ARTS
'he Michigan Daily
Tuesday, January 11, 1983
I
Guarneri:
Page 5
Magic
"0s101
mu0
cal moments
Pianist performs at Union Arts Program
NORTH CAMPUS may seem like a
vast wasteland to some of you, but
to a myriad of music students, it's a
haven where one can hone and refine
raw talent. That's hopefully what oc-
curs when a student finally graduates
from the music school.
Toni-Marie Montgomery will demon-
strate all she has learned when the
music doctoral candidate performs
tonight in the Michigan Union's Pen-
dleton Room at 8 p.m. Montgomery
begins the Michigan Union Arts
program (Winter Term Series) with
sonatas by Beethoven (the "Kreut-
zer"), Poulenc, and Franck. She will
not be alone, however. Accompanying
her for the recital will be two violinist
students from the School of Music,
Laura Ross and Marla Smith.
Before the Consert-of-the-Month with
Montgomery, there will be a preview of
what the Dance Department has to of-
fer when students Valerie Vener and
Kathy Kibbey exercise their sartorius
muscles at noon today, also in the Pen-
dleton Room.
If you can't make it to either of these
concerts, Music at Mid-Day begins on
Thursday, Jan. 13. The Schumann
Etudes will be performed by Rebecca
Happel. All shows are free of charge.
By Katie Brewer
T HE AUDIENCE waits with
breathless anticipation and as the
house lights fade, four distinguished
looking gentlemen in black suits appear
on stage and quietly take their seats.
They begin and the sound of sweet,
melodic notes fill the hall.
The instruments sing; at times sweet
and lilting, at others, intense and
dramatic as the audience is swept along
in a tide relentless emotion. I am
referring to last Sunday afternoon's
concert of the world-renowned Guar-
neri String Quartet at Rackham
Auditorium..
The Guarneri, composed of violinists
Arnold Steinhardt and John Dalley, has
the distinction of being the senior quar-
tet in America having been together for
close to nineteen years. Their many
tours have brought them much ac-
claim ; critics regard them as one'of the
finest string quartets in the world
today. This assessment proved to be
true on Sunday as the quartet delivered
three exquisitely polished pieces to a
thrilled audience.
The University Musical Society-
sponsored program is the first of two
performances by the Guarneri Quartet
to mark the sesquicentennial of the bir-
th of Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833).
The Guarneri performs again on Sun-
day, February 13 at 4 p.m. in Rackham
Auditorium.
The program included works by
Haydn (Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No.
3), Brahms (Quartet No. 3, Op. 67) and
Debussy (Quartet in G minor, Op. 1O)
The men performed in perfect accord
and presented a cohesive sound that
was rhythmically, dynamically, and
melodically precise. In addition, the
performers themselves gave a stunning
visual display to complement the
music. Bodies rocking in time to the
music, heads and bows moving in
rythmic unison, they seemed to be the
embodiment of the music; leaning for-
ward in intense excitement or slightly
relaxed.
The Haydn piece was a good begin-
ning that charmed the audience im-
mediately. The bouncy, light-hearted
tones that began the quartet explain to
its title: "The Rider." Moving into the
second movement, the mood became
reflective, holding the audience in a
web of harmonic tenderness. From the
second movement the intensity in-
creased until the final moments of
powerful excitement left the audience
exhilerated and eager for more.
The Brahms took us for a ride in the
country with a happy, dancelike
melody followed by a quiet, sombre in-
terlude. The second movement, with its
sweet, harmonic tones, was highly
emotional and brought the hint of tears
to even the most indifferent observer's
eyes. The finale returned us to the coun-
tryside with a subtle folk theme that
combined with the music of the opening
to produce a cohesive melody. Sur-
risingly, although the program is in
honor of Brahms, he only wrote three
string quartets, Opus 67 being his last.
The Debussy piece ended the
program and offered a pleasant con-
trast to the preceding works. The per-
formers displayed the art of string
plucking which was interesting to see
and delightful to the ear. The third
movement, an expressive conversation
between the four instruments, shined
brightly in what is said to be one of the
chamber music's most beautiful
moments.
