Chang tunes up for another Hawai'i splash

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Sarah Chang, now 24, began her concert career as a child and hasn't tired of it. SARAH CHANG Performing with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Samuel Wong; part of the Halekulani MasterWorks series finale 8 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday Blaisdell Concert Hall $26, $38, $48, $56, $69 792-2000, (877) 750-4400 SARAH CHANG AT A GLANCE Born: Dec. 10, 1980 Birthplace: Philadelphia Studied violin: From age 8 Awards: Avery Fisher Career Grant, 1992; Gramophone Award, 1993; Young Artist of the Year, 1993; Newcomer of the Year (International Classical Music Award), 1994. Notable and quotable: Violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin said after hearing the prodigy, "The most wonderful, perfect, ideal violinist I had ever heard." What she learned from Menuhin: "The violin is the closest thing to the human voice."

Wrong.

"I had a ball, such a blast surfing, during my last Honolulu trip," Chang said about riding the North Shore waves. "I learned (to surf) there (in 2002), and I'm by no means an expert. I went surfing on a Monday when the symphony had concerts on a Sunday afternoon and a Tuesday night, and because I had so much fun, my arms hurt so badly that I was so sore by Tuesday. I could barely move my arms."

That may be the reason her Honolulu Symphony concerts this weekend will be held on consecutive nights, she said. Chang will perform Shostakovich's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra on Saturday and Sunday at the Blaisdell Concert Hall in maestro Samuel Wong's finale as resident conductor of the orchestra. (Wong becomes conductor laureate hereafter).

"I think the symphony folks were slightly nervous when they gave me a day off," she laughed. "But I'm a free spirit; I'm constantly on the go in a different city, so I don't have a routine. But I like to have fun."

Chang was speaking by telephone from Sioux Falls, S.D., where she was giving a concert before trekking to London and then Honolulu, and she had the enthusiasm of, well, a surf bunny. When she's here, she's sure to unpack her bathing suit. "But I'll buy about five, too," she chirped.

Previously, Chang said, she's also gone parasailing and snorkeling here, "because I don't have that option in other cities." And clearly, she's one who knows how to explore and indulge, shattering the image of a staid classical artist who merely plays it by the books.

Chang is a Philadelphia-born Korean-American musical prodigy whose parents both were musicians (her mom, a composer; her dad, her first violin teacher). A career in the classical realm was not surprising.

"When your parents are musicians, they can lead you down the path, but this livelihood was completely my choice," said Chang. "If anything, because my parents knew how extremely difficult the life can be, and how competitive, and how often you're away from home, they used to ask me, 'Is this what you really want to do?' I love the lifestyle; it suits my character because I get restless easily and I adore adventure. This is, and has been, a wonderful life."

She is looking forward to renewing ties with the Honolulu Symphony, too, and especially with Wong, with whom she will also perform with the Hong Kong Philharmonic immediately after the weekend performances here, because she heads next to Hong Kong.

"But I do hope I have some time for surfing," she chuckled. "... As long as I don't overuse my arms."

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

'Phantom' session a creative change of pace

As Chang tells it:

"I did a recording about a month ago of a new version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Phantom of the Opera,' which he rearranged for the violin, cello and orchestra, which is coming out towards the end of the month. Andrew's brother, Julian Lloyd Webber, plays cello, and we did the session with the London Philharmonia.

"I'm so accustomed to practicing, and learning — the works of Brahms, Shostakovich, Dvorak, or any other composer — and having it ready to go for a recording," she said. Lloyd Webber was unconventional and unpredictable, however. "He changed things practically on the spot. ... After I learned the piece, which was a medley from 'Phantom' with many tunes, he'd fax me a new version.

"It was such an interesting process, which felt so genuinely right, and we all worked very hard on it. And because 'Phantom of the Opera' was the very first musical I ever saw, at 10, the piece went full circle for me.

"What I learned from the process is that you have to be really, really flexible ... in our industry, it's seldom like that, because you take a piece that's a hundred years old and you simply learn it without variation. But this was so challenging, so exciting."