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Virtuosos on tour: Take your weekend musical pick | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper
Posted on: Friday, March 26, 2004

Virtuosos on tour: Take your weekend musical pick

Advertiser Staff

The zing of strings can be heard around the island this weekend as three very different concerts representing very different musical genres take the spotlight.

Violinist takes up challenge

Violinist Tamaki Kawakubo performs tonight and Sunday afternoon with the Honolulu Symphony.
Virtuoso violinist Tamaki Kawakubo returns for a pair of concerts with the Honolulu Symphony. Kawakubo, who last performed in Honolulu in 1997 with a remarkable rendering of Tchaikovsky's "Violin Concerto in D Major," this time will take up the challenges proposed in Dvor‡k's "Violin Concerto in A Minor." Also on the program are works by Janacek ("Taras Bulba") and Smetana ("M‡ Vlast," "My Fatherland").

Kawakubo first began violin studies at age 5 in Los Angeles. She has also studied at the Juilliard School and is a seasoned performer, having appeared with leading orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Detroit, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco symphony orchestras, to name a few.

Maestro Samuel Wong conducts.

Concert details: 8 p.m. today and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. Tickets are $16, $28, $33, $44, $59. 792-2000, (877) 750-4400, www.HonoluluSymphony.com.

Guitarist known for lyricism

Guitarist Sharon Isbin offers a statewide tour, including a concert Sunday at Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College.
Grammy-winning guitar virtuoso Sharon Isbin has also won accolades from far and wide ("the pre-eminent guitarist of our time," said Boston Magazine). With more than 20 recordings, annual concert tours of Europe, dozens of solo performances with symphonies and with chamber ensembles, she is known for her lyricism, technique and versatility and for expanding the landscape of the guitar.

Isbin's O'ahu program will include "Joan Baez Suite, Opus 144" by John Duarte and Tan Dun's "Seven Desires for Guitar," both written for Isbin in 2002; "The Black Decameron," written for her in 1981 by Cuban composer Leo Brouwer; and classic pieces including "Spanish Dance No. 5, Opus 37" by Enrique Granados and "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" by Francisco Tarrega.

Concert details: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College. Tickets are $30 general, $25 seniors 62 and older, military, University of Hawai'i faculty, staff, students and children. 235-7330, www.eTicketHawaii.com.

On the Neighbor Islands:

  • 7 p.m. Saturday, Kaua'i Community College Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $20 general, $5 students under 18. (808) 245-7464.
  • 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theater. Tickets are $10 and $28 general, half price for kids 12 and younger, 10 percent discount for MACC members. Pre-show food and drinks will be available from 5:30 p.m. in Yokouchi Founders Court. (808) 242-7469.
  • 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Palace Theatre, Hilo. Tickets are $15 general, $13 seniors, $7 students. (808) 935-9085.
  • 7 p.m. Thursday at the Kahilu Theatre, Kamuela, Big Island. Tickets are $25, $30 and $35. (808) 885-6868.

Unique evening at Kapono's

"Bluegrass Beat Meets Hawaiian Heat" is the title of a concert that brings together banjo virtuoso Pete "Dr. Banjo" Wernick and acclaimed Kaua'i steel guitarist Ken Emerson. Wernick's wife Joan, a vocalist/guitarist, and O'ahu band the Squirrel Hunters are added attractions that should make for a unique evening at Kapono's.

It begins with a short set by the Squirrel Hunters. Then Emerson, who has performed with Gabby Pahinui, Ray Kane, Atta Isaacs, Elvin Bishop, Boz Scaggs, Todd Rundgren, Jackson Brown, Graham Nash and others, takes the stage.

Next, Pete Wernick will be joined by Joan Wernick for bluegrass instrumentals and traditional duets. Pete Wernick is a founding member of the bluegrass supergroup Hot Rize.

After the Wernicks' set, Emerson will join the couple on stage for cross-cultural musicianship. A jam session will complete the concert.

This is the first in a series of three concerts from Tim Bostock Productions. The second, featuring flatpicking guitar master Dan Crary and Hawaiian slack-key master George Kahumoku, is scheduled for April 25 at Kapono's. The final concert is still being finalized.

Concert details: 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Kapono's, Aloha Tower Marketplace. Doors open at 6 p.m. Advance tickets are $18 general, $10 kids 11-16, free for those 10 and younger; call 545-2820; 7 a.m.-5 p.m. today. Or $23 at the door.
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