There is no doubt that the Guarneri
Quartet offers a musical experience of
magical moments that will surely in-
clude their February 13 concert.
Subscribe to The
Michigan Daily
764-0558
2010: I can feel it, Dave
By Chris Lauer
W HERE 2001: A Space Odyssey
was an epic fit for a general
audience as both book and movie, 2001:
Odyssey Two, Arthur C. Clark's sequel
book, is only for science fiction fans.
To the true science fiction fan, this
book is going to seem great. The plot in-
corporates a number of esoteric scien-
tific hypotheses probably known only to
fanatical readers of Omni. Science is
spread thickly throughout Odyssey Two
by transforming these hypotheses into
fictional scientific achievements, and
by making numerous scientific
references that range from aerospace
engineering to zoology. Clarke knits the
hodgepodge of science into a
technically flawless plot. For the
general reader however, unsatisfying is
the key word. Lacking complicated
literary maneuvers, the large dose of
science fails to make the book a success
on its own.
Odyssey Two picks up where 2001
left off. Commander Dave Bowman has
become a "star child" leaving his ship,
Discovery, parked next to a mysterious
monolith that has been holding a
stationary position near one of Jupiter's
moons. In the continued story, a joint
American-Soviet mission is sent
rushing to the Discovery to find out
what went wrong.
In a way Odyssey Two is interesting,
because the reader gets to meet several
of the characters from 2001 including
Heywood Floyd, the Earth-based space
agency bureaucrat, Dave Bowman,
astronaut-turned-star child, and HAL,
the artificially intelligent on-board
computer that turned against
Discovery's astronauts. Clarks shows
courage, beacuse the reactivation of
HAL is probably as sensitive an issue as
the death of Spock. Among the in-
teresting new characters is Dr. Chan-
dra, HAL's creator and teacher, and a
perfect fit into the engineering
stereotype.
Though it borrows many of the same
characters, Odyssey Two fizzle where
2001 exploded. In 2001, characters were
put in meaningful and dramatic
situations in a way never before ap-
proached. The originality worked, and
the confrontation between Dave
Bowman and HAL, and later between
Dave Bowman and the mystery of the
Universe, came off well. In the sequel
there are instead sudden plot shifts
commonly seen in science fiction, ap-
parently intended to be explosive
drama. The plot shifts are based on
either obscure scientific hypotheses or
sudden release of information from a
character who had been holding back.
For a quick reference guide to the plot
elements, see the acknowledgements
where Clarke gives credit for the scien-
tific ideas he used to build the plot.
Besides relying on plot tricks for
drama, there is also a heavy reliance on
dramatic material from other sources.
Clarke's formula seems to be to
culminate dramatic moments with a
quote or paraphrase from another
author. This would be fine if it did not
seem a substitute for real drama.
Shakespeare shows us and so does
George Orwell. The same Haldane
quote that was in 2001 about truth being
stranger than fiction shows up yet
again. There is also repetitious quoting
from 2001 itself.
The sequel is not as topical as the 1968
original. 2001: A Space Odyssey was
released as both book and movie at a
time before the first moon landing, and
just as the significance of computers
was being generally recognized. 2001
effectively uses themes of "man again-
st an out-of-control computer" and
"man in awe of the universe." A reader
would be lucky to contrive a theme
from Odyssey Two.
The only sense in which Odyssey Two
is great is that it all fits together. The
sequel conforms well with the original
movie and almost as well with the
original book. Circumstances are
created that explain to the last detail
the how's and why's. The planning is so
carefully done that it is not even
necessary to read the first book or see
the movie before reading the
sequel-Dave Bowman has several
convenient flashbacks that explain
everything. So the first prerequisite of a
good book is met (though a little blatan-
tly)-what about other requirements?
