Crackerjack Klezmer from Krakauer

The musician was shredding on his solos, fingers flying all over the instrument as the notes emerged with spectacularly blazing speed. The player’s face contorted and his body bent and swayed as he soared up to high notes that seem to defy the instrument’s capabilities. A rock guitarist raging at a local club? No. It was David Krakauer stunning the Santa Barbara Symphony audience with his prowess on the klezmer clarinet. Krakauer performed a generous three pieces on stage at the Granada, with the Marhulets concerto on the program bookended by a folk music demo and an encore that found Krakauer showing off his circular breathing technique, eliciting yelps and shouts from the crowd (including patrons in the loge, no less) while he was still playing. Can I say it again: This is no longer your grandfather’s symphony! 

Maestro Nir Kabaretti and the ensemble revisit jazz next month, albeit with the oft-heard Gershwin classic“Rhapsody in Blue,” which is marking its 100th anniversary. Here’s the extra edge: Buy tickets for the May 18-19 performances and receive a complimentary drink. 

The Symphony has also announced its 2024-25 season, with highlights that include a Mozart Marathon with eight different masterworks split over the usual weekend concerts – a rare instance of not repeating a program – plus a hybrid situation with violinist Gil Shaham playing three concertos between Saturday & Sunday, with both days anchored by the same Dvořák symphony. Storm Large, the singer better known around these parts as the frontwoman for Pink Martini, is the vocalist for Kurt Weill’s seductive The Seven Deadly Sins, while the annual community choral collaboration blesses Brahms’ Requiem. New season subscribers get the Rhapsody in Blue 100 program free. Visit https://thesymphony.org