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PHOENIX 125TH B1RTHDA YSALUTE TO BAMHarvey Lichtenstein Talks About His Work:**W h e n 1 came to the.Academy, in 1966, / knew that there weregood theaters, particularly the Opera House...andnothing terribly interesting was being donewith them. %u201d%u2018My contribution to theavant-garde and art iswhat has been done here%u2014 the body o f work thatwe have developed. If itis considered avantgarde, that's fine.%u2018It's the nature o f thework we do to get reactions that are verystrong. I think that'sfine. So much thatpasses for contemporaryart is bland.Phoenix Photos by Liz Koch.w m m m m a a m B m a a m m B a a m m a mContinued From Preceding Page1960. And Laura Dean, Trish Brown andNina Wiener were among a steady streamof avant-gardists making appearances.ACADEMY IN TRANSITIONAt this time the nature of the Academy,even the physical structure, was in transition. In 1971 the Academy severed its tiesto the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, the umbrella organization that wasthe parent of the Brooklyn Museum, theBrooklyn Children%u2019s Museum and theBrooklyn Botanic Gardens. The chairmanof the board and the sparkplug of this new,indepedent entity was Seth Faison, theBrooklyn Heights man whose vision hadbrought Harvey Lichtenstein to BAM andwho rallied civic and financial support forthe varied efforts that were making thevenerable institution into a national capitalof the avant-gard. Later, Paul Lepercq assumed that same role and likewise, hasproved a strong, rich and generous ally toLichtenstein.The old BAM ballroom was converted tothe present Lepercq Space through helpfrom its namesake and the Mellon Foundation. Subsequent private and City of NewYork funding (the City actually owns theAcademy building) prompted major restorations and additions to BAM, obviouslyparalleling the borough%u2019s phoenix-like metamorphosis. The old Music Hall became theHelen Owen Carey Playhouse, named afterthe late wife of New York%u2019s then-Govemor,and in 1978 an almost $5 million renovationprogram began for almost complete refurbishment including new administrativefloors and a much-needed off-street parkinglot on adjacent vacant land.Previous to this major work, a watermain break in 1977 filled the basements andmuch of the Opera House, devastation thatcost $1 million to repair, but funds camerolling in and an interested Mayor AbeBeame, like Governor Carey a Brooklynman, helped BAM survive this major physical crisis.During the Lichtenstein era at BAM,another part of its multi-leveled presentations has been its resident orchestra, theBrooklyn Philharmonic Symphony. A serious musical effort from the start, it nevertheless had the reputation of a communityorchestra until its independent board ofdirectors was able to bring to its helmcomposer-pianist-conductor Lukas Foss, aman who was making his musical mark asone of the country%u2019s leading exponents ofmodem music. With his dedication as an%u201celastic-idea%u201d man and an eminent composer and conductor, Foss transformed concert life at BAM with his innovative programming ideas. His early marathons%u2014fivehour concerts devoted to a single composeror musical period%u2014packed in the audiences. His %u201cMeet the Modems%u201d series thatstarted in 1972, brought the living composers to perform, conduct, and talk onstage about their music. It was all an important ingredient in the mix that wasbuilding for BAM a vital reputation in thecity%u2019s serious contemporary music arena.Also in the music arena, BAM%u2019s ownchamber music series has played to soldout audiences for more than a decade andits concerts are regular radio fare on classical stations around the country.A performing arts series program forschool-age children is another of the multilevel activities that is building future audiences for BAM%u2019s regular presentations.EMERGENCE OF NEXT WAVEIt becomes increasingly more difficult toseparate the stages of BAM%u2019s developmentwhen one realizes that artists making appearances in the latest, most flamboyantand remarkably exciting undertakingknown as the Next Wave Festival had longbeen performing at BAM in individual performances or brief runs, but unconnectedwith each other.As Lichtenstein emphasizes: %u201cThe NextWave came out of that previous period. Thesame artists, like Steve Reich, Twyla Tharpand Robert Wilson were part of that past.%u201dClive Bames, a long-time critic on theNew York arts scene, first of the New YorkTimes and then for the New York Post, supports the view that UcTitenrtein simply didnot hire these artists when they had alreadyachieved a name. %u201cHarvey was producingWilson on the stage before anyone else everheard of him,%u201d he says.Indeed, Robert Wilson%u2019s extravagantlyi ---------------------1-------------------- -------------1... e J t D A M %u2019a1 0 1 5 c W U U U ) n c i c O i l M U If p u t % VJL ~plunge into %u201ctotal theatre.%u201d The %u201cLife andTimes of Sigmund Freud%u201d was performedin 1969 and the %u201cLife and Times of JosephStalin,%u201d %u201cDeafman%u2019s Glance%u201d and the %u201c$Value of Man,%u201d were all presented herelong before Wilson%u2019s fame for %u201cEinstein onthe Beach,%u201d which was first staged inEurope and then the centerpiece of the1984-85 season.Iichtenstein continues: %u201cThere is a realcontinuity between that earlier time and theNext Wave. There are really not two eras.%u201dIf the Next Wave is just another %u201cpackage%u201d for what went before, it is certainly aculmination of all previous programming.The raging success of the WaveFestivals thrust BAM intoa goldfish bowl.The first season under the label in 1981roared in with Philip Glass%u2019 %u201cSatyagraha%u201dfresh from its Netherlands run. Threedance troups performed: Trisha BrownCompany, the Laura Dean Dancers and theLucinda Childs Dance Company. Bringingthis combination of performers togetherproved irresistible to audiences and criticsand the Next Wave became a new rage.In the fall of 1982 and the Spring of 1983,Steve Reich and Musicians came to Brooklyn, along with Glenn Branca, LauriesAnderson and Max Roach.%u201cThe Photographer,%u201d with music byPhilip Glass, was featured at the Fall NextWave that season, as well as a deluge ofdance companies and the wildly-successful%u201cThe Gospel at Colon us,%u201d a gospel versionof Sophocles, %u201cOedipus at Colonus.%u201d Rescued from obscurity by being added to theprogram, was a 1913 Russian avant-gardeopera, %u201cVictory Over the Sun.%u201dIn 1984, Meredith Monk and Ping Chongreceived wide attention with %u201cThe Games.%u201d%u201cDesert Music%u201d by Reich was heard, andthe Elisa Monte Dance Troup made its firstappearance at BAM. The biggest undertaking of the season, however, was the revivalof the Glass/Wilson %u201cEinstein on theBeach.%u201dBRING HIGH VISIBILITYIn fact, the raging success of the WaveFestivals thrust BAM into a goldfish bowl.Critics had a field day, taking sides for andagainst the performances. No productionwas ignored, and Lichtenstein was heraldedas a major avant-garde force.The Fall 1985 Next Wave Festival wasamong the most provocative to be heldContinued on Following PageHappy Birthday BAM!From Another Great PerformanceP a g * 26, TH E P H O E N IX , J im * 1 2 ,1 M 6