ARTS The Michigan Daily Tuesday, December 10, 1991 Page 5 Ma, Ax storm the Hill1 Duo will play Bolcom sonata by Valerie Shuman H e's back! YoYo Ma, the leg- endary, awesome, incredible (you get the idea) cellist is returning to Ann Arbor. He's been everywhere (Europe, Japan, the United States), performed with everyone (from Isaac Stern to the Chicago Sym- phony Orchestra), made scads of recordings for Sony Classical, some of which have won Grammy awards (at last count, he had five), and just generally spent the last 30-odd years impressing the world (his first recital was at age five). He's also a teacher at Tanglewood. Tonight, Ma will be performing with Emmanuel Ax, a pianist who is so good he's referred to as collab- orator instead of accompanist. But none of that's new. What is different is the music they'll be playing. Both artists are interested in new music, and tonight they'll present a brand-new piece by Wil- liam Bolcom titled Sonata for Cello and Piano. The work was com- missioned by our very own Uni- versity Musical Society (with other organizations) in an attempt to expand the repertoire used in con- cert recitals. The duo will also be performing music by Bernstein (a clarinet and piano sonata - I didn't get it either, and Ma was unfortunately too busy performing to comment, though Bolcom, a professor at the Univer- sity School of Music, suggested that it might have something to do with Bernstein's death last year), Brahms (Sonata in E minor) and Chopin (Sonata in G minor). Bolcom, who is on a two-year leave from from the University, has also won a Pulitzer prize for his Streisand, Nolte make lovely schmaltz together in Tides The Prince problems surface as he grows aged matron routin closer to the Jewish psychiatrist, Gould, Streisand's re of Tides whom he addresses with a mix- surprisingly good as dir. Barbra Streisand ture of cynicism and affection as obnoxious child. i e and Jason eal-life son, is Lowenstein's and Becky by Aaron Hamburger Barbra Streisand's The Prince of Tides is grand schmaltzy filmmaking in the tradition of old romance classics like Now, Voyager and Random Harvest, a film for which adjectives like "sappy" and "sentimental" are compliments. In Tides, high school teachers live in beautiful seaside homes, writers live in de- cent apartments (in New York!) and lovers hide away in beautiful countryside estates, munching on French bread. Yes, the movie's romantic all right, but the fine performances by the stars, especially Nick Nolte, ground the film in reality, and save it from careening off to romantic outer space. Tides is the story of the emo- tional journey of Tom Wingo (Nolte), an unemployed football coach from South Carolina. Tom learns to deal with his bitter childhood memories, which he's repressed all his. life. When his sister, Savannah (Melinda Dillon), a writer who lives in New York, attempts to commit suicide, Tom travels to New York at the request of her psychiatrist, Susan Lowenstein (Streisand). Lowenstein interviews Tom about his sister's past, which Savannah has blocked out of her mind. Tom's own tragic memories and "Lowenstein." As Tom, Nolte does every- thing right. He shows Tom's use of humor to avoid dealing with emotional situations. Nolte's character is a tortured boy pre- tending to be an affable Southern gentleman. It's too bad he has to go up against Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs for the Oscar; in any other year, Nolte would win the award hands down. Streisand is unusually re- strained as Lowenstein. This style is appropriate for her unhappy character, who is dominated by her severe, egomaniacal husband, a fa- mous violinist (Jeroen Krabbe). The subplot involving her rela- tionship with her family isn't as interesting as the main storyline involving Nolte's character, and Nolte's performance is so strong that it takes away from her per- formance. It's not completely clear why Nolte would be so at- tracted to her. Still, Streisand is believable, especially when glints of her famous personality come through, like when she tells Nolte, "I've got to find a nice Jewish boy." The talented Canadian actress Kate Nelligan, who was excellent in the recent film Frankie and Johnny, gives a tough, forceful performance as Tom's irascible,' social-climbing mother. Blythe Danner does another convincing variation on her troubled middle- Pat Conroy Streisand Buddies/ musical geniuses YoYo Ma and Emmanuel "Manny" Ax are longtime collaborators and consistent crowd pleasers. work as a composer. He will be fly- ing back from Fort Lauderdale to speak at the Philips Pre-Concert Presentation (kind of impressive sounding, isn't it?) about this work and others. He and his wife, who is also on the University faculty, have been on tour with the Florida Phil- harmonic. So what's it going to be like? In a recent interview, Bolcom com- mented, "It sounds like a cello and piano sonata. It tries to be in the tradition of literature for cello and piano. It should evoke the older style, like a new building built with older architecture in mind." He said it has been compared to both Brahms and Poulenc. When pressed for detail, he said that the piece was written in three movements which include "modern harmonies." The first movement, Bolcom said, "sounds like a first movement," while the second is slower and "quite lyrical" and the third is "kind of a Night Rider movement ... with a headless horse- man idea." His final comment on the piece was, "I didn't feel bound by (the tradition), but I wanted to haul it up." Bolcom mentioned that he defi- nitely had the performers in mind when he wrote the piece. "They're both wonderful people," he said. "I wanted to give them something in the tradition to play." He is quite familiar with both performers, and both have presented other works by him. Ax ("Manny" to the Profes- sor) played Bolcom's Piano Con- certo both