I 's Chamber Players offer .breathtaking show By ERIC GIBSON The Michigan Chamber Players presented their first concert in Rackham Auditorium Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The Michigan Chamber Players consist of University of Michigan School of Music Faculty. Most strongly represented Sunday were the School of Music's piano and string personnel. The program consisted of Dutch composer John Frederick Peter's String Quintet No.5 in B- flat major, Johannes Brahm's Trio for clarinet, cello and piano in A minor and Frnd Donhanyi's Quintet for piano and strings No. 1 in C-minor. In the Peter, violinist Paul Kantor led the string quartet competently, resulting in a performance with great dynamic contrast and feeling. The 'allegromoderato'movementwaspar- ticularly strong due to the quartet's Michigan Chamber skillful ensemble playing. In the ada- gio movement it was obvious these Players performers were "one performing unit" Rackham Auditorium - not merely individuals. This atti- October 3, 1993 tude resulted in beautiful musical phrasing, ebb and flow of melodic lines and seamless performance of the movement. The piece as a whole, however, was marred by intonation problems, particularly in the lower strings. There were also several miscalculated entrances in othermovements which were only obvious because they upset the quartet's otherwise excellent rhythm. Probably the most polished offering was the Brahms. His trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano in A-minor was composed in 1891, and this was the last chamber piece which Brahms composed. The work is dark and heavy, and according to the pianist Martin Katz, Brahms had an "old man's view of the world by the time he wrote this piece." From the first bars of music, it was obvious that clarinetist Fred Ormand, #cellist Erling Bengtsson and Katz were three "equal ensemble players." In the allegro, Ormand and Bengtsson exchanged lyrical melodies almost as if they were singing a romantic duet. The adagio movement, in particular, was expertly played by Katz, almost giving a Rachmaninoff feel to the music. The only piece on the secondhalf was theDohnanyiQuintet. Perhaps itwas the work and its excitement, but this composition inspired much more enlivened performances out of the same faculty members responsible for the Peter Quintet. Many of the ensemble and intonation problems found earlier were, happily, not evident. The beginning allegro movement was masterfully interpreted by pianist Anton Nel. He continued to manipulate the remainder of the movement with great success, along with a fine quartet of string players including Stephen Shipps and Paul Kantor on violin, violist Yizhak Schotten and cellist Erling Bengtsson. Sensitive playing continued in the adagio with an expressive and beautiful solo by Schotten. All in all, it was a breathtaking performance. Ken Fisher, director of the University Musical Society, promised two free concerts from the Michigan Chamber Players. If the quality of that upcoming performance is equal to Sunday's offering, it will be a performance not to be missed. The University Symphony Orchestra opens its new season under the direction of Professor Gustav Meier. USO faces new and By KEREN SCHWEITZER Professor Gustav Meier has never been one to shy away from new and exciting challenges. As conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra, he has a reputation for demanding a high level of performance while pro- gramming complex pieces from all genres of the musical literature in- cluding contemporary works. The first concert of the year is no exception to this rule. With Brahms, Albright and Bartok on the program, "it will be a tremendous challenge," Meier said. The most recently dated work on the program, "Chasm" was written by William Albright, Professor of Com- position at the University's School of Music. In addition to composing, he is highly regarded as an interpreter of classic piano ragtime and early jazz styles. He also specializes in performing concerts of recent works for organ. "Chasm" was premiered in 1989 by the American Composers Orchestra directed by Dennis Russell Davies. Albright said of the his composition, "it connects to a series of my recent pieces inspired by natural wonder and awe and closely allied to my spiritual values reflected in sound." It is well known that Meier is an enthusiastic supporter of contempo- rary works like Albright's, but how do the actual players feel about per- forming new works as opposed to he more traditional literature of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky andMozart? excitingc Julie Artzt, a sophomore violinist said, "At first I didn't want to do it, but once I got the feeling of the piece, I appreciated it more. I like the idea that Albright came to our rehearsals and told us exactly what he wanted - it was more personal." Haley Hoops, a french horn senior was very exited about Albright's piece. "I think it's a wild piece. It is necessary to play contemporary mu- sic like this because we'll be playing it later on in professional orchestras." Evan Hause, a second year doc- toral candidate agreed with Haley and added, "It is important to play these pieces in studentorchestras. The learn- ing of contemporary works startshere. If they learn to play it here, when they eventually get into nrofessional or- halienges chestras, they will want to play new works there as well." The program for tonight begins with Brahm's Tragic Overture. Meier said, "It is Brahms at his best, it is about the overwhelming fact that life is going to end." Albright's"Chasm" is next, followed by Bartok's Con- certo For Orchestra written in 1944. This piece fits well with the program, according to Meier. "It is one of the great masterpieces of the twentieth century," he said. Meier continued, "There is a definite arch between the Bartok and the Brahms, with Albright bringing the concert up to the present." The University Symphony Orchestra will perform tonight in Hill Auditorium at 8:00 p.m. Admission ie fre,, Taj Mahal Dancing the Blues Private Music There is more to the blues than pain and suffering, as Taj Mahal dem- onstrates on his second offering for Private Music. "Dancing the Blues," a 12-song collection of mostly upbeat classics held together by his joyous vocals, is Mahal's attempt to expose the other side of the blues. This is less the music of Robert JohnsonandBlind Willie McTell and more the rolling rhythm & blues of the post-war '50s and '60s. Even Howlin' Wolf's "Sittin' OnTopofthe World"is turned into a festival of happiness. While Mahal is obviously enjoy- ing this opportunity to explore the upbeat sound of this record, the occa- sional slow number, such as Percy Mayfield's "Stranger In My Own Home Town" merely whet the appe- tite for more of the same. Mahal's guitar is also curiously absent on this disc, found only on two tracks, one of which is the self-penned "Strut," a salute to the flamboyant jump-blues of old that unfortunately is only half- successful. "It's my elders I'm fixated on," says Mahal in the liner notes, and indeed it is. "That's How Strong My Love Is,"a soulful surprise, is Mahal's salute to the late Otis Redding and "Blues Ain't Nothin'," the other Mahal original, finds him calling out to Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters in tribute. Ultimately, "Dancing the Blues" is just that: an exploration of the glory days of rhythm & blues (the CD con- tains a 13th track, a straight rework- ing of "I Can't Help Myself") and an upbeat picture of the world before rock & roll. -Dirk Schulze Rancid Rancid Epitaph Remember punk? Working-class Joes making loud, fun music? Rancid is kinda like that. They're angry at authority, they swear a lot, their lyrics fail entirely to show the plight of the working class, the vocals are grainy and the music is rough and good. A large portion of their songs are stupid when it comes to lyrics. The refrain from "Hyena" ("I'm a hyena fighting for the lions sharel Some- times the lions share there") is indica- tive of the angry lyrics that Rancid shout out. But the band's stupidity is over-shadowed with their music, which is entertaining enough to dis- tract the casual listener from their flaws. There is periodically astandout song, like "Rejected." This is standard angry youth, gui- tar-based music. It's been done be- fore and done better, but it's still nice to hear once in a while. - Ted Watts r i wsww .wwsw.. sw w w. i wwrs e wwu Shipps JOSEPH SHAPIRO 11 I L wAWAW v aft o&v vw wI 11 mr7 Ar t'T''a w t3 W 1 W-W"7 1