ARTS

The Michigan Daily

-Sunday, January 9, 1983

Page 5


Four strings strong

3 Guitarist David Bromberg brings his mix of country, blues, and folk music to the Sixth Ann Arbor Folk Festival
next Saturday at the Michigan Theatre.
Folk festivalfeatures fine
fiddling oot-stom in fun

By Katie Brewer
N INETEEN YEARS ago at a music
festival in Vermont a classical
tradition was established; the Guarneri
String Quartet, what is now the oldest
string quartet in America.
The quartet's long history has
brought them rave reviews as critics
regard them as masters of chamber
music and preeminent among string
quartets in the world today.
Indeed, the ensemble, composed of
violinists Arnold Steinhardt and John
Dalley, violist Michael Tree, and cellist
David Soyer, has completed sixteen
tours of Europe and performed exten-
sively in North America, New Zealand,
Australia, and Japan. In addition, the
four gentlemen have been featured on
television and radio specials, documen-
taries, educational presentations and
are now the subject of a book by Helen
Ruttencutter entitled Quartet.
The renowned quartet is giving Ann
Arbor the rare privilege of no perfor-
mances through the University Musical
Society, one this afternoon at 4 p.m. in
the Rackham Auditorium, and a second
on February '3.The concert program for
today includes works by Haydn (Quar-
tet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3), Brahms
(Quartet No. 3, Op. 67) and Debussy
(Quartet in G minor). The program of-
fers a variety of classical, romantic,
and contemporary music that is sure to
satisfy the taste of even the most diver-
sified of audiences.
All members of the Guarneri have
had major solo careers and continue to
appear as soloists outside the quartet.
Steinhardt, winner of the coveted
Leventritt Award, made his debut at
the age of fourteen and has performed
as soloist with the Philadelphia, New
York and Cleveland Orchestras.Dalley
had his debut at the age of fourteen as

well and toured Europe and Russie
before serving on the faculty of the
Oberlin Conservatory. Tree, an accom-
plished violist and violinist, first per-
formed in Carnegie Hall at the age of
20. He has appeared as a soloist with the
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Los
Angeles Orchestras. Soyer began his
professional career at the age of 17 with
the Philadelphia Orchestra and went on
to perform with such groups at the
Marlboro Trio, the Bach Aria Group,
and the Guilet Quartet.
All four members have been appoin-
ted as professors of music at the
University of Maryland for the present
academic year. They have several
recordings of the quartet alone as well
as in collaboration with other artists
such as Arthur Rubinstein, Boris Kroyt
and Mischa Schneider of the Budapest
Quartet. Each member of the ensemble
also has made recordings as soloists.

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Michigan Daily
764-0558

The Guarneri String Quartet
promises to provide a musical ex-
perience that will not be easily
equalled. As the Pasadena Star-News
so eloquently put it: "The Guarneri still
owns the most beautiful sound of any
string quartet in America."

By Jennifer Gamson
HE GENRE OF folk music is
 nherently dynamic and ever
changing. Write it off as "merely" solo
,guitar or woeful, droning English
,ballads, and you are depriving yourself
of much more than you imagine. This
image of folk is as outdated now as the
long hair and peace pendants which ac-
I'ompany most stereotypes of the six-
ties. Indeed, folk is a style which com-
bines both old and new, traditional and
change, making it fascinatingly con-
temporary and diverse.
This year's Sixth Ann Arbor Folk
Festival aptly demonstrates that the
genre of folk spans a great range of
musical and performance styles. The
festival will be proudly presented on
Saturday, January 15 at 1:30 p.m. and 8
p.m. in the Michigan Theatre to benefit
the Ark Coffeehouse, Ann Arbor's own
famous folk club. Headlining both per-
formances is David Bromberg and his
band, with four other acts per show to
complete the picture. The festival
promises to be a well-rounded and
varied mixture of virtually all that is
folk music.
David Bromberg's musical
proficiency, coupled with imagination
and wit, make hiin one of the more
charismatic public performers.
Emerging from his (semi) retirement
as a violin maker in Chicago, Brom-
berg's appearance next Saturday will
be an uncontestable treat.
Since his debut in the sixties, Brom-
berg's extraordinary guitar picking
and stylistic range has brought him to
the attention of many other musicians.
Bob Dylan (before Christ), Ringo Starr,
John Hurt and Tom Paxton were
among those performers he played
back-up for in the early years of his
career. As he set out on his own, Brom-
berg began to establish himself as a
guitar virtuoso and great entertainer in
his own right. Today, with his excellent
band, Bromberg offers a cross section
of styles, drawing from blues, folk,
country, jazz; cajun and rock. He
literally defies classification.
John Hartford's songwriting ability
and his talents on fiddle, banjo, and
guitar will also be witnessed and en-
joyed in this year's festival. His
proficiency has brought him world wide
recognition as a leading force in
bluegrass and a unique contemporary
musician. Although he wrote "Gentle

