University Daily Kansan, January 17, 1985
ET CETERA
Page 6
Piano. violin duo to perform Mozart concert
By RICK ZAPOROWSKI Staff Reporter
The movie "Amadeus" introduced the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a vast audience. Next week, two renowned artists will continue the rebirth of the 18th-century composer's music during a performance in Lawrence.
Pianist Peter Serkin and violinist Young Uck Kim, two internationally known musicians, will perform a concert of Mozart sonatas at 8 p.m. Monday at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vermont St., chamber of the University of Kansas Chamber Music Series.
SERKIN AND KIM have been performing together for about three years. The Lawrence concert marks this winter's first performance of the Mozart sonatas by the two musicians, Kim said. The compositions feature the piano and violin as equal partners.
Kim, 37, said Mozart's music influenced him as a child.
"I was always drawn into him." Kim said in a telephone interview from New York. "I was struck by the greatness of all the things he's written.
"One of the first violin pieces I played was Mozart's."
Kim began studying violin in Korea at age 6. From 1961 to 1966, he studied at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music, where he was a classmate of Serkin.
where he made his performing debut at age 16 with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. At 19, he performed on national television with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic.
KIM HAS REEN performing on three concerts for 20 years as a solist for many of the world's leading orchestras, such as the Chicago Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Berlin Philharmonic.
Serkin comes from a family with a strong musical background that extends back several generations. He made his performing debut at age 12 at the Marlboro Music Festival.
Serkin has performed with some of the world's finest orchestras, and in 1983 he was the first pianist to be awarded the Premio Accademia Musicale Chigian Siena, an international award recognizing outstanding artistic achievement.
Next week's concert will mark Serkin's return to Lawrence. He played a solo concert for the KU Concert Series four years ago.
KM SAI DHE enjoyed working with just one musician because it gave him a better chance to discuss the composition and work out the details with his partner.
"It's an ideal way of making music," he said. "Everything is on a one-to-one basis."
Kim said that Serkin succeeded in interpreting and playing the music without straying from the composer's intent.
"He is one of the most honest musicians I know," he said.
"It really seems to be our thing," he said. "It's totally new to both of us."
Performing with Serkin makes the music more personal than performing with a large orchestra, Kim said, and creates a fresh sound at each concert.
THE SERKIN AND Kim concert in Lawrence is supported in part by the Kansas Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funds are provided by student activity fees, the Kansas University Endowment Association and the Swarthout Society.
Tickets for the performance are on sale at the Murphy Hall Box Office and cost $12. KU and public school students receive a 50 percent discount.
Tickets also will be available at Plymouth Congregational Church at 7 p.m. on the night of the performance. All seating is general admission.
Exhibit features art from China
By SHELLE LEWIS
By SHELLE LEWIS Staff Reporter
A bit of the Orient came to campus this week.
A lot of the British artworks An exhibit of rare Chinese artwork — dating back as much as 900 years — opened Sunday at the Spencer Museum of Art.
The museum displays the rare paintings, calligraphy and poetry from the 11th through 20th centuries in an exhibit called "Images of the Mind: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy in the Elliott Family Collections." The exhibit runs through March 10.
Chu-tsing Li, Judith Harris Murphy distinguished professor of art history, said, "This collection represents the fine arts of China extremely well. In China, the traditional idea of fine arts is not architecture, sculpture and painting — as in the West — but painting, calligraphy and poetry."
"Images of the Mind" includes 43 hanging scrolls, 14 hand scrolls, 10 albums and two fans.
LI WAS INSTRUMENTAL in bringing this collection to the University of Kansas through his contacts with Wen C. Fong, Sanford professor of art history at Princeton and collection organizer. The collection is being sponsored by a $20,220 grant from Maupintour, Inc.
A Chinese law that disallows any art more than 100 years old to be taken out of the country makes bringing together such a collection a difficult task, Li said.
"This law has more or less been in effect since the Communist takeover in 1949," he said. "A lot of people fled during this time and took their treasures with them."
That's how most of the older art pieces have become part of collections outside of the country, Li said.
THE UNITED STATES lifted its import embargo during President Nixon's administration to improve relations with China. Li said.
"There was an economic embargo which began with the Korean War and things from China could not be imported into the United States." he said. "This lasted from about 1960 to about 1971."
