Orchestra shortens MasterWorks

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Violinist Sarah Chang will be featured with the Honolulu Symphony on May 21 and 22. Advertiser library photo • March 22, 2002

"In keeping our focus of being a trend setter in the area of Asian music, we do have quite an (Eastern) presence," said Stephen Bloom, orchestra president. "We're cramming a lot in a smaller unit of time — shrink-wrapping 30 weeks of concerts (down from 34 last year) from a revenue standpoint, into a tighter schedule."

The roster of Chinese soloists include:

• Cho Liang-Lin, the Taiwanese-American violinist, featured in Bernstein's "Serenade."
• Lang Lang, the hottie among newer Chinese pianists, showcased in Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3.
• Sarah Chang, the popular violinist, in a return visit to cap the season's finale with the Shostakovich Violin Concerto.

"I'm confident that audiences will be thrilled with these engaging concert programs," said maestro Samuel Wong of these three diverse Chinese artists.

The musicians' pay cuts helped the orchestra negotiate better deals with most visiting acts, said Bloom. "We're maintaining seven pops concerts, but we're not likely to book other things," he said.

Honolulu Symphony Halekulani MasterWorks Classical Season

• 8 p.m. Fridays, 4 p.m. Sundays; finale event 8 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday
• Blaisdell Concert Hall
• Full season tickets: 14 concerts for $266 to $756
• Half season: seven concerts, broken into Great Composers and Platinum Series — $143.50 to $413
• Subscriptions: 792-2000; from 9 a.m. to 5p.m. Single-ticket sales begin in August.

Symphony's classicals slate

Samuel Wong to conduct all concerts unless otherwise indicated.

• "Cho-Liang Lin — Season Opening," Sept. 17, 19 — Cho-Liang Lin, violinist
• "Dvorak & Brahms — A Bohemian Rhapsody," Sept. 24, 26 — Alisa Weilerstein, cellist; conducted by Emil de Cou
• "From Mozart to Jupiter," Oct. 8, 10 — Lisa Nakamichi, pianist; with the Honolulu Symphony Chorus; conducted by Joan Landry
• "Russian Masters With Lang Lang," Oct. 15, 17 — Lang Lang, pianist
• "And There Was Light," Oct. 22, 24 — The Honolulu Symphony Chorus, directed by Karen Kennedy
• "Reel to Real," Nov. 5, 7 — Hawai'i International Film Festival participating
• "America's Heroes — Veteran's Day Tribute," Nov. 12, 14 — Thomas Yee, pianist
• "Celebrate the Season," Nov. 26, 28 — Conducted by Edwin Outwater
• "Romeo and Juliet — Berlioz, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev," Jan. 7, 9
• "East Meets West: A Pipa Concerto," March 11, 13 — Yang Ging, pipa performer; conducted by Alistair Willis
• "Messiah," March 25, 27 — The Honolulu Symphony Chorus, directed by Karen Kennedy
• "Thunder From the East!," April 1, 3 — Kenny Endo, taiko artist, and Stuart Chafetz, timpani
• "Iggy Jang Plays Khachaturian," May 13, 15 — Ignace Yang, violinist; conducted by Alasdair Neale
• "Sarah Chang Season Finale," May 21 and 22 — Sarah Chang, violinist.

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.