ARTS
The Michigan Daily Tuesday, January 28,1992 Page 5
Stern's not your average fiddler
by Valerie Shuman
"HLe's not just a guy who plays
the fiddle. He's a world musician,"
says Professor Paul Kantor when
asked about violinist Isaac Stern. A
man with a pretty impressive r6sum6
himself, which includes teaching at
Yale, Juilliard and the New England
Conservatory of Music (simulta-
neously!) and serving three years as
an associate professor and chairman
of the String Department in the
University School of Music, Kantor
should know.
Even though Kantor only met
Stern once, when the virtuoso came
to hear his son Michael conduct a
solo performance of one of Kantor's
students at Yale, Kantor says he's
loved Stern's music all his life.
"One of the most amazing things
about Isaac Stern is his incredible
longevity. He was already a legend
when I was growing up," says
Kantor. In fact, Isaac Stern has been
performing professionally for over
50 years, and celebrated his 70th
birthday in 1990. He has recorded
extensively, with an emphasis on
contemporary music. Kantor says
he's "never disappointed ... in the
recordings. For certain things
(Stern's) just unsurpassed."
So, what does Stern sound like?
Kantor describes his tone as "sweet
and pretty." While Stern is "a great
musical thinker ... not an off-the-
wail guy," and uses a "heavily tradi-
tional approach," Kantor emphasizes
that Stern is "not an artist who's own
personality is bigger than the music.
You always get a sense that the
music comes first."
There is no "Stern philosophy" of
violin playing. Instead, Stern is
highly supportive of other musi-
cians. As chairman of the Board of
the America-Israel Cultural Found-
ation and chairman and founder of
the Jerusalem Music Center, he has
spent a great deal of time helping
Israeli artists come to the U.S. to
study.
His work in rescuing Carnegie
Hall from demolition is also a part of
Stern is highly
supportive of other
musicians. As
chairman of the board
of the America-Israel
Cultural Foundation
and chairman and
founder of the
Jerusalem Music
Center, he has spent a
great deal of time
helping Israeli artists
come to the U.S. to
study.
Stern's commitment to others. As
Kantor says, "Carnegie Hall is a
monument for the 'family' of musi-
cians, and Stern was instrumental in
saving it from the wrecking ball."
Isaac Stern was important to the
cultural "opening up" of China in the
late seventies as well, an event that
was explored in the Philips Pre-
concert presentation of From Mao to
Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. He
was also an originating member of
the National Endowment for the
Arts.
Stern will be accompanied in his
Ann Arbor performance by pianist
Sean Young looks like a 1930s B-movie vamp, which is funny since she's
made to look as butch as possible in Love Crimes. A lure, perhaps?
*Borden and Young
axe a good thriller
Love Crimes
dir. Lizzie Borden
by Chris Lepley
Love Crimes, the new film by radical, underground (until now) feminist
filmmaker Lizzie Borden, is everything you wouldn't expect from ev-
eryone involved.
Dana Greenway (Sean Young) is a district attorney who packs a gun, ac-
companies police officers on stakeouts, and frequently places her best
friend, Maria Johnson (Arnetia Walker of the sit-com Nurses) in danger,
all to put sex offenders behind bars. Young's character is a stereotypical
"castrating bitch" with short, slicked-back hair, grey suits with huge
shoulder pads, and no sense of humor.
Of course, she wouldn't be complete without a good reason for ferret-
ing out these perverts (the simple fact that they're perverts isn't good
enough). Hip blue-toned flashbacks vaguely insinuate that Greenway s
mother was killed after confronting her husband with his extra-marital
affairs. Greenway, then six, watched with fascination.
What's the cure for a sexually repressed woman suffering from un-re-
solved Oedipal angst? A man who understands what women want, that's
what. David Hanover (Patrick Bergin, the loser in last summer's battle of
the Robin Hoods) is just the ticket.
By posing as a photographer, Hanover convinces lonely, homely women
to act out their sordid sexual fantasies with him. After prancing about on
all-fours pretending to be farm animals, several women come forward to
press charges, but none of them are really sure they've been assaulted.
