The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 19, 1993- Page 9
A2
has magnetic draw for music
Composers from around the world come to present new pieces
by Jeremy Williams
This weekend, Ann Arbor will host a collection of the
world's finest composers for the Twice Festival VII. This
unique event will probably go unnoticed by many, but it is
more than likely that the next Bartok or Mahler will be
present. His name might be Kurt Carpenter or Gerard
Pape, both of whom will have works performed at the
festival.
"For many, many years, it (Ann Arbor) has been a
magnet for composers," explained Kurt Carpenter, direc-
tor of the Twice Festival. "There is no doubt about it, Ann
Arborhas gradually become one of the true capitals of new
music in the world."
Gyorgy Ligeti (pronounced with the accent on the first
syllable) is one of a handful of contemporary music
composers to receive well-deserved recognition for his
work. You may not be familiar with his name, but his
music was in Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece from
1968,"2001: A Space Odyssey" - remember the eerie
voices thatreverberated around those otherworldly mono-
liths? Many of his works have been premiered by the
world's greatest artists; the San Francisco Symphony
premiered his "San Francisco Polyphony" while the Ber-
lin Philharmonic first performed his Double Concerto for
Flute and Oboe.
This weekend, Ann Arbor will get a treat when Ligeti
comes to town as the featured composer at the festival. Do
not expect a classical concert, Carpenter said. "We are
presenting new music: cutting edge, avant-garde, experi-
mental, futuristic music." Since its inception in 1985, the
festival has featured a number of skilled composers such
as Robert Ashley, John Cage, Luciano Berio, as well as
Carpenter himself.
Carpenter cited other big names such as William
Bolcom, Leslie Bassett, William Albright and George
Wilson as part of the reason that Ann Arbor has its great
reputation as ahaven fornew music. "Wecan beproud that'
this city has that kind of interest in new music," he said.
One of the groups which will be performing this
weekend, the University's Contemporary Directions En-
semble, is one of a few ensembles to perform new music
exclusively. "The CD ensemble with (Robert) Reynolds is
probably the preeminent modem music organization in
Ann Arbor," said Carpenter. On Friday, they will be
performing Ligeti's "Chamber Concerto" and James
McHard's "Tremors."
The Twice Festival VII was originally a counterbal-
ance to the myriad of University musical productions in
Ann Arbor. The two groups have come together and now
support and promote one another.
"Our idea is to continue presenting contemporary
music outside of the University context, although in this
case we are really collaborating," Carpenter said, "and we
hope to continue this relationship for many years to
come."
The TWIC F STIVAL VII consists offour concerts:
tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the First
Congregational Church at State and William; Sunday
at 4 p.m. at the School of Music's McIntosh Theatre;
and Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Kerrytown Concert House.
Tickets for each concert are $10, $Sfor students, and
are available at the door. For information call 995-
5130.
Mark Morris draws from an eclectic range of influences, from MTV to the Rockettes.
Mrk Morris ea s out t
mas adence wit dance
by Alexandra Beller
He's been called everything from
"the golden boy of modern dance" and
the "bad boy of ballet" to "the savior of
20th century dance." At times his popu-
larity seems to be on the verge of be-
coming an artistic pop cult, with critics
hailing his choreography as "the most
exciting work being created today."
Whether oneagrees with this de-
scription or not, one must admit that
something about his work has magne-
tism, perhapseven magic. MarkMorris
has attracted audiences of epic propor-
tions for modern dance, an artistic genre
that is notoriously shunned as "weird"
by the general public and often even by
dance enthusiasts.
Certainly, it is hard to pin down
precisely why one artist fails and an-
other succeeds, or why one attracts at-
tention and the other is ignored. Hlow-
* .ever, there are at least a few quite tan-
gible reasons wh'y Morris' work has
drawn so much enthusiasm across Eu-
rope and America.
Morris gives people what they want
to see. This is not an insult; he doesn't.
give you the Rockettes or MTV (al-
though he might throw any of it into a
piece). He moves back towards a classi-
cist philosophy; he gives solid move-
ment that flows out of the music.
It's not that he skipped class the day
they taught "avant-garde" - plenty of
his stuff is weird and eccentric - it's
more that he eschews it for a more
traditional, if newly dressed-up style. In
the tradition of the contemporary politi-
caland dance worlds, he does notdefine
his dancers .by gender. The men and
women lift each other with equal aban-
don and he has even been known to put
his male dancers en pointe (in point
shoes), an unequivocally female posi-
tion in Classical ballet.
