Arts & Entertainment
Courtesy of Michefe Clement
The Kronos Quartet
nnovative quartet wins respect
>y Mark Lage
cnior Reporter
nd Previewer
To many who are only vaguely
amiliar with the name Kronos Quar
:t, the contemporary string quartet’s
lain claims to fame tend to be Jimi
lendrix covers, spiky hairdos and
ther sorts of similar unconventional
ly
But through years of hard work,
ironos is booming known for its
lore substantial characteristics:
ichnique, innovation, and thought
ilness.
The quartet was formed under the
:adcrship of violinist David Har
ngton in 1973, based on his desire to
lay contemporary music on a regu
tr basis. Early years for the quartet
ere fairly lean, but large quantities
f hard work and the firm determina
on to stick to modern guns gradually
on diem ever-increasing fame and
aspect. The quartet had one major
lineup change in the 1970s, and since
then Harrington has been joined by
violinists John Sherbaand Hank Dutt
and cellist Joan Jeanrenaud.
The quartet’s repertoire is simul
taneously limited - it only plays 20th
century works - and unlimited - it
will play almost ANYTHING from
this century.
kimhall
Established classical quartets by
Bartok, more contemporary un
known compositions, Jimi Hendrix
songs, jazz pieces, and even a medley
of ’50s rock tunes all are found in the
quartet’s concert repertoire. And,
perhaps most importantly, it plays
many scores which have been com
posed specifically for it. The quar
tet’s continued presence in the music
scene has helped inspire a new boom
in innovative quartet writing, simply
because composers now have some
one to play the most cutting-edge
pieces.
Kronos Quartet’s show at Kimball
Hall tonight will be made up of four
pieces commissioned specifically for
it; and all have been written within
the last three years.
The show will open with John
Zorn’s “Cat O’ Nine Tails,” com
posed in 1988. One of Zorn’s main
compositional influences has been
Carl Stallings, cartoon soundtracker
for Warner Brothers. He equates
Stallings and other cartoon compos
ers with Stravinsky for their ability to
create a piece from highly disparate
elements.
“Cat O’ Nine Tails” is Zorn’s
only piece specifically inspired by
music found in animated cartoons,
music which Zorn has called “the
great avant-garde music of America,
in that it doesn’t make any sense.”
See KRONOS on 12
Palestinian documentary
subject to controversy
By Gretchen Boehr
Senior Reporter
A controversial documentary on
the Israeli-occupied territories of the
Gaza Strip and West Bank aired
Thursday night on Lincoln Public
Broadcasting Service.
Days of Rage: The Young Pales
tinians,” was shot on location in the
occupied territories. Its focus was on
the Palestinians’ philosophies, tactics
and impact on the uprising.
The documentary focused on the
crowded conditions of Palestinian
refugee camps and hospitals. Israeli
troops beating young Palestinians
and firing rubber bullets into crowds
were shown also.
The two and one-half hour special
opened with footage shot in Israel
which presented the Israeli point of
view on occupation. It ended with a
panel discussion on the film and pos
sible solutions to the current political
problem in the territories.
Members of the international Anti
Defamation League of B’nai B’rith
said the documentary was biased
toward the Palestinian point of view.
Information distributed across the
nation by the league said the docu
mentary by Jo Franklin-Trout seemed
to present Israel at fault for the plight
of the Palestinians.
The league is one of the nation’s
oldest human rights agencies.
Founded in 1913, its purpose is to
fight all discrimination and prejudice.
PBS stations on a local level could
choose whether or not to air the pro
gram. According to a letter from
Robert Wolfson of the ADL Plains
States Region, people were encour
aged to send form letters to PBS sta
tions asking that the program
not be shown.
According to Ron Hall, assistar\
general manager of Nebraska ETV
and journalism professor at the Uni
versity of Nebraska-Lincoln, the
documentary was fair.
“We received about 10 letters
from people and four of those were
form letters,” Hall said. “And a
majority of those were from Omaha
and Lincoln.”
Hall said it’s the responsibility of
PBS to provide controversial pro
gramming.
“1 feel PBS has bent over back
wards to present it in a fair matter,”
he said.
Hall said the documentary alone
was biased toward the Arab point of
view but the panel discussion and
introduction gave the Israeli point of
view.
“I’m glad PBS has pul out these
efforts to provide a sense of balance
to the presentation.”
Hall said the Arab point of view
gets little attention in America.
Members of the panel included
Richard Murphy, former Assistant
Secretary of State for Near Eastern
Affairs; Alan Keyes, former Assis
tant Secretary of State for Interna
tional Organization Affairs; Walter
Ruby of the Jerusalem Post; Sey
mour Reich, International President
of B’nai B’rith and James Zogby,
director of die Arab American Insti
tute.
Midway has welcome twists
Rides, food provide fun
By Becky Tideman
Staff Reviewer
The midway is vital to the success
of any carnival or fair, and for the
16th year Blue Grass Shows is pro
viding the midway for the Nebraska
State Fair.
It supplies games, rides and freak
shows that fill the air with the sounds,
colors and smells that we’ve come to
expect every fall. (It’s not respon
sible for all of the smells. The live
stock does its best to contribute to the
potpourri of tantalizing odors.
