DaRTS The Michigan Daily Tuesday, November 17, 1992 Page 5 Bax and friends get Ashkenay 's- royal treatment" by Kirk Wetters Contemporary conductors often seem embarrassed by exciting, overwhelming performances, but it's. still great to hear straight-forward, old-fashioned conducting. Vladimir Ashkenazy's conducting of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Monday was the perfect antidote to the mannered performances heard too often today. His direct, sensitive approach was successful throughout the concert. The first thing that struck me was the incredible sound of the RPO - a well-balanced sound, too. It's com- mon to watch an orchestra's violins play like crazy, but not be able to hear any of their notes. This kind of distorted balance was never a problem for the RPO, not even in the opulent score of Sir Arnold Bax's "Tintagel" - even the harp was clearly audible. Most of the audience had probably never heard this piece before. It sounded like Richard Strauss rewritten by an Englishman, with the scenic, rustic qualities of English music built II Y Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Hill Auditorium November 16, 1992 around a core of German late-ro- manticism. Not only were the RPO violins audible, but they actually sounded good. There was no trace of the over-refined violin mush which is becoming fashionable with some conductors. The RPO strings have a robust, aggressive sound, but can also be delicate when necessary. This delicacy was especially evi- dent in the orchestra's rendition of Mendelssohn's well-known music to "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Ashkenazy's direction was crisp and light. More biting articulation would have been to my taste, but this didn't impair the performance as a whole. Ashkenazy's tempo in the conclud- ing "Wedding March" had the bride and groom marching pretty briskly, but it kept this over-familiar music from seeming bombastic. People who went hoping to be overwhelmed by Dmitri Shosta- kovich's Symphony No. 10 got their money's worth. Shostakovich's mild-mannered claim that the sym- phony "tells of the ideas and aspira- tions of those who strive for love and peace" is difficult to reconcile with the disturbing nature of most of the music. Ashkenazy's interpretation made no concessions to Shostakovich's idyllic description. The first move- ment was marked by horrified out- cries from the woodwinds, and op- pressive, militant percussion attacks. I braced myself expectantly for the furious second movement, and wasn't disappointed by orchestra's blazing exuberance. Although Ashkenazy seemed less comfortable with the droll sarcasm of the third movement, he more than made up for it in the manic, tense finale. An apple a day for the Sophs in a play by Melissa Rose Bernardo As a bonus for their loyal followers, SophShow will present not one musical - but three. That's right, folks - you heard it here - three musicals. SophShow's fall production is "The Apple Tree," a not-so-well-known triple bill of very well-known fables set to music. It is brought to you by the com- poser/lyricist team of Sheldon larnick and Jerry Bock, who gave us the poignant "Fiddler on the Roof." The first musical is based on Mark Twain's "The Diary of Adam and Eve." Director Marc Kessler described it as a comic look at the world's first couple and the "humor of the idea of two people starting off civilization." While it is a simple comedy, it has a lot of "endearing moments." Frank Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger" is the story of the prisoner who must choose one of two doors: behind one is a tiger (which will kill him) and behind the other is a lady (who will marry him). The interesting twist, Kessler explained, is that the King's daughter is in love with the prisoner - does she let him get killed by the tiger, or does she spare him only to lose him to another woman? "Passionella: The Cinderella Story" is Jules Feiffer's updated Cinderella, the story of an ordinary girl and a bad rock star who become glamorous "between the hours of 'Wheel of Fortune' and 'The Late Late Show," Kessler explained. With a chuckle, he added, "it's re- ally cheesy!" "The Apple Tree" was written with the in-. tention that one woman and one man would play all three couples in the three musicals. When it was performed on Broadway, Barbara Harris and