High-Energy Evening of McFerrin

Fresh from a two-week tour of Spain and the Canary Islands, the Los Angeles Philharmonic seemed to bring particularly high spirits to its playing of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Capriccio Espagnol” Friday night.

Or was it simply the presence of a high-energy guest conductor? In any case, with Bobby McFerrin leading this pops program, a lot of joy came off the stage of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion all evening.

As do all strong visiting conductors, charismatic jazz singer McFerrin took the reins firmly early on, presiding over a bright and faceted performance of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide” Overture before the virtuosic display of the philharmonic in the “Capriccio.”

The whole ensemble shone here, but especially concertmaster Alexander Treger in his brilliant violin solos, flutist Anne Diener Zentner, and clarinetist Lorin Levee.

Then singer McFerrin featured himself, along with philharmonic cellist Ben Hong, in a loose but entertaining run-through of a concerto for two cellos by Vivaldi. McFerrin scat-sang one of the rangy solo lines as easily and fluently as Hong played his.

To close the first half of the program (repeated Sunday afternoon) the versatile vocalist sent the orchestra offstage and gave a six-part solo set entirely unaccompanied except for his own foot-tapping and miming.

The first high point was his playing of Bach’s Prelude in C from the “Well-Tempered Clavier,” Book I, while, coaxed into participating, the audience sang the melody of the “Ave Maria” that Charles Gounod composed to go over that piece. It worked.

Then came a McFerrin staple--his one-man re-creation of “The Wizard of Oz” in which the gifted soloist plays all the parts and makes all the sound effects. Those of us who had not experienced it before were appropriately stunned and delighted.

Bizet’s well-loved Symphony in C, with a memorable oboe solo played by David Weiss in the slow movement, closed the evening handsomely.