' . . .
pago 10
thursday, may 1,1980
dally nebraskan
GW(
Fulbright awarded
to VNL organist
By Penelope Smith
To Joe Troxell, Northern Germany means a lot more
than pretzels and beer. Troxell, an organist and graduate
student at the UNL School of Music, has received a
Fulbright Award to study his art in Germany, beginning
this August.
Troxell is originally from Tennessee. Fourteen years
ago, when he was 16, he became interested in the organ
through church and has been playing it ever since.
"I want to study 17th-century North German organ
music," he said.
Organ literature was profoundly influenced by this
particular style of music. Compositional forms developed
from this school into the full flower of the Baroque.
"In Northern Germany, which was predominantly
Protestant, the larger organ forms developed, such as the
fugue," Troxell said. A fugue is an ornate, layered piece of
music. The theme is introduced again and again in various
parts.
'The Northern Germans integrated Italian influences
with their own innovations to form the stilus fantasticus,
a style that juxtaposed highly improvisational elements,"
Troxell said.
Influenced Bach
This school of music died out at the beginning of the
18th century, but it highly influenced one of the great
names of the Baroque, Johann Sebastian Bach.
Troxell said a reawakening of interest exists in the
music and the technique that was used to play it because
of a return to the mechanical action organ in churches
and recital halls throughout the country.
"These organs are similar in design to those built by
one of the most respected organ builders of all time who
was also from north Germany, Arp Schnitger," Troxell
said.
y He will gain from his trip to Germany not only
instruction but the opportunity to play on the original
organs on which 17th-century Northern organ music was
composed and played.
In a mechanical action organ, there is a mechanical
connection between the valves and the wind channels. In
the 19th century, electronic organs were (and still are)
popular. The wind channels in these organs are opened
and closed by electronic impulses.
True quality
Troxell said that playing the original instruments or a
mechanical organ brings out the true quality of the music.
"With a mechanical organ there is a more intimate
feeling with the instrument. In an electronic organ you are
isolated from the pipes, with a mechanical organ you
have an immedicacy of attack," Troxell said.
Baroque music is finally being played as near, as
possible to the way it was originally , he said.
"The music sounds different on a mechanical organ.
We are now discovering how the music really sounds.
A very important part of playing the music is the per
formance practice or how the music is played. This has by
no means been uniform through the centuries.
Continued on Page 1 1
1V tXflVi
Photo by R.K. Hahn
Johnny (left) and Dee Dee Ramone had the crowd pogoing in the aisles during the Ramones' concert Tuesday
night.
Kamones' polished punk concert
eeps natives restless, rocking
By Bob Crisler
- The natives were restless Tuesday night at the Omaha
Civic Auditorium Music Hall as the Ramones brought
their brand of polished punk to town.
The concert started on time, with Omaha's Skuddur
opening with a choppy version of Satisfaction. Along with
some original material, Skuddur did covers of the B-52s,
.0
Sex Pistols, and a particularly inane version of the blues
classic I'm a Man, The crowd quickly became bored and
began chanting "Hey, Ho! Let's Go!," the chorus of the
Ramones traditional opening number.
During the intermission between bands, hard-core
Ramones fans crowded the aisles in front of the stage.
Anticipating what was to come, fans reached into their
pockets for their 50s sunglasses and other punker regalia.
It was a scene straight out of West Side Story.
After the equipment change, the theater went dark and
a single spotlight fell upon a huge Ramones banner as a
military drumbeat thundered above the sound system.
Through the darkness, Joey Ramone sneered "Yeah! One
two three four!"
The stage lights went up, revealing the T-shirted and
blue-jeaned band. A collective squeal for Joey, Marky,'
Dee Dee and Johnny rippled across the crowd.
The Ramones were tight. Joey's staccato vocals and the
pogoing guitars of Johnny and Dee Dee layered them
selves over the relentless percussion of Marky Ramone.
The band is well known among New-Wavers for its hot
stage shows and the Omaha performance certainly won
them some new converts.
The band played songs from their fifth and latest LP,
End of the Century. Rocking hard and fast, they had the
crowd in the palm of their hand. People on the main floor
stood through the entire concert, pogoing in place.
