April 24, 2005

A red clarinet and a rollicking good time

BY CAROL FURTWANGLER

A sassy red clarinet and a New Orleans-style phalanx of brass players got things swinging Friday night at Gaillard Auditorium.

Carl Topilow conducted with one hand and played a brilliant clarinet with the other in leading the Charleston Symphony Orchestra in the final program of the Light and Lively Pops season.

Topilow's red baton (which matched his bowtie and vest, too) kept not only a lively pace but a jumping joy in presenting a program of swing, ragtime and jazz from Dixieland to Hoagy Carmichael.

Among Topilow's many talents is the gift of involving the audience, first with a little quiz, and later, in somehow getting nearly 100 percent participation in a guided hand-waving exercise. He even managed to solicit answers to his version of Name That Tune (title and band leader, please).

But first, even Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" was juxtaposed with a snazzy version that led straight to Broadway. From Richard Rodgers' bombastic 1936 "Slaughter on 10th Avenue" to Satchmo starring in "Hello, Dolly" to Kandor and Ebb's "Chicago," the orchestra's trombones and percussion finally got to be the stars of the show.

Not only was this concert not Viennese (as originally scheduled), this music is not even foreign. It is loaded with personality, every note of it staunchly, unmistakably American, yet richly varied.

The marked differences among Louis Prima's wild "Sing Sing Sing," Artie Shaw's big band sound of "Begin the Beguine," Glenn Miller's lush orchestration and Duke Ellington's exotic "Caravan" the CSO handled with consummate skill and style. Syncopated rhythms, varied tempi, effective dynamics and stellar playing by all sections made this an evening of just plain fun.