8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 13, 1998 Pianist Kissin mixes tradition and innovation. By Anna Kovalszki Daily Arts Writer Beethoven, Brahms and Liszt, all great composers of the past, will visit Hill Auditorium tonight with a promise of per- fection. Their piano pieces will be deliv- ered by an artist whom Anton Nel, an associate professor of piano at the School of Music, calls, "one of the greatest tal- ents of the century." Evgeny Igorevich Kissin, an improviser on the piano at the age of three, received international attention when, at 12, he performed Chopin's Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with the Moscow Philharmonic. He was the child prodigy of the piano world, in his youth listening to recordings and replaying the music he heard by mem- ory. He is now 26, and still growing as an artist and performer. Born in Moscow, Kissin grew up with, the Russian piano tradition, familiar with former greats Anton Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz. He plays in the Romantic tradition, and "New York Times" critic Harold Schonberg argues, with, "constant, delicately applied fluctu- ations of tempo, held under a perfect syn- thesis of emotional and intellectual con- trol." Kissin's talents have taken him all over the world, in cities like Berlin, Budapest, and Boston. His 1990 debut at Carnegie Hall was a sold-out affair, producing a recording that earned him a Grammy Award nomination. He also performed at the Grammy Awards in 1992, with an estimated 1.8 bil- lion people watching. With his globe-hopping career, Kissin has moved to New York City with his fam- ily and teacher. His career is decidedly family-oriented, with his mother and teacher traveling with him to most con- certs he plays, and being part of his deci- sion-making apparatus. Anna Pavlovna Kantor, his teacher, has been with him, since he entered the Gnessen Music School for Gifted Children at age 6. His music did not become, however, a solely commercial affair. It remained per- sonal and important to Kissin, who con- tends that, "if my career were suffering, I would be able to find comfort only in music, in the piano. I don't know how I Evgn would be able to live if I suddenly became Kissin unable to play." Hill AuditoriumAnd the audience also plays an impor- Tonight at 8 tant role in his per- formance. "It's strange, but the more people there are in the hall, the better I play. It's necessary for me to play a piece in public to master it. The whole perception changes. I feel peo- pl&'s attentiveness, and my performance depends on it." Audiences are seldom disappointed. According to "New Yorker" critic Andrew Solomon, he plays with a style in which, "you do not feel so much that he is pour- ing energy into the instrument as that he is receiving energy from it." Solomon recounts a 13-encore performance in the Italian city of Bergamo, which he attend- ed. It was way past midnight when the audience finally let Kissin leave the co cert hall. Tonight's concert will be Kissin's Ann Arbor debut. It undoubtedly will be a night that audiences find exceptional. As Solomon stated, "Kissin's performances are not intellectually conceived interpre- tations ... but magnificent scenes of inspiration that materialize before the audience's very eyes." And Beethoven, Brahms and Liszt will perhaps be fol- lowed by other greats, if Ann Arbor can compared with Bergamo. - Tickets are $20-$50 and are available on the first floor of Burton Tower at the University Musical Society office. Call 764-2538 for more information. Courtesy of 6MG Classics Pianist Evgeny Kissin appears at Hill Auditorium tonight. Film and Video Studies Presents: An Open Discussion with Hollywood Writers' Agent Stu Robinson Friday April 17th @ 4:00 1008 Frieze Building Hollywood agent Stu Robinson comes to Ann Arbor on Friday, April 17th to speak to students about the best ways to break into film and television... and how to attract a good agent. Over the years, Robinson and partner Bernie Weintraub have represented many of the show runners and staff of some of TV's most memorable series, including "arw 7yler Moore," "Bob Newhartt," "All in the Fanmilv," "Maude," "M.A.S.H.," "Barney Milletr," "Murphy Brown," and " racier' to name a few. Among the screenplays Robinson has represented are Slap Shot, Grease, E. T., and all the films of John Sayles (and of course, Renaissance Mara). In recent years, Robinson has been working mostly on features, long-form TV, and selling film and video rights to published material including cult favorites Dave Barry, Hubert Selby Jr., Rita Mae Brown and Sara Paretsky. Robinson's client roster includes U of M Alums David Newman and F&V Jim Burnstein. Saunders brings 'Aaonica'to Ann Arbor By Curtis Zimmermann Daily Arts Writer There are few avenues of music that Merl Saunders hasn't explored. Tonight, he will continue his musical journey which has lasted nearly four decades when he brings his Hammond B-3 Organ, five synthesizers and the Rain Forest Band to the Blind Pig. In his sound, Saunders incorporates many styles including blues, jazz, funk, classical and rock-a-billy. As a rWr result of this he Merl has shared the Saunders stage and record- ing studio with Blind Pig the