10 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 20, 1995 'Margot' By Scott Plagenhoef Daily Arts Writer Corsets and Victorian hon Overblown, "epic" battle scenes overblown, long-winded soliloqu These are among the convention historical drama which typically k people out of the theater or send t yawning to the exits. "Queen Mar achieves the grandiosity whichn historical dramas strive for with having to turn its nose up at the a ence to accomplish it. Set in 16th Century France, film details the interior conflict w: France between the Catholics and Protestant Huegonots. Marguerit Valois, (Margot to her friends) Catholic daughter of the nefario ambitious and evil Catherine Medicis (Virna Lisi in a cold per mance reminiscent of the chess-p ing figure of death in "The Sev Seal") is used as a pawn in a dr cally unsuccessful attempt to ach internal peace. The independent Margot -I trayed in a triumphant return to screen after a nearly seven-year1 tus by Isabelle Adjani - forges own alliances. She is forced to through the tumultuous relations in her life amongst these tumul times and decipher the intention her mother, her brothers (one of w is King of France), her politicall is the queen of epic films band and her Protestant lover. kineticism provides a backdrop, an The true magic of "Margot" is almost ambient, restrained conflict mes. director Patrice Chereau's ability to upsetting the principles of the nation and capturetheconflictofanentirenation which hums beneath the outward, uies. with a small and select circle of char- central struggle for control of France. is of acters. Rather than attempt to play Twenty years after her striking keep debut in Francois Truffuat's "The hem R g Story of Adele H.," the now 40-year got" old Adjani has lost none of the deli- most Queen Margot cate beauty or subtle ability which hout Directed by has made her one of France's most udi- Patrice Cheteau treasured film stars of the '80s. Her return is more than welcome. the with Isabelle Adjani "Margot," in French with En- ithin and Virna Lisi glish subtitles, may have as its cen- d the At the Michigan Theater tral problem, trying to get an Ameri- e de can audience interested in charac- the traffic cop to "Spartacus"-like battle ters it knows or cares so little about. usly scenes, Chereau appropriately pre- 16th Century France, let alone reli- de sents a series of internal struggles for gious wars, are not a topic most of rfor- what is essentially an internal con- our countrymen are initiated in. lay- flict, religious affiliation. Yet when Rather than ease the audience into enth Chereau feels the need to spill blood, an easy introduction to the charac- asti- he does so within his circle of key- ters through the plot, Chereau pre- ieve, stone characters, rendering a greater sents in a written introduction a impact on the audience than any mass who? what? where? of the main char- por- of anonymous bodies strewn across acters: Their position, theirreligion, the muddied fields could accomplish. their kin. It is almost like providing hia- In the end it is Margot's internal a scorecard at a sporting event. Then her struggle, displayed with an alarming he jumps immediately into the film, sift balance of passion and restraint from at the same time heightening the hips scene to scene, depending upon ne- anxiety between the characters from tous cessity by Adjani, which provides the the start, drawing an impatient au- .s of blueprint for the entire film. The other dience immediately, but repelling hich major characters are each unwaver- foreign audiences unwilling to take hus- ing in their affiliations. Margot's a crash course in French history. The Berlin Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet take our breath away. Woodwind quintet is dazzlingly diverse Amazin' Blue serves a well-ba By Sangita M. Baxi allthelights and, with the aid ofastrobe Daily Arts Writer light, launched into their arrangement Complete with Appetizer, Soup and Salad, Main Course and Dessert, Amazin' Blue's spring concert, aptly entitled "Phat Like Butta! !" was a phenomenal success. Beginning with the Appetizer, the concertpresented selections by the guest performers, the award-winning Tufts University Beelzebubs. The Beelzebubs, or "Bubs" as the all-male a cappella group is affectionately called, started the show with energy by run- ning onto the stage and immediately bursting into their arrangement of "Burning Down the House." The group members were very involved with what was going on, ecstatically moving in synchronicity with the music. In addi- tion to some of their other pieces, such as "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Crosstown Traffic," the group per- formed short skits after most songs that were all very funny and creative. Bubs had a great time on stage, and the audi- ence was caught up in their exuberance. Moving on to the Soup and Salad, Amazin' Bluecame on stage, turnedoff off "Big Time." They continued into their first set with Vonderful arrange- ments of "Downeaster Alexa," "I'll Remember," "Comfortably Numb" and "I Can't Dance." Midway through the RIEtvEW - Amazin' Blue Phat Like Butta!! Rackham Auditorium March 18, 1995 set, the group performed a skit entitled "Amazing Discoveries" which featured their "A Little Crazy." Their wonderful sense of humor became very evident in the songs, in the introductions and in their skits. The high level of group chemistry stood out in each performance. All the singers had a featured solo, but no one person was the "star" - they worked together, making the concert much more enjoyable. Every piece was arranged by individual members lanced concert of Amazin' Blue. Therefore, each song had some personal attachmentor story behind it. The Main Course featured arrange- ments of songs such as "Wild Night," "Seven Days," "Southern Cross" and "Would I Lie to You." In addition, two more skits were performed. In one, a teacher attempts to direct a classroom of five-year-old geniuses through "Do-Re-Mi" and another chronicled the daring exploits of the "Mighty Morphin Disco Dancers"- both were a lot of fun. Amazin' Blue got physically in- volved in what their vocal chords were doing - if they vocally mim- icked electric guitars, they acted like they were playing electric guitars or if they imitated the sound of a drum, they pretended to play a full set of drums. Never standing still on stage, Amazin' Blue always moved with the beat, bringing their bodies into the realm of their voices until the ending Dessert which included "Crazy" (fea- tured on their award-winning album) and "Nothing 'Bout Me" - a fitting end to a great concert. By Emily Lambert Daily Arts Writer While many Ann Arborites spent Friday night gulping Guinness in the most authentic local Irish pubs, a small but devoted group of chamber music connoisseurs had their own little cul- tural celebration in Rackham Audito- rium. The Berlin Philharmonic Wood- wind Quintet, an outgrowth of Germany's finest orchestra, provided concert-goers with a wonderfully di- verse, often dazzling, program of music for wind instruments. Mozart's "Andante in F major," originally written for organ, was a likable piece to start off the evening, but comparatively less interesting than the works to come. The energy and clarity of articulation displayed by Michael Hasel in Mozart's prominent flute line became the central trait of the following "Quintet in G minor" by Franz Danzi. Danzi, an early 19th century Ger- man composer, played cello at age 15 in the celebrated Mannheim Orches- tra - an ensemble famous for its idiomatic instrumental performances and musical special effects. This clas- sical-sounding quintet was published towards the end of Danzi's life, but the Mannheim influence on it remains evident. The Berlin Woodwind Quin- tet punctuated the four movements with dramatic pauses, startling dy- namic changes and displays of virtu- osity. These musical effects, though innovative in the 18th century, are all but commonplace by today's stan- dards. The "Quintet in G minor" was delightful and well-played, yet, as the concert continued, this piece, nice as it was, fell short of the next piece's grandeur. Samuel Barber's elaborate and lyri- cal "Summer Music," the program's highlight, maximized the textural capa- - Berlin Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet Rackham Auditorium March 17, 1995 bilities of the instruments. Although the unforgiving Rackham walls had a habit of muting the wind's sounds through- out the evening, the Quintet managed to make extraordinary changes in color and timbre. The musicians sought to blend their sounds so well that the audi- ence could barely distinguish between the instruments, and their aim was largely successful. The mysterious opening intervals, initially played by Fergus McWilliam on horn and Henning Trog on bassoon, were tossed from player to player, providing a fascinat- ing exercise in listening. The Quintet, handled the music's sudden shifts of tempo and mood with intelligence. The achingly beautiful oboe melody was transformed into a jazzy bassoon line, ending the program's fine first half. The five-some resumed with "Ser- enade for Quintet with Oboe Solo" by Andr6 Jolivet. Andreas Wittmann played with sensible musicianship over the dense, agitated accompani- ment, yet his oboe line interacted so well and so often with the others that I hesitate to refer to anyone as a backup player. The ensemble never lost a sense of collective forward motion. Jolivet's intense tonal and rhythmic techniques gave even the more tran- quil moments, like those of the Intermede, a fiery quality. The last movement was a neurotic march, in- terrupted by intermittent accents and blasts. Another "Quintet in G minor," this serious and elegant one by the Frenchman Claude-Paul Taffanel, would have closed the program had two encores not followed. Minutes later, Walter Seyfarth and his clarinet swung best to a blues melody, before the ensemble launched into an Ameri- can folk-song suite, challenging the audience to identify the patriotic tunes as they raced by. Friday's concert marked the Ber- lin Philharmonic WoodwindQuintet's Ann Arbor debut. With a little luck, we'll see them again soon. Award-winning pianist Boris Berezovsky performs tonight at Hill The bright young star Boris Berezovsky, will give a piano recital Monday evening at the Hill Auditorium. The young pianist will try to fill the void left after Maurizio Pollini - the highly acclaimed, originally scheduled performer - canceled because of illness. At only 26, Berezovsky already demands the international music community's attention. He-won the gold medal in 1990 at the prestigious International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. That same year, alongside the likes of Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman and the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra under Yuri Temirkanov, Berezovsky participated in the Tchaikovsky Gala Concert. Since his brilliant breakthrough in 1990, the Russian has flaunted his piano skills in recitals all over the world. Monday evening's 8:00 program will include pieces by Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Schumann. For ticket information, call the University Musical Society at 764-2538. 9 --r-------------------- ---,------- 1 1 1 1 HOW TO HANG ON TO YOUR DOUGH.. (WITHOUT CRAMPING YOUR STYLE) 1 I 1 1 , ~ Separate "needs" from "wants." Hint: A bed is a need. A Mr. Microphone is a want. ;. 1 1 & Split the bill but only pay your share. ; Why put in for someone else's swordfish if all you got was soup? # 1 a L Set aside money for emergencies. Unless you'd rather call your parents 1 for it instead. 1I 1 1 Keep your eye on your wallet. 1 Have a Citibank Classic card in case you 1 a lose it.The Lost Wallets Service can get you a emergency cash; a new card, usually within 1 I I 24 hours, and help replacing vital documents. i 1 I 1 °Based on available cash line 1 1 ..- 1 I McLACHLAN Continued from page 9 Z Q O s b (Paying attention at a concert ... what a weird and wonderful idea!) The first half of McLachlan's set was filled with her "depressing songs," as she described them. Songs like "Ice" and "Elsewhere" are slightly dark and melancholy on the album "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy," but the simple fact that they were being performed live by such a strong vocalist made them seem more "explosive" than "depressing." The second half of the show was more lighthearted, and McLachlan stopped often to in- teract with the audience. Like Cole, McLachlan's songs are mostly musical bits and pieces of the female experience. For this reason, her playful banter with the crowd often dealt with being a female musician. "People kept saying to me 'You can't have two women on the same bill!"' McLachlan laughed. "I thought, what a misogynist atti- tude to have. Then, I thought, that's it, she (Cole) is coming for sure!" The audience went crazy when McLachlan finally wrapped things up and walked off stage. Really, - 3 ~ um~ ua. ~