helen, clean up your act! Why
don't you get involved in something
cultural? Why not . . . take in a
Michigan Ensemble Theatre play?"
"Oh, geez Les, don't they do con-

I knew nothing about theatre.
"Helen, who would be wrong if you
shook this habit?"
Looking into her grey-green eyes, I
realized Leslie was right. I resolved
to give Michigan Ensemble Theatre a
shot.
At first it was quite irritating. The
intricate plots made Dallas look like
Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood. Having
to sit for an hour at a time without a
break for Riunite on ice made me
feel like a long haul truck driver.
But I started to feel the beneficial
effects of going to the theatre after
one short week.
In no time, I started using real
glasses. I switched from Lambrusco
to an occasional Amaretto sour with
a lime twist.
Soon I was spending almost every
evening listening to public radio,
watching Masterpiece Theater, and
reading good books, like James
Joyce's Ulysses.
I realized that some of the greatest
women in the world attended the
theatre-Helen of Troy, Cleopatra,
Josephine, Queen Victoria, Lillian
Hellman, Eleanor Roosevelt, and
many others who are yet alive today.
Then I met Edward. The first man I
had ever met who knew there was
more to Joan of Arc than God and
tights. And I fell in love.
Today I am on top of the world with
a wonderful husband, happy as a
stock and bond consultant, content to
take care of our family and give the
maid an occasional day off, and me
with friends in high places and an up

are read dialogues from Kanin,
Williams, and Fugard, the quality of
their eggs dramatically improves.
Now if it can do that for plain old
chickens, imagine what it can do for
you.
You might use it to quell
overeating and health abuse and
make interesting and valuable new
friends. The possibilities are, in a
word, endless.
Can you afford Michigan Ensem-
ble Theatre?
Does Paul Newman have blue
eyes?
Even though studies have shown
that Michigan Ensemble Theatre
audience members are among the
most intelligent, affluent, and nice
people in Ann Arbor, yes you can af-
ford Theatre tickets today, thanks to
special student rates.
Begin the Michigan Ensemble
Theatre habit today.
Remember, the longest journey
begins by getting dressed. Don't let
this opportunity slip through your
fingers. Get season tickets right
now. While you are thinking about it.
And get ready for an exciting im-
provement in your life.
Warn your family and friends that
you may start wearing shoes to din-
ner.
You may lose your taste for Doritos
and bean dip.
And the next time you find your-
self sitting in class, thinking about
biting your nails, you'll find yourself
asking ...
Would a Michigan Ensemble
Theater goer do this?


RICHARD GERE
DEBRA WINGER
AN OFFICER
AND A
GENTLEMAN

I