ARTS
The Michigan Daily Wednesday, April 19, 1989 Page9
Classics,
not
blues, for St.
Louis
BY TONY SILBER
S T. Louis is known more for the
blues than for classical music, but
Leonard Slatkin is trying to do
something about that. He is the
music director and conductor of the
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, a
group of musicians who have soared
to the top of the American orchestral
heap in the last ten years.
In the ten years Slatkin and the
Orchestra have been matched,
Slatkin has won prestigious awards,
as has the SLSO and their record-
ings. With this recent celebrity sta-
tus and fame, Slatkin and Co. come
into Ann Arbor tomorrow night as a
prestigious, established talent. This
is their 10th season together, so why
not have a tour? That's what they do
best, anyway.
When one thinks of major Amer-
ican orchestras, New York, Chicago,
and Boston come to mind first, but
St. Louis can now be considered a
member of this elite club. They are
group
one of the premier ensembles in the
Midwest, taking that distinction
from the Detroit Symphony who,
after their glory days in the '70s un-
der Antal Dorati, have fallen on hard
times.
As far as touring goes, Slatkin is
a true frequent flyer. This year alone,
he has traveled throughout the entire
nation. In addition, he has appeared
in London, Vienna, Copenhagen,
Monte Carlo, Stockholm, Tel Aviv,
Berlin, Rotterdam, and Tokyo. And
that's only the fall-winter season.
This summer, he hits the road again.
But that's not surprising; Slatkin's
future was built with music in mind.
His father was a conductor and a
violinist. His mother was a cellist.
Together they founded the Holly-
wood String Quartet. Young Leonard
quickly got into the act, studying
piano among other instruments and
learning composition under the great
Walter Susskind. He took Carnegie
Hall at age 22, and from there his
career blossomed,
See St. Louis, Page 10
Elvis Costello: His
aim is still true
BY MARK SWARTZ
"'WRITING about music is like dancing about architecture."
-Elvis Costello
(Sorry, Elvis.)
Elvis Costello isn't just the greatest songwriter alive. He's a walking,
talking contradiction, a conundrum of unimaginable intricacy. Under
Costello's disarming gaze, the distinction between high and low Art gets
hopelessly blurred: He's a rock singer but he's a poet, too.
That's not just to say his lyrics are packed with images - which they are
- or flower with unusually decorative language - which they don't. Per-
haps only Bob (Marley or Dylan, you choose) before him wrote accessible
tunes with such stirring, intelligent conviction.
Costello writes his songs the way John Donne wrote poems 350 years
ago. The Norton Anthology of English Literature praises the English Re-
naissance minister's verses for their "restless, searching energy that scorns
the easy platitude and the smooth, vacant phrase; that is vivid, immediate,
troubling." It goes on to say that his poetry "demands imaginative effort of
the reader, and absorbs him in a tense, complex experience." Ask Elvis, he'll
be the first to tell you that Mr. Norton could have been writing about him.
Like Donne, he's got a huge ego. Like Donne's, it is counterbalanced by an
equally sizeable sense of humor.
Unlike the work of any Renaissance quill-pusher, you can dance to
Costello. From "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" from his 1977
debut to the effervescent "Veronica" on the new release, Spike, there's never
been any question that this is music for the kids. Next to the Big Chill
soundtrack, there is no better cassette to pop into the boombox at the beach
than The Best of Elvis Costello.
See Elvis, Page 12
LATE NIGHT AT SOUT H U
Fridy, April 21
Leonard Slatkin, conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, will
stay with the ensemble despite rumors to the contrary.
V i
South U is having a special
street-wide sale.
Most merchants open until 11 PM
Register at participating stores for prizes
TheSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago at
BUIN S SR IE
GRADUATING
SENIORS
YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE
MAY SOON BE
CANCELLED!
CHECK WITH THE U of M
STUDENT ASSEMBLY at 763-
3214 or F.P.M, Inc. (author-
ized local agent) at 665-
3179 FOR A BROCHURE ON
SHORT TERM MAJOR
MEDICAL COVERAGE
ANNOUNCEMVENTS
THANKS FOR THE AD AGAINST CIR-
CUMCISION. I feel violated and robbed of
choice. Prevention does not require cutting.
VICTORIAN FOLK
ART SHOW
EDDIE EDGAR SPORTS ARENA
Lyndon at Farmington Rd.
North of Schoolcraft in Livonia
APRIL 21, 22, 23
FRIDAY 3pm7-9pm
SAT.&SUNDA1 am-6pm
One of Michigan's largest
shows. Over 100 Craftsmen selling
charming reproductions of Country
and Victorian Heirlooms.
291-1934
I
HOMOSEXUALITY
IS NEITHER IMMORAL NOR
A MATTER OF CHOICE:
IT IS AN ORIENTATION
to
Anne Dalton,
1989-90 Classified
Manager
and
Laura Bernard,
1989-90 Classified
Assisant Manager
HUMAN SEXUALITY IS EXTREMELY COMPLEX:
THE ATITUDE THAT SEXUAL ORIENTATION
CAN BE CHANGED BY
MERELY EXERCIZING CHOICE
OR BY A SIMPLE EFFORT OF WILL
IS AT BEST MISLEADING, AND AT WORST IT
REINFORCES AND INTENSIFIES
HOMOPHOBIA AND DISCRIMINATION
BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION
SAUGATUCK, MICHIGAN
June 4-August 29
1, 2, and 3 week workshops
y ' Painting and Drawing
. . . C e r a m i c s
U mm u muGlassblowing
Printmaking
****.. Bookbinding
'**....Performance
Instruction available in beginning,
intermediate, and advanced levels.
Work scholarships are available.
For more information please call 312. 443-3777.
After June 4, you can also call 616. 857-5811.
or write:
Publications Office
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
37 South Wabash, Tenth Floor, Box MD39
Chicago, Illinois 60603
CALL THE LESBIAN-GAY MALE
PROGRAMS OFFICE
AT 763-4186
FOR INFORMATION
OR HELP WITH THESE ISSUES.
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