Not only are these objects extremely old, the professor said, but they are some of the finest expressions of Chinese artists' minds.
"What is interesting and unique is that this is probably the last major collection of Chinese painting to be assembled outside of China," he said.
In conjunction with the University Arts Festival and "Images of the Mind," a series of events focusing on China will be sponsored on campus.
Jan. 29 - Celeste Adams, curator of Oriental art and assistant director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, talks about "Seeing and Believing: The Lessons of Chinese Painting" at 7:30 p.m. in the Spencer Museum Auditorium.
Feb. 10 - China Day, an afternoon of family activities featuring Chinese art and culture, at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Feb. 12 — Chu-tsing Li, Judith Harris Murphy distinguished professor of art history speaks on "The Quest for New Expression in Chinese Painting" at 7:30 p.m. in the Spencer Museum Auditorium.
Feb. 24 — Robert Hoffmann, curator of the Museum of Natural History, will speak about "Birdwatching in Chinese Scrolls" at 2 p.m. in the Kress Gallery at the Spencer Museum of Art. "Suzhou," a film in conjunction with Hoffmann's lecture, will be shown at 3 p.m. in the Spencer Museum Auditorium.
r ed. 20 — "A Taste of China" will feature a talk by Nancy Bjorge on Chinese cooking at 10 a.m. at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Feb. 29 — Richard Barmart, an art history professor at Yale University, will give a speech titled "In Search of the Hsiago and Hsiang Rivers in the Painting" at 7:30 p.m. in the Spencer Museum Auditorium.
Brice Waddill/KANSAN
Chu-tsing Li, Judith Harris Murphy distinguished professor of art history, examines a piece of artwork in "Images of the Mind: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy in the Elliott Family Collections." The exhibit of 11th through 20th century Chinese art will be displayed through March 10.
This collection represents the fine arts of China extremely well. In China, the traditional idea of fine arts is not architecture, sculpture and painting as in the West but painting, calligraphy and poetry.'
Fifth annual arts festival offers culture at its finest
Judith Harris Murphy distinguished professor of art history
The University Arts Festival kicked off its fifth year this week with the opening of "Images of the Mind: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Elliott Family Colle-
the festival will run through March 10 and will feature everything from art and photography to music and plays, said Charla Jenkins, public relations director for the fine arts department.
"Really, the beauty of the festival is that it points out just how many different arts there are on campus." Jenkins said. "Events are sponsored by their individual departments, but they all come together under the umbrella of the University Arts Festival."
One event each year is sponsored by the arts festival, she said.
Jim Scaly, assistant to the chancellor and chairman of the festival, said people should pay attention to information on the festival events and buy tickets for the events early
This year the arts festival is sponsoring the Klezmer Conservatory Band, performing at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 10.
- "Images of the Mind: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Elliott Family Collections," Jan. 13 through March 10, Spencer Museum of Art.
- "Marks and Measures: Photographs of American Petroglyphs and Pictographs." Jan. 20 through March 3, Spencer Museum of Art.
- Events scheduled during the festival are:
- Chamber Music Series — Young Uck
Kim, violin, and Peter Serkin, piano, 8 p.m.
J21. Plymouth Congregational Church
- Chamber Music Series — The Guarrieri String Quartet with Stephanie Brown, piano, and James VanDemark, bass, 3:30 p.m., Feb. 3, Crafton-Pre剧院.
- Humanities Lecture Series - Gary Snyder, poet, 8 p.m., Feb. 5, Woodruff Auditorium.
- Concert Series - Judith Blegen, soprano, 8 p.m., Feb. 8, Crafton-Preyer Theatre.
- Klezmer Conservatory Band, 8:15 p.m.
Feb. 10, Crafton-Prey Theatre
- "Photographing Rock Art in a Modern Context: A Symposium," Feb. 19, Spencer Museum of Art.
- University Theatre Series — “The Miser,” arranged and adapted from “Moliere” by Ronald Willus, 8 p.m., Feb. 22, 23 and 28 and March 1 and 2, Crafton-Preyer Theatre.
- Symposium of Contemporary Music, sessions daily, concerts nightly at 8 p.m., Feb.24-27.