Hanover didn't use force to have sex with them, preferring to seduce, cajole
and occasionally whip them (lightly) into submission.
Unfortunately for Greenway, who has become interested in the case, ly-
ing to women to get them to sleep with you isn't against the law. (And ac-
cording to this film, it's fun!) Assault and battery are, however, and when a
woman Hanover allegedly picked up is found bruised and unconscious near
Savannah, Georgia, Greenway flies there immediately and sets out to catch
Hanover herself.
You'd think that with this scenario - a tough, sexy woman out to catch
an evil manipulator - the film would be an exciting psychological
thriller with a hint of sexual intrigue. It isn't.
The scenes between Greenway and Hanover are boring, predictable and
drawn-out. Any tension is created solely by the presence of firearms and
sharp objects.
Borden has mastered a European sensibility in respect to nudity. When
people are in the shower they aren't shown solely from the breasts up, and
when they're lying in bed after sex they don't have the sheets pulled up to
their chins.
See CRIME. Pae R
Oh my God! Is that the gorgeous Catwoman Sean Young over there?
Robert McDonald. Kantor has
played chamber music with
McDonald and says, "He's a super-
terrific pianist with (solo ability and)
the sensitivity to play and match
with other people." The duo will be
performing works by Mozart,
Beethoven, Webern, Dvorak and
Brahms.
ISAAC STERN AND ROB-RT
MCDONALD will perform on
Thursday, January 30, 1992 at 8
p.m. in Hill Auditorium. Tickets are
available from the University
Musical Society, and rush tickets are
available at the Burton Tower the
day of the performance. Call 764-
2538 for more information.
Flawless faculty was fantastic
Ensembles of fave teachers played the hits
Michigan Chamber Players
School of Music Recital Hall
January 26, 1992
For the classics connoisseur,
Sunday evening's performance was a
delectable treat. The Michigan
Chamber Players, a group of Music
School faculty members, featured
violin, piano, cello and woodwinds
in their concert of three works by
Brahms, Beethoven and Kodaly.
Concert review
Pieces from the major periods of
classical music - Romantic,
Baroque and Contemporary - de-
lighted the ears and calmed the
nerves.
The first piece, Brahms' romantic
Sonata No. 2for Violin and Piano in
A major, Op. 100, had the melodi-
ous, rubato lines of the piano
(Katsurako Mikami) complement-
ing the smooth phrasing of the vio-
lin (Hamao Fujiwara). Fujiwara
played his solos with passionate
feeling and emotion and a wide
range of dynamic contrast.
It was also impressive how the
pizzicato parts of Fujiwara's violin
work counteracted the flowing
arpeggios in the piano. Overall, Mi-
kami's and Fujiwara's performances
were excellent and showed true
feeling which did the Brahms piece
justice.
Beethoven's Quintet for Piano
and Winds, Op. 16, showcased an-
other style, the Baroque. This piano,
oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn
work was played respectively by
Louis Nagel, Harry Sargous, John
Mohler, Richard Greene and Lowell
Greer.
Like most Baroque works, the
quintet began with a very metro-
nomic style and proceeded to in-
clude ornamentations. On piano,
Nagel acted as the anchor through-
out the majority of the piece, and of-
ten soloed in between the winds'
lines as the melody passed from one
instrument to another.
In the second movement the
winds had a few intonation prob-
lems with the winds, but in the
third movement they all regrouped
and finished in stunning fashion.
Each performer had a finesse for
light, controlled playing, necessary
to the Baroque style.
Finishing the concert with a con-
temporary work, Zoltan Kodaly's
Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7 was
a radical departure from the first,
two selections. Violinist Stephen
Shipps and cellist Erling Blondal
Bengtsson created an echoing effect
of the melodic lines between the
call and response of the instru-
ments.
Counterpoint and dissonance
also figured prominently through-
out the movements as the deep, mel-
low sounds of the cello comple-
mented the singing, virtuous style
of the violin. Shipps and Bengtsson
played flawlessly, and their dy-
namic contrasts were astounding,
compelling the audience to listen
for more. The Michigan Chamber
Players, as usual, showcased many
excellent performers who presented
a program riddled with musicality
and style.