likes of Miles Tonight at 9:30 Davis, Harry Belafonte, The Statler Brothers and The Grateful Dead, He was also musical director for the "Twilight Zone" reincarnation in the early '80s and has written scores for the pornographic car- toon feline "Fritz the Cat." In a recent interview, he attributed his willingness. to venture into numerous musical realms to something Duke Ellington told him when Saunders was.18. "You don't want to be a jazz musician, you want to be a musician. Play music" Although his album "Blues From The Rain Forest," which was a collabo- ration with Jerry Garcia was released in the early '90s, he began writing envi- ronmental music nearly 30 years ago. "Back in 1970, 1 wrote a song called 'Save Mother Earth' and everyone laughed at me." Before the environmen- tal movement gained acceptance in the late '90s, one group that wasn't laugh- ing was the FBI. In 1972, after hearing his piece entitled "The Funky System," the bureau sent agents to his home to question his mother. Currently Saunders is promoting his follow up to "Blues From the Rain Forest,' "Fiesta Amazonica." Many of the songs on this album were inspired by a trip he took to the rain forest a few years ago. But it also contains tributes to Jerry Garcia, and his cousin Eddie Moore who was also on the first "Rain Forest" album. What is intriguing about "Fiesta Amazonica," besides its musical diversity, is the various song writing and musical collaborations that appear on it. The track "Ayahausca Zone" is about a psychedelic drug used by rain forest natives for ceremonial purposes. Although he admits that he has never tried it, Saunders said witnessing the effect it had on those who took it was what he tried to portray in the piece. The song itself was originally recorded as a score for an episode of the "Twilight Zone" and than remixed in 1996. "The track was originally a Vietnam veteran going with a machine gun through the jungle shooting and going crazy. ... When I was doing that, Jerry walked into the studio and was like 'Man,' he just picked up his guitar and started playing. I said Jerry, I'm not going to use that. I'm going to erase all of that. I don't need that. So when I heard the track 10 years later, I said that's the ceremony." As an environmentalist what Saunders sees as the key element in pre- serving the rain forest and saving the planet is education. "Whose ever going to save this Rain forest its not going to t ! i' 1 11 i ~sr~&W(N(' Drop by Zingerman's Bakeshop on South University and enter to win A FREE LUNCH FOR 2 AT ZINGERMAN'S DELICATESSEN. On April 20, '98, a winner will be drawn and awarded a gift certificate for lunch for you and a friend. Lunch includes: a yummy sandwich, side salad, beverage, dessert and coffee for 2. I Needa A before EXAMS? 'ourtesy o'um "erone "eors Merl Saunders plays the Blind Pig tonight. be people like you and I, its going to be children. The youth are going to save the rain forest. So the only thing you go to do is educate them. Educate you, educate your children." But at the same time, he says he doesn't want to go o t and preach. Beyond the environmentalism and education Merl Saunders has a simple message to everyone who attends his shows: "Let's get high on music." That pretty much says it all. CAPPADONNA Continued from page 5A Shortly before doing lunch with Cappa, O'Neil reflected on the alrea@ considerable success of the show. "It's nice to have people like us, Black Vibes and Devious Enterprises doing things on campus. For so long, everyone's been talking about doing things like what we're doing, but it's great to not only see it getting done, but to also be a part of it:" O'Neil, whose laid back demeano complements the intensity ofTerrelonge- Stone, thinks that the show's variety what makes it innovative. "We use the same equipment the othe WOLV shows use" he said. "There ar entertainment shows, but how man entertainment shows will cover racism the dorms, or devote and entire show t Martin Luther King, Jr. or intervie Woodson and (Robert) Traylor? You' have to watch a whole network to g what we have in one show." O'Neil als said he hopes that the show paves th way for others who would like to m the same impact on the University ca pus. The crew met with Cappadonna an his entourage after lunch, and the agreed to do the interview outside. Ther was a mob of fans, friends, family, an reporters who also wanted a piece o Cappa's time, but after a while, Capp and company met Terrelonge-Stone an O'Neil to film the interview in front of nearby Dodge Viper. On the way back to Ann Arbor Terrelonge-Stone bristles with pride ove the successful shoot. "Cappadonna wa really nice," he said, "For him to be m favorite rapper, it's great that he was such a down-to-earth person.' Terrelonge-Stone rates this as his secon best interview of the jam-packed show next to the interview done with Mary J Blige. While watching the recorde footage, he allowed himself to relax a i tle bit, taking pride in every frame passes before his eyes. - "The Shomari and Sean O'Nei Show" airs throughout this week a 8p.m. on channel 70 JOBS!!! Spring/Summer Term Come See Stand-up Comedian Pete Lipsey P V also featuring Comedy Company's Dan Messinoer Apply now at the Law Library-- UI1