This year. Blue Grass Shows
brought 42 rides, 14 for children and
28 recommended for adults.
Blue Grass has worked in conjunc
lion with state fairs in Tennessee,
Iowa and Mississippi.
Betty Ascherbach, an admission
secretary for the fair board said that
on Sept. 1, 2 and 7 an $8 pass pro
vided unlimited admission to all the
rides. She said this type of “all day
pass” has been a successful midway
promotion in the past. The last day for
the offer this year is Sunday Sept. 10.
See RIDES on 13
When Harry Met Sally’ survives the summer garbage
y Mark Hain
id Becky Tideman
aff Reviewers
Becky Tideman: After disliking and sys
matically trashing so many of the summer’s
lm releases, “When Harry Met Sally . .
as a joy.
Before this film, I hadn’t formed an opinion
•out Meg Ryan as an actress. 1 had seen her in
vcral films, none of which allowed her to
splay her abilities. I’m sorry, but a tcary-eyed
>nversation with Tom Cruise in “Top Gun’’
fs not a dramatic actress make. But with this
lc, I decided I liked her a lot.
She played a wonderful Sally Bright, a
cmingly nervous yet devoutly optimistic
umalist who wraps herself in arbitrary, exter
* rules in hopes of organizing her internal
aos.
Mark Hain: I liked Ryan too, and to my
laying amazement, I didn’t mind Billy Crys
either. Ever since he was a regular on
“Saturday Night Live, he s been one of those
celebrities whose very existence makes me
want to pul my head through a plate glass
window - in fact, I thought I would have
preferred to drink a gallon jug of Clorox than
go see “When Harry Met Sally ...” (am I
making it clear that I don’t care for Billy
Crystal?). But for an hour and a half, I managed
to forget that I was watching one of my least
favorite comedians. Instead, I was glimpsing at
scenes from the life of Harry Bums, a neurotic,
sensitive type of guy who masks his true self
with a facade of bravado and humor.
BT: This movie managed to take scenes far
enough so that they were funny without losing
a vital element of realism. Crystal explained
the symptoms of a 24-hour tumor , gave a new
meaning to “the cat’s meow,” and Ryan con
vincingly simulated the pinnacle of sexual
ecstasy in a crowded delicatessen, but in this
film it all fits.
MH: I also like Harry and Sally’s Yuppie
new-age-babyboom friends (played by Bruno
Kirby and Carrie Fisher in one of her first roles
where I didn’t think “Oh Princess Lea!’’).
BT: True, whenever they all got together I
was scared to death they were going to bring
out some room-temperature brie, wheat thins
(baked, not fried) and a slightly chilled bottle
of white Grenache. But even through this atro
cious fear, I enjoyed myself.
MH: It was definitely a romance of the
1980s.
BT: Harry and Sally have a relationship that
never used to exist -- an adult male-female
friendship. Another realistic and modem ele
ment of the film was the force that kept the two
from being more than just a couple of friends.
It wasn’t a long-distance romance, it wasn’t
different social backgrounds, or their families,
or money -- it was simply they themselves.
They insulated themselves with past experi
ences that wouldn’t allow them to fall in love
without truckloads of trauma.
MH: Early in the film Harry tells Sally that
men and women can never be friends because
of the complicating factor of sexual attraction.
Throughout the film, Harry has to keep
“amending” his position until he proves him
self wrong. However, by that point, sexual
attraction (combined with desperation and
loneliness, and perhaps even a trace of affec
tion) does indeed rear its ugly head to compli
cate the relationship.
Actually though, Becky, I don’t think I liked
the film as much as you did. I might have liked
it more if I was thirty-something.
BT: So sue me.
MH: At times I just didn’t like the charac
ters, and the story line became a little indul
gent, but there were some neat little tricks
director Rob Reiner (of “Stand by Me’ ’ fame)
used that held my attention even when I got
frustrated with the characters’ whininess and
lack of motivation.
For instance, “When Harry Met Sally ...”
made a usually trite and infantile film tech
nique, the split-screen, fresh and amusing.
BT: Long-time movie enthusiasts may have
noticed this film’s many similarities to Woody
Allen’s work, especially “Annie Hall.’’ Some
say this was Reiner’s interpretation of a Woody
Allen film: witty, sensitive and dialogue de
pendent.
MH: I agree that the dialogue was impor
tant, but the visuals shouldn’t be overlooked.
Another thing this film has in common with
Allen’s work is a New York selling, and like
Allen’s films, the beautiful scenes made me
reconsider the Big Apple as more than just a
dirty, unfriendly, overrated city. Also effective
was the richly sensual use of color in the film.
But the sights weren’t the only strong point.
The soundtrack included several jazz greats’
covers of Gershwin classics, as well as featur
ing newer interpretations by Harry Connick,
Jr., the 21-year-old singer and pianist.
BT: I think we generally enjoyed the major
aspects of the film: actors and their perform
ances, story line, Woody Allcncsque touches,
and the music and visuals.
Our one shared complaint involves the
See CRUE on 13
