September 25, 2006

MOSC, guest conductor delight with movie music

Season’s opening concert leaves the audience smiling

By Ronald Bennett
Special to the Odessa American

How do you have a fun evening on a slightly muggy Saturday night in the Permian Basin?  You might start off with a barbecue dinner out at the Commemorative Air Force hangar, then sit back and enjoy a concert by the Midland-Odessa Symphony that was billed as “A Salute to Hollywood!”

That is just what transpired on a recent Saturday when guest conductor Carl Topilow took the podium. He is the founder of the Cleveland Pops, now in its 11th season and very popular throughout the northeastern Ohio area.  He is a renowned clarinetist, which he demonstrated as he played an encore using his trademark red clarinet. A personal touch was noted in that three of the members of the MOSC were his former students at the Cleveland Institute of Music. They are concertmaster Elizabeth Eggleston, the principal cello Craig Leffer and the marketing manager Michael Frisco.

Topilow exudes an air of lean, expert authority from the very first moment. After making a cursory nod to the audience, he immediately gave the downbeat for the first number, “A Salute to Hollywood,” where in three minutes we heard snippets of several famous movie themes. 

One way in which Topilow ensures success of his Pops concerts is to engage the audience. He does this through comments made to the audience either before or during the music and by distributing a quiz sheet for answers to movie trivia questions that were asked during the first half.

The second number was based on themes from “Silverado” by Bruce Broughton. It was an exciting arrangement that rose to an energetic climax.  The third number was Gershwin’s “Promenade” from “Shall We Dance” that featured Topilow demonstrating his clarinet ability. This number he seemed to conduct from his hips. It was effective.  “The Wizard of Oz” medley was predictably popular and featured the tuba.  “The Symphony No. 25, Movement 1” by Mozart that was featured in the film “Amadeus” was just like the evening — slightly muggy and not too precise in spots, especially the horn.  An interesting bit of programming was to place the score from “Psycho” just after the Mozart. This was done only by the strings. Bernard Hermann’s screeching violins have been embedded in our psyches for 30 years. (Yes, I answered the trivia question correctly. I knew that Hitchcock had used chocolate syrup to simulate blood draining from the shower.)  This was followed by the March from the Spielberg movie “1941.” It was rhythmic, intense and a good example of John Williams’ ability to write impressive movie scores.  During the conducting of the music from “Superman,” the conductor began to remove his shirt, tie and, by the end of the number he was conducting in his blue shirt emblazoned with the Superman logo!  Amazing!

The second half started with the flashy, jazzy and brassy medley of music from “Chicago” in an impressive arrangement by Ted Rickets of the Kander and Ebb score. It featured some acrobatic cello playing, some impressive work by Mike Santorelli on the trumpet and Rick Puga on drums.  “Victor’s Theme” from “The Terminal” gave another showcase of Topilow’s virtuosity on the clarinet. This was a gentle reminder to many that they actually had seen the Tom Hanks movie. (No, I did NOT know the name of his country — Krakovia. My trivia score was not very high.)  The next number was titled “What’s Up at the Symphony” that was an arrangement by Brubaker. You young’uns probably don’t remember when the first animated cartoons came out they were quite often visual equivalents of many standard classical compositions. This arrangement included many of those such as the “Poet and Peasant Overture” by von Suppe, “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” by Liszt, Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance” and Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” interspersed with “Ehh—What’s up, doc?” and ending with the Looney Tune theme and “T-that’s all, folks!” At this point nostalgia reigned throughout!
 

The next three numbers were from recent movies “Spider-Man,” “The Producers” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” “Spider-Man” had some interesting rhythmic features and featured the whole orchestra, especially the brass. “The Producers” kept me waiting to hear “Springtime for Hitler” and did not disappoint me. The score to “Pirates of the Caribbean” was interesting up to a point but by this time there seemed to be a certain sameness in the arrangements. Maybe too many stirring climaxes?
 

But, wait, just when you thought you had heard and seen it all suddenly I looked up and saw Topilow off to the side snapping pictures and on the stage stood none other than Darth Vader conducting the “Imperial March” from “The Empire Strikes Back.”  Again, amazing!
 

As an encore the red clarinet was brought forth and Topilow and the orchestra played music from the Cantina Scene from “Star Wars.”
 

Movies are an integral part of 20th century culture. Their ability to stamp visual and aural images is extremely effective. This program was a stroll down memory lane for some and a challenge to embrace the new for others. The balance was appreciated.  The audience left smiling which is a good sign for the first concert of the season.