10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 18, 1995
World-renowned conductor takes a final bow

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By Emily Lambert
Daily Arts Writer
It's easy to forget Gustav Meier's
awesome reputation in the conduct-
ing world, when speaking with him in
his modest School of Music office. A
conversation with Meier is casual and,
given the time, you could sit and talk
with him for hours. "You're inter-
viewing Professor Meier?" asked one
of his students enviously. "I wish I
GUSTAV
MEIER
Where: Hill Auditorium
When: Tonight at 8 p.m.
Tickets: Free
could just sit in the room and listen to
the conversation."
The fact that Meier is so friendly
and fascinating is both a blessing and
a curse, as his likable persona and
immense talents are in constant de-
mand. Aside from regularly conduct-
ing no fewer than three orchestras, he
is a world-renowned teacher and heads
the prestigious summer conducting
program at Tanglewood. Michigan
students have been fortunate to have
him nearby as a conductor and pro-
fessor since 1976, but Gustav Meier
will retire from the University this
spring. His farewell concert with the
University Symphony Orchestra will
take place tonight at 8 p.m. in Hill
Auditorium.
Born in Switzerland, Meier stud-
ied at the Zurich Conservatory, the
Accademia Chigiana in Siena and the
Tanglewood Music Center where, in
a famous class, he shared top honors

with Zubin Mehta and Claudio
Abbado. You would think that con-
ducting had always been his inten-
tion.
"No," he said. "That usually comes
later. First you become a musician. I
played the piano. I played the trum-
pet. I took up singing. Then the bug
got me around 19 or 20 and of course
I was hooked."
Meier has been guest conductor at
the New York-City, San Francisco,
Santa Fe, Minneapolis, Miami, Syra-
cuse and Zurich operas, and with sym-
phonies around the globe. He was
also the music director of the Imperial
Court Orchestra in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia. Yet Meier, Professor of
Music and Director of University
Orchestras, teaches as much as he
conducts. Why not hit the conducting
circuit or direct the New York Phil-
harmonic?
"That's a very good question.
After I left Tanglewood I had no
idea what I was going to do. I was
living in New York, looking for a
job. And then Yale offered me a
teaching job. I thought it was a great,
wonderful idea because I needed
more education," he said with a
smile.
"Being faculty is perfect because
you're being paid to get an education.
(At Yale) I learned as much as I prob-
ably could give ... From then on I was
really intrigued with academia. Teach-
ing has become a major interest for
me."
Meier's teaching has interested
others, as well, as Michigan has be-
come one of the best and most popu-
lar places to study conducting. Each

year hundreds of applicants compete
for only a few available spots. As for
his past conducting students, "they're
taking over the world, actually."
Many of the musicians who have
played under Meier's baton are as
talented as his past students, and he
finds conducting student orchestras
immensely rewarding. So much, in
fact, that he couldn't think of a single
professional orchestra he is dying to
conduct.
"I don't know. It depends on how
it would go, but it's really like dating,
You don't know how it's going to go.
You can have all the best intentions,
but it may not work out at all. It means
more to me which piece I'd like to
conduct, and the list is quite exten-
sive."
Meier's most rewarding moments
on the job arise when the musicians
are in synch, understanding a piece
and a composer. "If you have a stu-
dent who you feel is absolutely un-
derstanding what it's all about, when
the orchestra sounds as though they're
really into it, that's the greatest thing.
And it happens quite often. With the
professional orchestras it doesn't hap-
pen that often."
"Professional musicians have hard
lives. They have to make a living, the
pressures on the job, playing in the
orchestra every day - it can be tiring.
They don't have the same kind of
enthusiasm. Youth is a very wonder-
ful thing. And the most wonderful
thing about academia is that every
time you come back, it's the same
age."
Perhaps this academia keeps Meier
forever young, giving him his per-
Babes in Toyland
Nemesisters
Reprise
It's so sad to see good bands go
bad. Babes In Toyland are respon-
sible for some of the most harrowing,
demented female-created rock in re-
cent memory. From the nightmarish
(that's a compliment) EPs "Spanking
Machine" and "To Mother" to the
band's furiously tight and driven
album "Fontanelle," Babes in Toyland
always seemed more vicious than L7
and more genuinely psychotic than
Hole.
That's why Babes In Toyland's
newest album, "Nemesisters," is a
real disappointment. Instead of re-
maining true to their fast-paced
screamfest background, on this al-
bum the Babes attempt a sort of
grindcore sound. It's not a step in the
right direction. Even though Kar
Bjelland still shreds and contorts her
vocal cords and guitar chords, and
Lori Barbero still pounds out tribal
rhythms with the best of them, there's
something missing on "Nemesisters."
That something is songs. For all of
the Babes' racket, their songs are usu-
ally tightly structured frames for their
all-out sonic attack. But on
"Nemesisters," few songs really stand
out from each other; the composi-
tions are for the most part long and
pointless. "Surd," "Killeron the Road"

petual exuberance and creativity. On
campus, it was Meier who created the
popular Halloween Concerts, Collage
Concerts and Mozart Birthday Con-
certs. Now annual events, these tradi-
tions will remain far into the future.
For some, the word "retirement"
denotes a relaxation of pace. This
may not be true for Meier, whose
ambitious plans for the future are aug-
mented each minute. "I'm going to
have to watch out or I'll get busier
than I was before," he laughed. The
funny part of that statement is that it's
true.
Meier's family relationships have
become near luxuries in his busy life,
and his primary reason for retiring is
to spend more time with his wife and
family. Next on his agenda is to refine
what Meier lovingly refers to as his
"stillborn manuscript." The project is
a book he has written on conducting
and intends to publish.
Not that these plans alone wouldn't
keep him busy, but Meier already has
more astir. "I want to read books in
one reading. Start today, finish to-
morrow. Can you imagine that?" he
asked.
"And I will definitely continue
teaching at Tanglewood in the sum-
mers," he said. "It's a terrific place."
So he'll write, read, teach, "and I'll do
some conducting," he added. "There's
no question."
Checking up on students, another
priority of Meier's, could very well
take him around the globe. "If you
play in an orchestra, you have the
conductor to nag you ... and the
singers all have their coaches. In
their 80s they're still going to their