- Concert Series - Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra; Schlomo Mintz, violin, 8 p.m. March 2, Hoch Auditorium.
228 movies are eligible for awards
Film studios vie for coveted Oscar at March 25 show
By United Press International
Several films, perhaps overlooked by the public, may also win some nominations: "Greystoke," "The Cotton Club" and "Paris, Texas."
HOLLYWOOD — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 228 feature-length movies were eligible for Oscars this year, but only a handful will ever be mentioned.
The barnyard trilogy, "Places in the Heart," "Country" and "The River," will nab some nominations in a variety of categories. So will "A Passage to India," "The Natural," "Amadeus," "A Soldier's Story," "The Killing Fields" and other major hits.
Nor should you bet the mortgage payment on some of 1984's top comedies, which seldom attract academy votes: "Broadway Danny Rose," "City Heat," "Garbo Talks," "Johnny Dangerously," "Micki & Maude," and "Oh, God! You Devil!"
BUT MOVIEGERS SHOULD not look for such blockbusters as "Ghoststubers," "Gremilns," "Beverly Hills Cop." "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" and "Romancing the Stone" to make much of a showing with academy voters.
Yet all are eligible for Oscar consideration, along with such nifty as "Meatballs Part II," "Police Academy," "Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter," "Bachelor Party" and other mindless movies whose violence, lust and nudity are meant to appeal to teenagers.
Eligibility for Oscar consideration is simple. A movie must be exhibited by means of 35mm film for paid admission in a theatre in the Los Angeles area during 1894 for a consecutive run of not less than one, week.
FOR SOME WACKY reason, Japanese films are common among Oscar eligible pictures other than best foreign film nominee. The explanation probably lies in an academy rule that grants consideration to films with English subtitles, regardless of country of origin.
But one doubts the likelihood of "Odd Family," with Masatoshi Nakamura, or "Odball Nippon," with Hitoshi Ueki, or "Tora Goes Religious," with Kiyoshi Atumi, netting best picture or best actor awards.
- the largest number submitted since the category was established in 1956.
This year, 32 countries have submitted entries for best foreign language film awards - the largest number submitted since the d.1965
Nor were Oscars in mind when producers churned out "Bolero," "Breakin' 2 Electric Boogaloo," "Cannonball Run II," "Conan The Destroyer," "Joy of Sex," "Kiperbang" and "Repo Man."
The motivation is obvious: profit. Even such outrageous costs as $50 million for "The Cotton Club" include futile dreams of eventually a dollar.
Last year, there were only 26 foreign country entries. This year's contestants include Thailand's first entry in the awards. The People's Republic of China is in the running with a movie titled "Life."
HOWEVER, SOME PRODUCERS are convinced that a touch of art, style and class might win academy recognition, which in turn is translated into profit. A best picture Oscar adds several million dollars to any show's budget by producers of "Gandhi" discovered recently.
Many American-made films aren't made solely to compete for a gold statuette. For instance, Cheech and Chong — the scuzzy comics who base their films on drugs and alcohol, also enable action shows Oscars for their latest, Cheech & Chong's The Corless Brothers."
EACH COUNTRY IS invited to submit its best film to the academy. It is assumed most foreign films are entered for national pride and prestige, with little hope of attracting large American audiences to the box office.
Sometimes the cast list resembles the Manhattan telephone directory. This year's champ for lengthy casts is "Moscow on the Hudson." In addition to listing star Robin Williams, 75 other actors receive credit, including Ludmila Kramarevsky and Ivo Vzral ("Secret Honor," on the other hand) but a single cast member, Phillip Baker
The academy fathers annually send to members a booklet containing a reminder list of eligible films. It lists the film's title and cast.
but star power does not mean box-office success or academy recognition.
FORMER OSCAR WINNER Diane Keaton starred in two boms last year, "Mrs. Soffel" and "The Little Drummer Girl." Oscar winner Gene Hackman went down in flames in "Eureka" and "Misunderstood." Richard Dreyfuss "The Buddy System" died aboard andOBoe DeNiro was wiltimated in 2016, "Time in America" and "Falling in Love."
When Oscar time rolls around, the 4,000 academy members vote for quality, not box-office or track records. This year's Oscar show on March 25 will once again prove that point.