The near-perfect acoustics of the Music Hall and the
monolithic sound system numbed the ears of the uninti
ated, but, urged on by the stage antics of the guitar play
ers, the crowd began pogoing more energetically through
three encores, until Joey Ramone shouted, anticlimactic
ally, "Nebraska is the best. Good night!" It was what rock
V roll was mdant to be.
Charming remake refuses to live down to image
By Peg Sheldrick
Last year about this time, a cloying,
moronic embarrassment of a movie entitled
The Champ was released. It was a remake
of a Depression -era film and starred a
heavy duty box office draw (Jon Voigt)
and a cuddly newcomer (Ricky Schroeder).
It was, in a word, horrible.
This year another remake of a Depres
sion era film has been released-Zrrfe Miss
Marker. It stars a heavy duty box office
draw. (Walter Matthau) and a cuddly new
comer (Sara Stimson). The viewer, burned
by last year's flaming trash, approaches
with caution, expecting yet another cloy,
tag, moronic embarrassment of a movie.
But for pijce, the remake fails to live down
to one's expectations. Little Miss Marker is,
inaword.charming. '
The film's main character is a bookie
named Sorrowful Jones, and he probably
wouldn't like the odds on a period piece
comedy in a year when the big releases
have been celebrity romances and ad
venture extravaganzas. But even if it's a
longshot at the box office, it's a sure bet
for light-hearted fun.
The story itself is an old Damon
Runyon tale about a tight-fisted, flinty old
bookmaker- the afore-mentioned Jones
who in a weak moment agrees to take a
" " " horseplayer s 6-year-old daughter as an
IOU or marker. Jones also is in dutch with
-v-5-vj 3 t0USh-guv gangster named Blackie who
iGUESLJ wants backing for a crooked casino. Add to
that romantic complications, courtesy of
Blackie's hieh class obiect of affection, the
disappearance of the horseplayer, and the
kid -hunt the authorities are staging to put
the winsome marker into the orphanage,
and you begin to understand why Jones is
sorrowful.
Curmudgeon's curmudgeon
Walter Matthau .is splendid as the dour
hood who has a hard time keeping his hear:
of gold a secret when dealing with the kid.
Matthau has a face like a bag of russet
potatoes, a voice like a cement mixer, and
a delivery that makes even his nastiest lines
irresistible (as when, looking at his deceas
ed pooch, he harumphs "See what you can
get for the fur"). He also demonstrates a
flair for physical comedy in a little scene
where he prepares dinner for his charge
(dry cornflakes and day-old donuts). He is
a curmudgeon's curmudgeon and a delight
to watch.
Sara Stimson as the Kid (never named)
is appealing but not overwhelming in her
movie debut. She was the winner of a big
talent search the markers initiated to fill
the title role; to their credit they did not
select a Shirley Temple replacement or
imitator. Stimson has her own brand of
charm; her main problem is holding her
own among people who are not only three
feet taller but years more experienced than
she. Though she isn't given much to do, she
handles herself well.
Bob Newhart, Tony Curtis, Julie
Andrews and Lee Grant are on hand for
support. Curtis is very much in his element
as Blackie, Bob Newhart has some nice
moments as Jones' long-suffering assistant,
and Lee Grant has a very funny cameo. But
Julie Andrews seems slightly out of place
in this setting and one wonders why she is
settling for yet another girlfriend role.
She does very nicely, but the question is
why she does so little when it would seem
she could find more challenging roles.
Warm heart below
The film was written and directed by
Walter Bernstein and he has done an excel
lent job of updating the comedy-not so
much by changing the story but by adapting
the style, The 1934 Miss Marker is, like as
not, a markedly different movie in tone
and treatment. The present edition blends
Front Page cynicism with Srwshijinks and
Paper Moon banter for snappy humor and
shameless good times. It remains true to
the spirit of Runyon, with a warm heart
beating beneath the tough talk. In addition
to the wisecracks and silly bits, the film
offers a hilarious fixed horse race that no
body wants to'win.
Henry Mancini's score is as smooth and
jazzy as the film itself. Outside of two or
three glaring anchronisms the production is
stylishly authentic, like a series uf Norman
Rockwell paintings. The story is pure fool
ishness, but the performances and script
are pure gold. Little Miss Marker won't win
any Oscars but it's solid entertainment that
may just win a few hearts.
The film Is playing at the Cooper Plaza