in Aspen and New York, and Ma performed Bolcom's Capriccio in New York. YOYO MA AND EMMANUEL AX will be performing tonight at 8 p.m. at Hill Auditorium. Tickets are $18- -$45; rush tickets will be available for half price from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at Burton Tower. A CON- VERSATION WITH COMPOSER WILLIAM BOLCOM (the Philips Pre-Concert Presentation) is to- night at 7 p.m. in the Rackham Amphitheatre. Admission is free. Johnston, who adapted the screen- play from Conroy's novel, do a good job in allowing the story to unfold naturally. The dialogue seems a bit too suave and sophisti- cated, but then again, the movie's based on a bestselling romance, not a Faulkner classic. The fine ac= tors in the cast make their interac- tion seem believable, anyway, ex- cept for Jeroen Krabbe, whose character seems like a pale cartoon imitation of Hannibal Lecter. Though the movie gets a little too mushy toward the end, it's gener- ally a fascinating and fun ride from start to finish. THE PRINCE OF TIDES opens December 25. Sweet F.A. - just what do you think F.A. stands for? by Kristen Knudsen * 1 would say that you'd have to consider us a party band," says Steve DeLong, lead singer of the hard rock group Sweet F.A. With a guitar- heavy, Faster Pussycat-type sound, Sweet F.A. - composed of DeLong, drummer Tricky Lane, guitarists Jon Huffman and James Lee (J.T.) Thorpe and new bassist Mark Mat- thews - is one band that knows how to have a good time. The name Sweet F.A. is, in fact, a representa- tion of just that. "Everybody's after a piece of Sweet F.A.," DeLong ex- plains. But this band has a serious side too. "I watch CNN a lot," DeLong reveals. DeLong says that the song "Storm is Movin' In" from their new album Temptation is "basically just a CNN song." But don't let that fool you - most of Sweet F.A.'s music is simply meant for en- joyment. With basic hard rock songs like "Bad Boy," "Sexuality" and "1800' Ta Kill Ya Sunrise," Sweet different ... the idea of this album was the versatility, showing that we're a versatile band, that ... not just every song sounds the same, and that there's a lot of creative influ- ences involved in all the personali- '... the reason that we all got into it - is because it was fun, it was a release and it was a way of kind of "stepping away" from some of the problems that everybody's so preacherish about right now' -Steve DeLong, lead singer, Sweet F.A. Cape Fear star Nick Nolte, not the kind of guy who gives up just like that, once again plays a family man in Barbra Streisand's The Prince of Tides. He's pictured here with screen wife Blythe Danner and (1-r) kids Brandlyn Whitaker, Maggie Collier and Lindsay Wray. F.A. is clearly having fun. Having a good time is just fine with DeLong. "Right now, the big kick is everybody's so socially aware," DeLong says. "And they're writing songs about this and that, and, you know, that finds its way into our material, but I think the bottom line - and the reason that we all got into it - is because it was fun, it was a release and it was a way of kind of 'stepping away' from some of the problems that every- body's so preacherish about right now. "So, I mean, you'll find a little bit of social awareness in some of the lyrics and some of the content of the songs," DeLong continues, "But we still try to lean toward having a good time because there's enough bad times going on as it is." From Temptation, DeLong chooses "Vices," "Sexuality," "Liquid Emotion," "Paralyzed (By You)" and "Ta Kill Ya (Sunrise)" as his favorites, because "they're all ties of the band." When asked to describe Sweet F.A. in one word, DeLong readily answers "aggressive," but versatile would have worked just as well. DeLong and his band, no matter how crazy they get, are able to see the se- rious sides of things too. Because DeLong has a 19-month-old daugh- ter, that's probably good news. He even admits to being a family man, pointing out, "We are people too, you know. We're just louder than most." Prince and the New Power Generation Diamonds And Pearls Paisley Park "You say you want my hips up in the air?" Prince asks his lover in the lascivious ballad "Insatiable." It's an amazingly telling remark, the kind that best characterizes the new attitude of the protean musician and visionary on his latest album, Dia- monds And Pearls. As expected, Prince bares himself more than a few times on this refreshing work that conveys the sense that he is realizing his second childhood in the studio. We find Prince clinging to im- mature objects of fulfillment throughout: diamonds, pearls and orgies of the flesh approaching Caligula levels, among other things. The opener, "Thunder," is a state- ment of faith so openly bold it fea- tures sung vocals of a Western sen- sibility - "Thunder, all through the night/ And a promise 2 see Jesus in the morning light" - over an Eastern blend of keyboards and sitars, of all things. The follow-up, "Daddy Pop," is a humorously bold boast of Prince's repute: "I got grooves and grooves up on the shelf/ Deep purple concord jams/ This party I will slam/ I don't think U understand/ Whatever U can't do/ Daddy can/ The one and only Daddy Pop." The bragging, however, is justi- fied, accompanying a thick, heavy groove layered with weird techno- jingles, chimes and shrill, jarring synth lines. Prince is still aiming for the contemporary ear, and this time his experimentation pays off in a clever redefinition of funk, meld- See RECORDS, Page 8 SWEET F.A. plays this Saturday, December 14, at the Ritz in Ro- seville. Tickets are $5 at Ticket- master (plus evil service charge). .,R ht idIcgan aUl Display Advertising Early Deadlines Early January SCOREKEEPERS SPORTS BAR & GRILL ALL SPORTING EVENTS * BIG SCREEN 30 TVs " DARTBOARDS " POOL TABLES ...... - - TUES. & THURS. : DeLong I I_________-_________________________-W.--A-a- a w-- --. ______I i