Also in the vein of newer trends, he
has no defining aesthetic in terms of
body size. His dancers range greatly in
height and shape; he has no preference
foranorexicballetwaifs orsterling thick-
thighed princes. All he demands is that
they move.
"What makes him so attractive to
the general public," said Stefanie
Silverman, a dancer who has been an
avid fan for many years, "is the way he
uses music. He uses movement to de-
fine whatyou are hearing and this makes
the experience twice as powerful and
Mark Morris has
attracted audiences of
epic proportions for
modern dance, an
artistic genre that is
notoriously shunned as
"'weird...
very gratifying on an immediate level."
Morris is known for using music
visualization, a choreographic device
where the music is interpreted more or
less strictly through movement, and the
mood and texture are echoed by the
dancers. He often works on what might
seem to be an almost simplistic level,
translating, at times, note for note what
the score does (as in his "L'Allegro, il
Penseroso ed il Moderato").
Morris' musicality is at the base of
every piece he creates; he is often seen
choreographing a dance with the score
and a pencil in hand. Morris is also well
known for collaborating with extrava-
gantcostume and scenic designers. Most
productions feature an array of volup-
tuous costumes and clever sets.
His technique incorporates bothbal-
let and modern movement. He com-
bines the ease and texture of a tradi-
tional (and non-traditional) modern
dance vocabulary with the virtuosity,
and often the musicality, of ballet. This
dichotomy may spring from the fact
that he has danced in both genres. He
started as a flamenco dancer, and actu-
ally went to Spain to become one, but
returned to the States and eventually
danced with many prominent compa-
nies including Lar Lubovitch, Laura
Dean and Eliot Feld.
He started his own company, The
Mark Morris Dance Group, in 1980and
has since worked around the world with
many of the foremost companies of our
time including Joffrey Ballet, Ameri-
can Ballet Theater, Boston Ballet and
the Paris Opera Ballet. Recently, he
collaborated with ballet star Mikhail
Baryshnikov in the successful develop-
mentof"The WhiteOakDance Project,"
in which both men danced.
This weekend's performance will
include works from "Beautiful Day,"
"Three Preludes," "Bedtime," "Going
Away Party" and others. Music will
include Gershwin, Schubert, J.S. Bach,
Haydn and Bob Wills and His Texas
Playboys.
THE MARK MORRIS DANCE
GROUP will perform at the Power
Center Saturday at 8p.m. and Sunday
at 3 p.m. Tickets are $14 to $28. Call
764-2538.
|
I ~
See the Film Festival
If you haven't gone already - or
even if you have - be sure and take
in a night of superior filmic pleasure
at the acclaimed Ann Arbor Film Fes-
tival. Hosted by the Michigan The-
ater, the festival is the oldest of its
kind in the country. This year features
a stunning variety of 16 mm avant-
garde and experimental films and you
can see a slew of them for only $5.
When theaverage cineplex ticketprice
is nearing the $7 mark, and your op-
tions there consist of a "La Femme
Nikita" rip-off and Mutant Ninja
Turtles-from-hell, the choice should
be clear. Stop on by the palatial Michi-
gan Theater in-between basketball
games and check out some quality
works, from the artsy to the humorous
to the dark and bizarre. Among the
highlights are "Mona Lisa Descend-
ing a Staircase," an Oscar-winner
which consists of a tour of the history
of art, playing Saturday night at the 7
p.m. showing. The festival runs
through Sunday (winner's night)with
twoand three shows an evening. Fight
the studio-dominated cineplexes and
check out what real filmmakers are
up to. Call 668-8397.
The LS&A Curriculum Committee is
considering a Quantitative Analysis and
Reasoning Requirement for graduation.
LS&A Student Government is sponsoring a forum to
discuss this requirement for students and members of
the LS&A Curriculum Committee on:
Tuesday, March 23, 1993 at 4:00 pm
on the second floor of the
LS&A Building.
All LS&A Students are welcome and encouraged to attend.
A Service of the LS&A Student Government.
*PLEASE NOTE: 2:00 Show SatlSun Only " Late Show FrISat Only
downT!""Best PrI ice Town!i[i""Best:f j
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