After years of splendid music, Gustav Meier is leaving the University.

teachers," he laughed. "Conductors
are isolated. I want to also keep in
touch with the students who are out
there, see how they're doing, maybe
even be of some help." His first
doctoral student, now directing the
newly formed China National Sym-
phony, asked Meier to come to~China
for a few months. Past students are
now music directors and guest con-

ductors all over the world.
The phone rang, and the inter-
view had to end. Regrettably, Meier's
time here is ending, too. Michigan;
has been lucky to have him since
1976, with all his excitement, creativ-
ity, musicianship and popularity.
Maybe it's that academia again, but 4
nearly twenty years at Michigan
doesn't seem long at all.

_

and "S.F W." are ample proof of this.
And the cover of Eric Carmen's '70s
mush-fest "All By Myself' is one of
the worst things ever recorded, serv-
ing neither the song nor the band's
ironic intent.
But amidst the sludge, there's still
some good to be found on
"Nemesisters." "Hello" sounds in-
triguingly bent, "Ariel" features in-
tense harmonies between Bjelland and
Barbero, and "Sweet '69" finds the
band recapturing some of their fright-
ening glory. But all in all,
"Nemesisters" sounds like Babes In
Toyland's evil twins recorded it as a
practical joke.
- Heather Phares
San Francisco Seals
Now Here
Matador
For those in the know, any new
recording by Barbara Manning is
cause for celebration. Unfortu-
nately, her first full-length effort
with the San Francisco Seals only
features five songs by her. The other
five tracks (with the exception of
the wanking noise workout "De-
mons on the Corners") are all good,
but her songs still shine the bright-
est. "Back Again" and "Day 12" are
both incredibly potent pop concoc-
tions, makin' bacon with sweet
melodies and spiky riffs. Admit-

i
rte.
_
E , .

Take a ride on Helium's beautiful punk balloon
Helium, above, are one of the most hyped indie-rock bands of recent memory.
Not too surprising, really, since the power trio is on Matador Records, the
home of all things popular yet distinctly independent like Pavement, Guided
By Voices, Liz Phair and Bettie Serveert. Anyway, the band's new album, "The
Dirt of Luck," is an incredible mix of Mary Timony's dusky jewel of a voice,
clanky, slow melodies, and a heaping helping of feminism on the side. They're
at Rick's on the 25th; tickets are $5. See 'em or spend your entire summer
wishing you did.

The Babes are back in town.

.Ad

tedly, in an ideal band, there is a
constant push for democracy and at
least somewhat equal input (think
of the Beatles, Uncle Tupelo and
Husker Du) but with someone like
Manning and an album like "Now
Here," you just want more from her.
- Dirk Schulze
The Jazz Butcher Con-
spiracy
Waiting for the Love Bus
Creation Records
"Hello ... do you have Svd Barrett
in a can?" If you're thevJazz Butcher
Conspiracy, you do. Somehow, lead
singer Pat Fish has managed to per-
fectly replicate Barrett's melancholy
ramblings, but with twisty new ef-
fects that make him sound echoey and
far away. Much like a man trapped in
a can.
Droning keyboards and dark
acoustics provide a soft musical back-
ground for JBC's somewhat silly lyr-
ics. "Penguins" is a sung from the
point of view of... well, penguins.

GO HOME THIS SUMMER AND...
atch some Zs, catch some rays, and
atch some extra courses
ENROLL IN CLASSES AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY LOCATIONS:

"Rosemary Davis World of Sound"
features the lines "I'm lost in Rose-
mary Davis world of sound / And I
don't believe I ever wanna come
down."
You won't be sure what it all
means, but the songs will entertain
and surprise you. Like opening a tin
can and finding Syd Barrett.
- Kari Jones
Love Battery
Straight Freak Ticket
Polygram Records
This hatterv needs rechargzin, Af-
ter releasing three powerful pop /
psychedelia albums on Sub Pop, Love
Battery has sputtered on "Straight
Freak Ticket," their major-label de-
but.
The output doesn't leave-you com-
pletely in the dark. A few, scattered
bright spots can be heard - and with
Love Battery's infectious blend of
Beatles' harmonics,. R.E.M. 's jangle
and Sonic Youth's feedback, the bright
spots sparkle with superior shine. But
the band has lost some luster since its
second Sub Pop release "Dayglo."That
album's strength lay in its subtlety:
Love Battery's ability to weave intri-
cate guitar sounds in and out of a solid
wall of fuzz created some highly ornate
rock orchestrations while retaining its
punk feel.
"Far Gone," Love Battery's third
and final Sub Pop release, faltered at
recapturing the glory of "Dayglo,"
and it pointed towards the new sound
heard on "Straight Freak Ticket." The
band is equipped with a more straight-
forward and pointed sound, but un-
fortunately, the points miss the mark
in most cases. Songs like "Fuzz Fac-
tory" and "Red Onion" manage to

"

DEARBORN
FLINT
LIVONIA
MT. CLEMENS
MT. PLEASANT

SAGINAW
SOUTHFIELD
TRAVERSE CITY
TROY
WARREN

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