MONDAY

Beethoven, Shostakovich on tap at Windward Community College

Chamber Music Hawaii kicks off its 34th season Monday with guest pianist Jonathan Korth, a piano professor in the University of Hawaii-Manoa Music Department, in a performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op.67, and Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op.97, "The Archduke."

The two piano trios will provide a sharp contrast in emotion, theme and even technique, with the Shostakovich featuring an extended opening for cello played in harmonics, which require a delicate touch on the strings.

"I believe these are two of the greatest works for this combination of instruments," Korth said in an email. "In the Beethoven I hear heroic, majestic themes that arch throughout the piece on the biggest scale possible for a chamber ensemble. It’s uplifting, spiritual, even flirtatious at times and is dedicated to Archduke Rudolph of Austria, a longtime supporter that Beethoven was celebrating by dedicating the piece to him. Think of it as all that is good and hopeful in life.

"On the other hand, the Shostakovich is an expression of the horrific time he lived (1944) and the grief he felt in losing a very close friend. It’s extremely bleak. … It’s raw emotion to the extreme that’s heard and literally felt throughout."

Violinist Hung Wu and cellist I-Bei Lin perform with Korth.

Where: Paliku Theatre, Windward Community College

When: 7:30 p.m. Monday

Cost: $30-$35

Info: Chambermusichawaii.org or 489-5038

>> The program repeats at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Museum of Art.

Ticker: Make the most of the waning days of summer with Bay Area rapper and music producer IamSu! (I am Summer), 8 p.m. Saturday at the Republik. $30-$35. flavorus.com or 855-235-2867

TUESDAY

Formed in Philly, Circa Survive set to rock Honolulu

Indie rock band Circa Survive powers its way into The Republik, bringing a touch of nostalgia to go with its eclectic sound.

The group blends rock, psychedelic, shoegaze and hardcore genres into a uniquely driven sound that resulted in five albums — "Juturna," (2005), "On Letting Go" (2007), "Blue Sky Noise," (2010), "Violent Waves" (2012) and "Descensus" (2014) — all of which reached the Billboard charts, with "Blue Sky Noise" the group’s best-seller at No. 11.

Band members Anthony Green (lead vocals), Brendan Ekstrom (guitar), Colin Frangicetto (guitar), Nick Beard (bass) and Steve Clifford (percussion) have been together since the group first formed in Philadelphia in 2004, even through tough times, like when Green was institutionalized for stress after struggling to finish "Blue Sky Noise."

The band is known for its entertaining videos, such as "Suitcase," in which a wife discovers her husband’s plushie fetish, and "Schema," which features a boxing baby. For this tour they’re celebrating "Juturna."

Local band Ignite the Red opens.

Where: The Republik, 1349 Kapiolani Blvd.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday

Cost: $27

Info: flavorus.com or 855-235-2867. All ages accompanied by an adult.

SATURDAY

The ‘Hawaii Five-0’ cast will hit Waikiki for the season premiere

Television’s biggest beach party returns to Waikiki on Saturday with the annual preview screening of the new "Hawaii Five-0" season premiere.

The event, now in its sixth year, draws thousands of fans who jam Queen’s Surf Beach for a chance to see the stars of the show arrive in designer evening wear and walk a red carpet stretched across the sand. As in previous years, the outdoor screening will take place before the show’s premiere, which is Sept. 25.

All of the show’s main stars are expected to attend, except for Scott Caan. Scheduled to appear are Alex O’Loughlin, Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, Chi McBride and Jorge Garcia. Recurring cast members Ian Anthony Dale, Teilor Grubbs, Taylor Wily, Dennis Chun and Shawn Garnett will be there as well.

Musician John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting performs following the screening. Last season Ondrasik wrote an anthem for the show’s 100th episode called "All for One," and he’ll play it during his set.

"It’s exciting for me because this will be the first time I will ever play it in public," Ondrasik said. "I’m looking forward to hanging out with the people and meeting the actors and enjoying the whole ‘Hawaii Five-0’ ohana experience."

Ondrasik is best known for his hit single "Superman (It’s Not Easy)," which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2002.

This year’s Sunset on the Beach will also feature local DJ Christa Wittmier, who has been undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Wittmier, 39, has been a regular DJ at "Five-0" wrap parties and appeared in an episode. Her treatment over the summer, which included nine cycles of chemotherapy, left her unable to DJ until now.

"It weakens your spirit when you are not able to do what you are meant to do," she said. "This was like a light at the end of the tunnel, something to work for. When I think about the music and put it together, it’s a really good feeling. And to be able to have something I am working toward is a warm feeling."

Where: Queen’s Surf Beach, Waikiki

When: Red carpet arrivals at 6 p.m. Saturday, welcome and screening at 7 p.m.

Cost: Free

>> For a live blog of Sunset on the Beach festivities, starting at 4 p.m., go to honolulupulse.com and follow Star-Advertiser reporters on Twitter: @honolulupulse, @crankydad, @fashiontribe and @StarTGIF and @StarAdvFeatures.

— Mike Gordon

THURSDAY, OCT. 4

Female orgasms in the 1800s provide play with risque theme

Celebrate FDA approval of the "female Viagra pill" with a ticket to Manoa Valley Theatre’s production of "In the Next Room, or the vibrator play," a comedy-drama that is probably best be summed up with the ad slogan "you’ve come a long way, baby."

Playwright Sarah Ruhl based the play on "The Technology of Orgasm," an academic book by Rachel Maines which delves into the history of women’s sexual satisfaction. "What Sarah Ruhl did was take this historically accurate documentation and weave it into her writing and the dialogue of this play, which is pretty phenomenal," said guest director Victoria Gail-White. "It’s so multidimensional emotionally. You can read the play once and pick up the first layer, but it goes deeper and deeper and deeper the more you read it."

Set in upstate New York in the late 1800s — an era when female orgasm wasn’t associated with sex or love — the play revolves around the local doctor’s new vibrator, which was then the latest invention to use electricity. Up until then doctors were obligated to manually stimulate their female patients to give them "hysterical paroxysm."

"When electricity came out, they realized, ‘Whoa, it’s not going to take an hour to bring this woman to paroxysm, I can do it in three minutes with this vibrator,’" Gail-White said.

The play examines issues of love, intimacy and jealousy, using the formal language of the Victorian era — "poetic, in the way that they would have conversation," Gail-White said.

The cast features Rasa Fournier, Kevin Keaveney, Nicholas Myers, Therese Olival, Allison Paynter, Cindy Ramirez and Steve Royal.

Where: Manoa Valley Theatre, 2833 E. Manoa Road

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursday; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 4 p.m. Sundays, through Oct. 4

Cost: $20-$39

Info: manoavalleytheatre.com or 988-6131. Ages 16 and over.