on My Mind," made famous by none
other than Glen Campbell (and sub-
sequently recorded by 330 other ar-
tists), Hartford has infinitely more
germain musical talents to offer Ann
Arbor audiences. As a matter of fact,
student radio station WCBN uses Har-
tford's peculiar "Hey Babe, Ya Wanna
Boogie?" as one of its more
imaginative station identifications.
Jim Post is this year's master of
ceremonies. His spontaneous quips and
off-the-wall humor will provided
needed fillers between performers, but
are in themselves something to look
forward to. His unusual tenor voice can
pierce the silences of the largest of con-
cert halls with a lung capacity that
would more than slightly disturb the
likes of Luciano Pavarotti. Post's role
in the folk music festival will undoub-
tedly be a notable one.,
Also in the almost-anything-for-a-
laugh vein are the John Roberts and
Tony Barrand duo. These two English-
men masterfully present their
tradition, alternately stunning the
audience with perfect harmonies and
then knocking them off their seats with
outrageous and unpredictable banter.
The Ark is additionally proud to in-
clude five women performers in this
year's folk festival-a difficult and
commendable accomplishment within
a characteristically male field. Claudia
Schmidt engages the audience with
both her voice and vibrance, accom-
panying herself smoothly on guitar,
dulcimer, and, on occasion, the much-
insulted pianolin, which is to music
what New Jersey is to Manhattan: an
inescapable nightmare. Ann Doyle,
who teaches at Herb David's Guitar
Studio, provides the Ann Arbor flavor
that Gemini has in years past. She is
labelled a "feminist singer", but her
performances have topical appeal to
both women and men.
Included, too, under "f'olk" this year
is the rich tradition of storytelling.
Connie Regan (no relation to the
Secretary of the Treasury) -and Bar-
bara Freeman, the Folktellers, compel
young and old alike to sit on the edge of
their seats with absorbed delight.
Finally, the list concludes with two
last acts. Dan Crary is dually famous
for his guitar picking and journalistic
involvement in Frets magazine. And to
top off the range of performers in a foot-
stomping, dancing tradition, is the
unique sound of Fennig's All-Star

String Band. Combining the unusual
components of piano, fiddle and ham-
mer dulcimer, Fennig's is full of sur-
prises from their repertoire of Irish,.
English, American and Canadian
tunes.
All performers are playing as a
benefit for the Ark, a non-profit folk
music club which relies primarily on
the annual folk festival for financial
sustenance. Though the Michigan
Theatre may not be as cozy as the Ark's
cushioned living room, the intimate
atmosphere will undoubtedly be
preserved.
The imagined combinations of
musical talent, wit and stylistic diver-
sity in this year's festival is un-
precedented. With this'group of per-
formers, anything goes. . . But how
nice it will be to get caught in the
crossfire of such musicians and enter-
tainers.
For further information call 761-1451.

PART TIME EMPLOYMENT
NIGHTS
The College of Literature, Science and The Arts is currently
interviewing students interested in participating in an alumni
fundraising telethon. LSA alumni living in the western states
will be called from campus. The telethon runs five nights per
week, Sunday through Thursday, January 30 through February
17. You select two of the five nights available, with an oppor-
tunity to work additional nights.
Hours: 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm
Pay: $3.55 per hour
LSA students preferred
Call 763-5576

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