Whatever they are Odyssey Two does
f
1
f
T1
T
1
IDVDUALTHETE
51h Av flie 761.0700 J
UESDAY
-illlShows
'HE EXTRA
TERRESTRIAL
ENDS
THURS
TUES-5:00, 7:10, 9:20
WED-12:30, 2:40, 5:00,7:10, 9 20
Clarke
... HAL returns
not meet them. In retrospect, the most
interesting part was the foreward
where Clarke told about the writing,
making, and aftermath of 2001.
2010: Odyssey Two is an indulgence to
read. With the lure of the mysterious
ending of 2001.The book looks more and
more promising as it draws one deeper
and deeper into it. Somewhere along
the line though, it loses the reader, who
had better be prepared for the
frustrating crash of an undramatic and
unsatisfying end. For years Clarke had
been saying that a sequel to 2001 was
clearly impossible. He was right.
"A MAGICAL 8
MYTHOLOGY AN
FICTION"-RE
DOLBY STEREO
TUES-4:00, 5:50
WED-12:20,2:10, 4:00
BLEND OF
ND SCIENCE
EX REED
, 7:50, 9:40
D, 5:50, 7:50, 9:40
. ,
A crazy musician (that's me)
Did go to the League just for tea.
Instead I had dinner,
And the rest of this winter
The League is where my meals'Il be!
DII
TheMichigan \q
Next to Hill Auditorium
Located in the heart of the campus,
it is the heart of the campus
Records
Lunch 11:30 to 1:15
Dinner 5:00 to 7:15
SPECIAL LOW PRICES FOR
STUDENTS
Send your League Limerick to:
Manager. Michigan League
227 South Ingalls
You will receive 2 free dinner
tickets if yo ur limerick is used in
one oflour ads.
Edi Fitzroy-'Youthman Penitentiary
(Alligator)
The Abyssinians-'Forward'
(Alligator)
Alligator Records, a small record
label based out of the hog butcher to the
world, recently set free two reggae
albums. Immediately, two problems bit
me on the nose. The first was the fact
that Alligator Records is a fine blues
label, not usually known. for their JA
rockers output. The other nose biter
was the lack of tooth I thought the
Abyssinians had-who wants to head
old Rastafarian farts fart Rastafarian
farts over and over and still over the
same farts all the time? However,
someone did tell me that Fitzroy was oh
boy.
Stop. Switch that. Edi no veddy in-
creddy-ble. Abyies surprisingly tap
rooty. Fitz was probably wordly wiser,
singing occasionally about more
relevant elephants: ghettos jail, etc.
And the Abyssinians do tend a little
towards over used Rasta flatulen-
ce-trite yet heartfelt moans and
groans.
Musically, however, Fitzroy loses out
to the jungle clicks and forest pounds
that Forward forwards. Over a very
classic Burning Spearish mid seven-
tieish horror house death skank, the
Abyies chant rant macabre plant their
coda eerily into your synapses. At wor-
st, they just sing real good over a well of
groovy swells.
Fitzroy was backed by the whores of
the reggae biz, those Jamaican
loveable talented sluts, the oft used
Roots Radics Band. The Radics can be
devestatingly hip, but here they seem
to slip and clank rather than flip and
funk. Occasionally, they crank in just
right on a dubby groove, but never
rrright! Yeah, mash em up killer!!.
Also, Fitzroy voice is unique but
irritating on long play, sort of gruff
Johnny Mathis vocal quavering on
homegrown.
So then, swap up the Abyssinians
record, but baggies alligator bag
Youthman, and see if Edi can croc up
something on a little higher scale.
-C. E. Krell
L
1. .1
___=
Mee:
mo ss m e et i ng
. .
BELT MIDRASH
PROGRAM OF JEWISH STUDIES
Winter 1983 Courses
University of Michigan
Michigan Union, Kuenzel Room
Wednesday, January 26
Singers: 2:00-4:30 PM; Dancers: 4:30-6:00 PM
Instrumentalists & Specialty Acts: 2:00-6:00 PM
Kings Island
Jan. 12
Wednesday
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Michigan Union
Jan. 13
Thursday
5:30-7:30 p.m.
Michiaan Union
Hebrew (3 levels)
Basic Judaism
Jesus for Jews
Jews and the Left
I
,
11