-Emily M. Marriott
Channel Z
If you really want to know
what's going on behind George
Bush's shifty eyes, can the State of
the Union Address (9 p.m., ABC,
CBS, NBC) and watch the pre-
miere episode of Capitol Critters
(8:30 p.m., ABC). An animated
political satire, this show's D.C.
animals will explain to us such
mysteries as the existence of
Marilyn Quayle.
You'd think they'd wise up af-
ter Richard Pryor loused up Super-
man III but no, they had to go and
make it worse!! Christopher Reeve
exhibits true career desperation in
Superman IV: The QuestforPeace
(9p.m., Channel 20). In an effort to
be an apple-cheeked world-power
superhero, thecaped wonderchudks
all the nuclear bombs at the sun and
then has to face evil, golden-bod
Nuclear Man, created by that big
palooka, Lex Luthor. They duke it
out, Lois checks out, and this old
series finally goes down the spout.
I _-
Graduate School of
Architecture, Planning,
and Preservation
I.
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Amazin' Blue
Thsis Isxaoo-ed a capella skinig
ensemble N the U of M. They peform
music rangin style from upbeat rock,
ja||, and blues|to M"clganFavori.s
Comedy Company
This Is a studentdiordd and written
omedytroup. ComedyCompany
pelforrsonce a term in the Lydia
MendessohnTheatre and has taken as
show to other BgftOichools
Impact Dance
ThistIsfor U ot Msnon-dance
majors who have extensive training in
all areas of dance. Aud~tins are in the
early tal, and the company perorms In
the sprink
MFsicks
This athe largest film group on
campus (onerly caled Medi'fts),
presenttng at least three tfims eacht
week. M-Ficks aiso sponsorsttIm
festvals andsneak previews.
Soph Show
Come and be a part of the
LARGEST STUDENT-RUN
GROUP ON CAMPUS
Call UAC @ 763-1107
Entertainment
Laughtrack
Laughsrack teatures student
Comedians and a professonal heattllner
ch Wednesday nigh In the U-Club.
Soundstage
Soundstage provides mus"ci
enfenainmeniech Thursday night in
the U-Club. Established bands, both
local and student, are featured eah
week.
Special Events
Special Promotions brings exciting
aotinilesto the U o M. Past events have
Incuded: Rolling Stone -The Photo-
graph~s and a performance of Pink
Floyd's Th Waft
Stabound
Acampus-wide talent competdnonn
Slartjound povidssuderds with the
opportunkty to perform, vdn prizes, and
gain experence and reogniIon.
Education z
College Bowl
AoompetktNe quz-trvlacontest,
Colege Bowl begins with an Intramural
tournament whose champlons travotto
consts during the witertfrm.
Mni-Courses
Eah, teorm.MIN-Courses oters over
30 noncredit courses rangin from
aerobicdance to sign language.
Viewpoint
Viewpoint sponsors a variety of
leclures and forums for discussion,
InSuIrng S tudenSoapbox.
Accountants
The acoun.an.shandle dlsurse-
monts, transactions with other Unversty
units, and assist the committees with
budget management.
Advertising
This is comprised of a staff of graphic
IF YOU WANT TO GET FROM
STUDENT FACULTY
TO
PARKING PARKING
START HERE
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The Shape of
Two Cities:
New York/Paris
Applications are being accepted for
the 1992-1993 academic year at the
Special Undergraduate Program. A junior year
introduction to architecture, urban planning, and
historic preservation for students who have
completed their sophomore year at an accredited
college or university. Students spend the first
semester in New York at the Graduate School of
Architecture, Planning, and Preservation and the
second semester in Paris at Columbia's studio and
classroom facility in the historic Marais district.
The program offers a choice of academic terms:
1. Summer, 1992 in New York and Fall, 1992 in Paris.
2. Fall, 1992 in New York and Spring, 1993 in Paris.
Applications due March 15, 1992
p
k
9
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