When classical music melds with popular or folk music, there's usually an element of control involved. From the gypsy strains of Brahms' "Hungarian Dances" to Astor Piazzolla's tangos, the classical touch tends to smooth edges and tame passions.

	Bogdan Krezel Clarinetist David Krakauer showed his passion for klezmer in his concert here. Click photo for larger image.

As he showed again in his second local concert in 2 1/2 years, the clarinetist refuses to tone down his passion for klezmer music just because it comes in the context of a classical composition. Monday evening, in the final concert of this year's Pittsburgh Jewish Music Festival at Rodef Shalom Congregation, he led a charge that turned an evening of klezmer-influenced music into an evening of, well, klezmer. The players, members of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and pianist Luz Manriquez, were not fellow klezmorim, but the force of Krakauer's performance made one almost believe they were part of a practiced Jewish folk band.

And a force he was.

The former Klezmatics member whose current band, Klezmer Madness!, merges Jewish traditions with jazz, rock and even hip-hop, Krakauer is one of those rare birds: an impresario and musician capable of not just adapting but flourishing amid many different styles.

But, while Krakauer's flexibility allows him to sit in with so many different musicians, his role is never compromised. From his entrance in Sergei Prokofiev's more restrained "Overture on Hebrew Themes" to his wild romps in Osvaldo Golijov's "The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind," the clarinetist tapped into the spirit of klezmer. In fact, at times it seemed to possess him. The only piece on the program that faltered did not involve him. Joachim Stutschewsky's "The Klezmer's Wedding" was a rambling affair -- one long wedding, to be sure -- and the trio of violinist Jennifer Orchard, cellist Aron Zelkowicz and Manriquez didn't quite capture the edginess of the dance music.

But these same performers, joined at times by violinist Dennis O'Boyle and violist Marylene Gingras-Roy, were amply inspired by Krakauer's presence in other pieces, including Betty Olivero's "Six Yiddish Songs and Dances" from her recent film score to the 1920 silent movie "The Golem" (Krakauer also played the bass clarinet here and elsewhere). Krakauer was almost violent in his treatment of the freylekh dance movements, the music almost causing him pain until he let it go, like one holding one's breath too long. Yet, it was his ephemeral playing in the "Tantz" movement, high in the clarinet's tessitura, that was most moving.

Golijov's "The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind" (written in 1994, not 2001 as the program stated), has become recognized as one of the masterpieces of the 20th century and is really a "must-hear" piece. Krakauer played it well in Pittsburgh in 2004 on Pitt's Music on the Edge series but was even more animated Monday.

Golijov has said the work is a "history of Judaism." Krakauer the historian elucidated the angular Aramaic prayers of the first sections, the wild wailings of the klezmer- and Yiddish-inflected second movement and the serene reflections of the Hebrew thought in the finale and postlude. Here, the best attributes of the quartet of PSO string players shone through: masterful ensemble and accuracy. This allowed the piece to toggle between a chamber work and a clarinet concerto and provided a fireproof platform on which Krakauer could burn as brightly as he wanted.