Alan Alda played them. SophShow, however, has cast three different couples. "The roles are very demanding on all performers ... we decided it would be better to give more people the opportunity to play the roles,"Y Kessler said. Vocally, the show is extremely demanding,a a common characteristic of MUSKET andj SophShow productions. Musical director Maryann Lombardi referred to the appeal of the score: "We've got the sappy ballad, the sexy torch song, the Marilyn Monroe 'S0s musical songs ... so it can fulfill a lot of differ-+ ent musical styles." Lombardi was also pleased with the decision to cast three different cou- ples. "The woman is required to sing light-7 heartedly and purely, yet at the same time to+ belt her guts out," she explained. For .one woman to sing all three roles would produce an incredible amount of vocal strain. . The show does include a chorus, which both Kessler and Lombardi referred to as an, integral part of the show. Lombardi elaborated:, "The chorus serves a function of their own; they accentuate the leads but they are not (just), underscoring." The chorus does not merely ac- company the three couples; rather, the individ- ual members play numerous roles while still functioning as a group. When asked about a particular universal message the show had to offer, Kessler drew a blank. "Geez! (laughter)... To show that (more laughter) even through all the different periods of time, people had dreams and problems that are pretty much the same." Putting on one musical is a feat in itself, but putting on three? Kessler was extremely confi- dent, however - "We've pulled it off!" he said - and very optimistic. Because each mu- sical is so different, Kessler promised, "there's definitely something for everyone." THE APPLE TREE will be performed Thurs- day through Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Mendelssohn Theater. General admission tickets are $5.50 in advance, $6.50 at the door and are available at the Union Ticket Office. a 1 eyu t lt THE MICHIGAN BBA f ,L, f Jj---i -I .iJJL ;,(;, l rt!: r Has more to offer Receive information on New BBA Opportunities * Senior Seminar " CIS Curriculum " Study Abroad for BBA's Thursday, November 19, 1992 4:00 - 5:00 PM Hale Auditorium (Michigan Business School Assembly Hall) "The Lady or the Tiger" scene from "The Apple Tree," this weekend at the Mendelssohn. MOLLY STEVENS/Daily WHO~ : HA [IWNE: REI WNi E;1~~ : DAILY ARTS SEZ: Support Campus Cinema }Tor additionalinformation we incite you to contact: Office of Admissions and Student Services 1235 School of Business Administration (313) 763-5796 Gleaning the cubist As much as we truly admire the ArtVideo at noon, and really strongly urge you to drop in to the Museum of Art (747-0521) today to see Part III (it's OK, we missed parts I and II, too) of a Picasso documentary (what did he do in Paris during WWII after all?), if you can only drag yourself to a single event a day, we simply must mention a few other, shall we say, odd events. Bavarian sprinkles? First of all, let's do the food. Ina Hanel (don't ask us, we don't know her either) has graciously agreed to demonstrate how one would go about decorating a lebkuchen (which, as we're sure you know, is a traditional German Christmas cookie). Stop in to the Kempf House (312 S. Division) from 12:20 to 12:50 p.m. (After all, they do say that refreshments will be served.) On the skids But if Picasso or cookies can't stop you in your tracks, how about the "Buhrrr Blast"? Every winter Wednesday at Buhr Park's outdoor rink, from 3:30 to 5:15 p.m. you can pay $2.75 and play broomball or participate in (and we are dying to do this).big wheels on ice! What more could a mildly bored dilettante want? Call 971-3228 for the low-down. iV "A GOOFY TIME-WARP TO CHILDHOOD' ' HOORtY FORt A RETRO 60's TV BASH .Complete Underdog Episode *Gearge OF The Jungle *super Chicken "Hoppity Hooper 3 Uncle Waldo . Tennessee Tuxedo " Go-Go Gophers *Classic 60's Kids Commercials Thurs-Fri November 1 9-20 MICHIGAN THEATER b03 E. LUSERTY " ANN ARBOR " 668-8480 Shows: Thurs. 10:30 pu / Fri. 7:00 & Midnight M i SOP-I Si-lOW 1992 PRESENTS THE APPLE TREE A MUSICAL IN 3 ACTS MUSIC AND LYRICS BY SHELDON HARNICK AND JERRY BOCK. BASED ON SHORT STORIES BY MARK TWAIN, FRANK R. STOCKTON, & JULES FEIFFER November 19-21 8 PM Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre