8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 23, 1996

Virtuoso guitarist wows 'U.

McKinsey & Company
The Business Analyst Program

By Emily Lambert
D~aily Arts\Witer
It sometimes seems that to be a famous classical artist, you
have to be the youngest or the flashiest or the one with the
biggest attitude. Yet guitarist Christopher Parkening is none
of the above.
That is not to say that Parkening is
not unique. Quite the contrary. Besides R E
touring as a premier virtuoso, he's a
world class fly-fisher. And he's one of
those rare artists who is actually as
good looking as his publicity photo Racki
implies.
But what really makes Christopher
Parkening famous is the kind of tasteful, musical guitar play-
ing he displayed Sunday afternoon at Rackham Auditorium.
Parkening and the Colorado String Quartet gave a recital
which led one audience member to remark "I just love live
music, don't you?"
The music was surely live. Every"
sound was vivid, from the soft and
captivating opening notes to the final
strum of the encore. Subtle body and
facial movements showed Parkening
to be undoubtedly involved in the per-
formance. The music, however, took
on a life of its own.
A chorus of sounds sang from
Parkening's guitar. In the third dance,
"Volte," by Michael Praetorius, the
theme was continually restated and re-
sounded. A lute, a dulcimer and a
piano hid in those six strings. In an
Etude by Heitor Villa-Lobos, one
would swear to hear chimes pinging in
the second movement.
After opening with solo works by Christopher Parken
17th century composers Sanz and
Praetorius, Parkening and the Quartet
reveled in an arrangement of Antonio Vivaldi's "Concerto for
Guitar and Strings." The set-up allowed minimal communi-
cation, but the soloist and string players jelled. The quartet
captured the rich texture of the original work with a drama
contrasting Parkening's subtle style.

Y
c

In "String Quartet No. -?" by Alberto (jinastera, the
Colorado Quartet wvas unleashed and in the limelight,-
Beginning with a driving rhythm played in unison, the play
ers indulged in the energetic and unusual style of the con-
temporary Argentinean composer. Julie Rosenfeld, Deborah
Redding. Francesca Martin Silos and
Diane Chaplin were unabashedly dra-
FI E W matic, even in the slower middle mover
Christopher ment. Unusual harmonies, large gli -
Parkening sandos. vibrato-less passages and'
e abruptly ended solos filled the
m Auditorium enthralling piece.
Oct. 20.1996 The contrast between Vivaldi and-
(iinastera was enormous, perhaps too
much so. Though both performances were fantastic, the
juxtaposition was jarring. And the next piece. "Jubilation:
by living composer Andrew York, was surprisingly tonal
Based on York's 1986 composition "Sunburst,"
"Jubilation" was sweet and inherently
familiar.

At intermission, the recital already
seemed complete. But the best was yet
to come.
A flamenco-inspired wvork by Isaac,-
Albeniz was a musical mind-twister:...
Originally a piano piece. "Rumores de
la Caleta" was probably written with
the sound of the guitar in mind.
"An Etude and Two Preludes" by
Brazilian Villa-Lobos were darker and
more mysterious. The flair was in the@
music's tensions. twists and turns.
Carlo Domeniconi's "Koyunbaba"
had a foreign feel - and Parkening
explained that the guitar was tuned to a.
c-sharp minor chord. The Presto was.
trancelike, and Parkening's technique
was amazing. But his virtuosity was,
almost unnoticeable in the context of

ping

the beautiful, modal music.
The Colorado Quartet rejoined Parkening for a finale of
"Capriole" by Peter Warlock. The second movement, espe
cially, had its hairy moments. But the music was dynamic.
resonant - and altogether live.

'Here Lies' a moving production

By Evelyn Miska
For the Daily
It is not often we are given permis-
sion to feel sorry for ourselves. Yet this
is exactly what the director of the
Basement Arts production, "Here
Lies" wants the audience to do. In a
recent interview with The Michigan
Daily, Karina Miller described her
upcoming pro-
duction as "an
evening of heart- .' PRI
break and self- P R
pity.'
"Here Lies" is Tor
based on a collec-
tion of 1939 General a

E
no
dm

problems with the opposite sex, "I
haven't met one person with a perfect
love life." Miller said.
Since "Here Lies" was never origi-
nally intended for the stage, Miller had
to go through the process of figuring
out how to link a number of short
scenes together, instead of having one
main story. Miller felt one of the great-
est challenges for
the actors was
VIEW "dealing with the
.rLe text, because it
Here Lies wasn't written for
rrow through Saturday the stage."
at the Arena Theater. When asked
nission seating is free. what she would
consider to be the
strongest asset of the production, Miller
credited the writing of Dorothy Parker.
Parker, perhaps best known for her
association with Vanity Fair magazine
and the Algonquin Round Table. is one
of Miller's favorite writers.
"She is a great example of a strong
woman writer." Miller explained. Parker
is often considered the wittiest member
of the Algonquin Round Table - a
group of famous writers including
Robert Benchley and Robert Sherwood,
which met regularly at the Algonquin
Hotel inNew York City. Parker frequent-
ly wrote about the relationships between

men and women, and she is thought to
have had a keen eye for people.
Miller has also made her niche in the
community around her; she is no
stranger to directing productions at the
University. With such shows as "Black
Comedy." "The Tempest" and "Kiss of
the Spider Woman" under her belt, the
Toronto native has made a strong sho-
ing for herself in Ann Arbor - a town,
she has found to be a great cradle of
theater. Beginning with drama classes
at age 7, then directing her first show at
16, it is likely the future holds a place inO
theater for Miller.
in the meantime, while "an evening
of heart break and self-pity" may not
sound like the happiest: of times,
Miller thinks the idea of being able to
feel sorry for yourself, and "cryinglif
you want to," has a certain appeal. Itis
a play "for ye of broken hearts," she.
said.
For some of the stories told this
assertion will ring true, for others it
may not. Regardless, tears are bound to
be shed in the Arena Theater this week-
end. These are situations "centered
around human relationships and the
pain and disappointment that accompA
ny them," and Ms. Miller welcomes the
audience to sit back and"watch, laughL
cry and feel sorry for yourself."

Dorothy Parker
short stories - including "Mr. Durant"
and "Big Blonde" - which have been
adapted for the stage. lThe play centers
around the relationships between men
and women and the intricacies of
human relationships. Set in tile '30s,
one of the greatest challenges for the
cast was getting accustomed to the lan-
guage of the time.
But do not allow the time period to
throw you off. "Each scene could be set
in a different time because of the play's
universal theme." Miller said.
She feels theaudience will be able to
relate well with the characters and their

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McKinsey's World Wide Web Site (http://www.mckinsey.com)

e
a . v

RECORDS
Continued from Page 5
Pet Shop Boys
B i/in gual
Atlantic
Those of you xvith '80's electronic
pop music obsessions must be really
happy right about now. First there was
the latest release from Electronic, the
side project of Bernard Sumner (New
Order) and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny
Marr. And now, tile eagerly awaited
release (at least by dance music afi-
cionados) from the Pet Shop Boys.
But wait, there's more! Now you can
really get excited. "Bilingual" is real-
ly good.
Of course, listening to "Bilingual,"
you'd probably think that the Pet Shop
Boys have spent the past decade in a
coma. Their music hasn't changed
very much over the years. But, still
popular in gay discos across the coun-
try, the Boys know what they're doing
when it comes to pop. Always dance-
able, always upbeat, this album should
be no disappointment to hard core
fans.
The first thing to notice about
"Bilingual" is, well, the bilingual part.
Utilizing extensive Latin beats as well
as Spanish lyrics, the Boys proudly
display their international influences.
In fact, while touring throughout the
world, the Boys happened upon a pro-

As you can see: The Pet Shop Boys are veritable West End girl magnets.

Tenaglia.
Of course, it wouldn't be the Pet
Shop Boys without synth-pop. a few
piano ballads, and strangely intelligent
and literate lyrics. "Metamorphosis," a
wonderfully happy synthesized dance
track accentuated by punchy horns and

single bilingual." doesn't sound like th
most mind blowing lyric, Tennant doesl"
use the title of pioneering gay play!
Wright Joe Orton in the song, "Up
Against It." Other obscure references
can be found in "Electricity." where-
there is a mention of the band Disco


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