Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 1987)
Arts & Entertainment Courtesy of Kimball Kronos Kronos Quartet defies ‘classic’ stereotypes By Charles Lieurance Senior Editor You’re in a quiet, drafty baroque room, sitting in unnatural postures on furniture meant to look at, not sit Concert Preview on. Botticelli’s "Venus on the Half 4 Shell" hangs in a gilt frame on the wall over a bust of Voltaire. Quiet coughs. Light whispers. "Ladies," the host nods to the left. “Gentlemen,” the host nods to the right. “The Kronos String Quartet,” the host nods forward. Enter the string quartet. Violinist John Sherba wears a leather head band and best, sports a spiked arm band and a two-day shadow of facial hair. Cellist Joan Jeanrenaud and violist Hank Dutt look as If they belong in the Talking Heads instead of these staid environs. And then there’s David Harring ton, the quartet’s first violinist and outspokesman, and a dead ringer for The Psychedelic Purs’ Richard Butler. The Kronos Quartet are stout defying musical stereotypes, said Harrington, who started the group in 1973 in Seattle. Harrington was primarily influenced by George Crumb’s electric string quartet, Black Angels. The current lineup has been together since 1977 and now considers San Francisco — the musical melting pot that has, throughout the 1980s, spawned numerous bizarre musical hybrids — their home. “There's too much aggression in the air in New York,” Harrington said. “San Francisco is more open.” The quartet, all in their early to late 30s, have assimilated most of the experimental music of the last 25 years into their classical conflgu ration. Between Bart ok quartets a Kronos audience is treated to works by Thelonious Monk, John Lurie (of Lounge Lizards’ fame), Philip Glass, John Cage and Omete Coleman. Kronos had a cult hit with a string version of Jimi Hendrix’s incendiary “Purple Haze” last year. "People expect a string quartet to be reserved and sedate, black tie and suit sort of thing,” Harrington said. "We hope to bring out the timelessness of the music, to show that it crosses stylistic boundaries that were set up arbitrarily." Although the Kronos Quartet do not leap about the stage like The Who or smash their violins over their knees to verify their creative intensity, their shows have a kineti cism that comes from a rapt at ten tiveness to the music, to its imme diacy and sensuality. In this way Kronos Quartet is connected as much to the more experimental ends of rock’n’roll as it is to the classical traditions of string quartets. “We draw the people who are into the new, more adventurous music in rock as well as those who are drawn to classical virtuosity,” he said. The Kronos Quartet will perfrom at 8 p.m. Sunday at Kimball. For a less formal view of the group, the quartet will perform Monday night at the Zoo Bar. Blues musician John Hartford at Per shing Auditorium tonight John Hartford, renowned bluegrass artist, will perform tonight in Pershing Auditorium with the Lincoln Symphony orchestra. Hartford, an accomplished riverboat pilot as well as a consummate fiddler Concert Preview and bai\jo player, has won several Grammy awards for his music, includ ing two for his hit song ‘‘Gentle on my Mind,” made popular in 1967 by Glen Campbell. Hartford has performed many of the nation’s leading symphon orchestras, including the Oklahoma CitySymphony, the Owensboro (Ky.) Symphony Or chestra and the Denver Symphony Orch estra. Over the course of several LPs Hartford has been instrumental in popu larizing traditional bluegrass and incorporating it into immediately acces sible pop songs. His repetoire swings easily from standard traditional Appal achian and Bayou picking to more con temporary compositions. Hartford’s newest album is entitled “Annual Waltz" and is on the MCA/Dot label. Hartford is presented as part of the Lincoln Symphony’s annual September Pops performance. Concert-goers will have the opportunity to bring a picnic supper with them to the concert, and the most imaginative combinations of picnic spread and costume will be awarded prizes during the performance. Audience members also will be able to bid on the chance to conduct the orchestra. The highest bidder will con clude the evening’s performance by leading the Orchestra in a rendition of John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” In addition to accompanying Hart ford, the Lincoln Symphony will pres ent classical and pop songs. The concert will begin at 8 p.m., but the auditorium doors will open at 6 p.m. for picnickers. Cash bars will be open throughout the evening. No alco holic beverages will be allowed into the auditorium. Tickets are $19.50 for reserved table seating and $6 for general-admission seating. Student tickets for general admission seating are $5. Lincoln Symphony Orchestra Music Director Robert Emile will conduct the orchestra as it accompanies Hartford. The September Pops, and many other activities of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, is made possible, in part, through the support from the Nebraska Arts Council and the National Endow ment for the Arts. The September Pops is also made possible through the assistance of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music. Traditional Bhutan articles, textiles displayed Sunday at Morrill Hall Exhibits of traditional articles and textiles from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan will open Sunday in the Lentz Center lor Asian Culture, at the University of Nebraska State Museum in Morrill Hall. Featured at the 3:30 p.m. opening will be a lecture by Walter Roder on “Architecture, Rituals and Social Cus toms of Bhutar.” Roder, who is pursuing a doctorate in agronomy at UNL, and his wife, Kun zang, a native of Bhutan, provided the articles and textiles for the exhibit. Bhutan is located in the eastern Himalayas, south of Tibet and north of India. It has only recently emerged from centuries of isolation and opened to tourists. The Lentz Center display provides a general introduction to the country. It is made up of everyday util itarian objects, rather than objects of antiquity. Bhutan is noted for its handwoven materials. Weaving in Bhutan involves all members of the family. Today, Bhu tan has the highest percentage of hand weavers in the world. The exhibit includes numerous examples of handwoven fabrics, sashes, garments, bags and other objects. The Lentz Center is in Morrill Hall 304. The exhibit will run through mid-December. Hours at the Lentz Center for Asian Culture are 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Call 473-5841 for more information. Courta»y oTCmn*** The Chinese Youth Goodwill Mission perform. Chinese performers will dance and explain tonight at Kimball By Jeanne Bourne Senior Editor The Chinese Youth Goodwill Mission will give a performance of Chinese cul ture tonight at 8 p.m. in the Kimball Recital Hall, said Judy Wendorff, adviser for International Educational Services. The show will include demonstra tions of martial arts, classical and folk dancing, music, the famous dragon dance and some cultural explanation, she said. The 16-member student troupe from Taiwan is selected from 104 colleges and universities. It is quite an honor to be chosen for the tour, said Tyan Ming Chu of the Free China Association. The performers take a year off school to prepare for and take the tour, Wen dorff said. By the time they tour they look like professionals, she said. The bright, colorful costumes and extravagant choreography are like a Broadway performance, she said. The tour, in its 13th year, has come to UNL before but does not come every year, she said. This year the tour is stopping at 26 universities from coast to coast. Other stops include universi ties in California, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Vermont, New York and Ver mont. Chu said his organization distrib uted 900 free tickets. People who don’t have tickets will be admitted if seats are available.