New classical music season offers plenty to enjoy

The 2017-18 classical music season gets underway in earnest this month, with all four of the local classical music organizations presenting performances. Whether you like large orchestral works, large- and small-scale opera, flashy concertos, chamber music or solo artistry, there will be plenty to enjoy, starting with Sunday’s Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra performance of Dvorak and Brahms.

While Hawaii Opera Theatre will be presenting four works ranging from the blockbuster “Carmen” to the intimate new work “As One,” the three organizations featuring instrumental music — the symphony, Chamber Music Hawaii and the Honolulu Chamber Music Series — will showcase their own talents and bring top-shelf artists to Honolulu. Piano fans especially will be pleased by the programmings.

ORCHESTRAL SEASON

Lang Lang is the biggest star scheduled during the orchestra’s season. The flashy pianist has gone from Chinese wunderkind to international celebrity, and, aside from filling concert halls around the world, he’s also branched out, playing pop and Broadway music for his “New York Rhapsody” show on public television.

There will be another cause for celebration for Lang Lang’s Feb. 18 performance here: “It’s Chinese New Year,” said Jonathan Parrish, the orchestra’s executive director. “When he offered it, he was specific about that in his thinking.”

Lang Lang will play Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, op. 37.”

“I suspect he will get some fiery encores,” Parrish said. Parrish is cannily planning to schedule Lang Lang to play after intermission, allowing for as many encores as possible and “because he’s such a star.” HSO artistic director JoAnn Falletta will make one of her three appearances in Hawaii as a conductor for that concert; she will also lead the orchestra in Ravel’s popular arrangement of Mussorgsky’s “Pictures of an Exhibition.”

The symphony’s season starts Sunday with guest conductor Michael Stern leading the orchestra in Dvorak’s “New World” symphony. Guest pianist Fabio Bidini returns to play Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 (see sidebar).

Connie Uejio, the symphony’s harpist, is featured in Handel’s fourth harp concerto on Nov. 11-12. That will put a deserving spotlight on Uejio, Parrish said. “There’s so much repertoire that we wouldn’t be able to do if we didn’t have Connie here,” he said. “Every year, ‘Nutcracker’ has this huge harp feature and every year, Connie makes it sound fabulous.”

Na Hoku Hanohano award-winning slack-key guitarist Jeff Peterson follows that up in December with his concerto for slack-key guitar, “Malama Aina.” “It’s very nice. It’s lovely,” Parrish said. “Jeff is a fabulous player.”

In recent years, the orchestra has taken on new and innovative works, scheduling concertos for ukulele, percussion and koto. It continues that tradition in the new year — after the customary “Ode to Joy” concerts during the holidays — with an Asian-themed concert on Jan. 7. Chinese composer Chen Yi is writing a concerto for flute and the pipa, the lutelike Chinese instrument, that will make its world premiere here. Chen is “one of the leading Chinese composers of our time, and certainly one of the leading women composers of our time,” Parrish said.

Acclaimed conductor Leonard Slatkin appears in April with guest violinist Elina Vahala from Finland in a concert of Sibelius and Brahms. Parrish said his coming to conduct the HSO “is a bit of a coup,” as Slatkin is a major recording artist with 64 Grammy nominations and seven awards.

The opportunity to come to Hawaii and work with the orchestra is an attraction for many top artists.

“Conductors know that there’s an orchestra here and they know the history and the quality that we’ve had here. They don’t come here to conduct in Hawaii with any trepidation that it’s going to be an unsatisfying musical experience,” Parrish said, adding that Slatkin might add a pops concert to his visit in late April.

The great Olga Kern, who played two concertos by Russian composers to conclude the 2016 HSO season, returns for this season’s finale with Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto No. 1.” It’s the great warhorse of the repertoire, but Kern’s connection to the work — her great-grandmother was friends with Tchaikovsky — should make it special.

Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Series 2017-18

>> Sunday: Michael Stern, conductor; Fabio Bidini, piano. Shostakovich; Brahms, Piano Concerto No. 2; Dvorak, “New World” symphony

>> Nov. 11-12: Joseph Swensen, conductor; Constance Uejio, harp. Handel harp concerto; first symphonies of Beethoven and Sibelius

>> Dec. 10: Carl St. Clair, conductor; Jeff Peterson, slack-key guitar. Concerto for Slack Key Guitar and Orchestra, “Malama Aina”; Prokofiev, fifth symphony

>> Dec. 28-29: JoAnn Falletta, conductor. Beethoven, “Ode to Joy”

>> Jan. 7: JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Linda Chatterton, flute; Gao Hong, pipa. Chen Yi, Concerto for Flute and Pipa (world premiere); Griffes, “The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan”; Stravinsky, “Song of the Nightingale”; Borodin, Polovtsian Dances from ”Prince Igor”

>> Jan. 27-28: Keith Lockhart, conductor; Robert McDuffie, violin. Bernstein, Serenade after Plato’s “Symposium”; Beethoven, “Symphony No. 8”

>> Feb. 18: JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Lang Lang, piano. Mussorgsky arr. Ravel, “Pictures at an Exhibition”; Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor

>> March 11: Victor Yampolsky, conductor; Sara Davis Buechner, piano. Gershwin, “Rhapsody in Blue” and “I Got Rhythm Variations”; Mendelssohn, “Scottish” symphony

>> March 17-18: Laura Jackson, conductor; Esther Yoo, violin. Glazunov, Violin Concerto in A minor; Stravinsky, “Petrushka” (1947)

>> April 28-29: Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Elina Vahala, violin. Sibelius, Violin Concerto in D minor, op. 47; Brahms, “Symphony No. 2”

>> May 13: Naoto Otomo, conductor; Philippe Bianconi, piano. Schumann, Piano Concerto; Brahms, “Variations on a theme of Joseph Haydn”; Wagner, Prelude to “Die Meistersinger”

>> June 9-10: Carlos Prieto, conductor; Olga Kern, piano. Tchaikovsky, “Waltz from Eugene Onegin”; Tchaikovsky, “Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, op. 23”; “Symphony No. 5 in E minor, op. 64”

(Note: Saturday concerts start 7:30 p.m. Sunday concerts start at 4 p.m.)

Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra Pops Series 2017-18

>> 7:30 Nov. 3-4: “Who’s Bad — The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience”

>> 2 p.m. Nov. 11: “The Glenn Miller Orchestra”

(Note: More to be announced.)

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OPERA SEASON

Hawaii Opera Theatre’s season will present opera in all of its variety, from dramatic to humorous, intimate to romantic. Its season opens in October with the always popular “Carmen”; followed in January by “As One,” a new work about the timely topic of gender reassignment; the rarely performed Donizetti comedy “Daughter of the Regiment” in February; and Tchaikovsky’s romantic tragedy “Eugene Onegin” in April.

“We’ve got a pretty good spread, not only of repertoire but in types of production,” said Simon Crookall, HOT’s general director.

“Carmen” will introduce the great mezzo soprano Kate Aldrich to Hawaii audiences in the title role. Her breakout role was in Franco Zeffirelli’s 2001 film version of “Aida.” “Kate Aldrich is just gorgeous and amazing … really at the top of her career,” Crookall said, noting that in 2015, Aldrich performed “Carmen” in France with singer Jonas Kaufmann, considered the top tenor in the world today.

Locals starring in the production are tenor Kip Wilborn, and Leslie Goldman McInerny and Sarah Connelly, both of whom trained locally with HOT’s Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio. “We’ve got a great cast,” Crookall said.

The production will feature new costumes to go with HOT’s set, which first appeared here in 2009. “It’s one of the very few productions that HOT owns and built itself,” Crookall said. “We don’t really own a lot of scenery because storage is so expensive. We generally rent things from the mainland, so it’s quite exciting to have our own show.”

“As One,” in contrast to “Carmen,” is an intimate production. It will be presented at Pier 10 at Aloha Tower. Composed by Laura Kaminsky with libretto by Mark Campbell and Kimberly Reed, the 2014 opera has only one character, “Hannah before” and “Hannah after,” to be played by two people.

The production stars the original cast members, a New York-based wife-husband team of Sasha Cooke and Kelly Markgraf. Cooke, a soloist in the 2012 Grammy Award-winning recording of John Adam’s “Dr. Atomic,” is a descendant of Amos Starr Cooke, who founded one of the original “Big Five” companies in Hawaii. “She and her husband Kelly initiated this production in Brooklyn in 2014,” Parrish said. “She hasn’t sung it since. He’s done a lot of productions since, but she hasn’t done it.”

The opera takes viewers on a person’s personal journey from boy to young woman. “It’s a way for opera to bring to life a real issue that people are facing these days,” Crookall said.

Donizetti’s “Daughter of the Regiment” is a comedy about a tomboylike girl who grows up among soldiers. It’s in keeping with Crookall’s desire to bring lesser-known, “but still important” operatic works here.

“There’s another local reason for doing it, and that’s Audrey Luna, who is a big star, singing at the Met, singing at Covent Gardens (in London), all over the world, but she lives here in Hawaii,” Crookall said, adding that she came here with her husband. “She’s that kind of very high coloratura, which is exactly right for this role.”

Tchaikovsky’s “Onegin” features the return of Ryan McKinney in the title role, after bravura performances in “The Flying Dutchman” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” in recent years. Crookall is particularly excited because HOT is a co-producer in the production, joining operas in Seattle, Kansas City, Atlanta and Michigan. “It’s probably the first time in 15 years that HOT has been involved in a co-production,” he said. “It’s a very interesting group of companies, very reputable.”

Hawaii Opera Theatre 2017-18 Season

>> “Carmen”: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 and 17, 4 p.m. Oct. 15

>> “As One”: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 11, 4 p.m. Jan. 13-14, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16 (at Aloha Tower Pier 10)

>> “Daughter of the Regiment”: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9 and 13, 4 p.m. Feb. 11

>> “Eugene Onegin”: 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 24, 4 p.m. April 22

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CHAMBER MUSIC SEASON

Chamber Music programs are poised to offer a wealth of discovery for classical music fans.

Chamber Music Hawaii, which already started its season with a concert featuring harpsichord music, will feature mostly local musicians playing music ranging from baroque vocal music to tango music by Astor Piazzolla. Also returning is “Appalachian Spring,” a beautiful co-production with local dance group Onium Ballet performing to Aaron Copeland’s classical Americana work.

A highlight of Chamber Music Hawaii’s season will be the return of pianist Joyce Yang, a Cliburn silver medalist who has wowed audiences in solo, chamber music and concerto performances in the last few years. Her program is titled “The Russian Connection” and while it does have political overtones, there’s no need to worry about the FBI or a special prosecutor. The program features quintets by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Dmitri Shostakovich, both of whom ran astray of Russian politics during the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Honolulu Chamber Music Series will bring musicians of international stature to the islands, including acclaimed pianist Stephen Hough. The British artist — the first classical musician to be named a MacArthur Fellow (recipient of a so-called “genius grant” in 2001) — is considered a renaissance man, with accomplishments as a widely published writer, composer and performer. He created an app on the Lizst B minor Piano Sonata that “takes you as far inside the mind of a master pianist as you are ever likely to go,” said The New York Times.

Hough plays everything from classical to easy listening — he’ll play Debussy, Schumann and Beethoven here.

Also on the Honolulu Chamber Music Series lineup are the Verona and Doric string quartets, the Rafale Trio from Switzerland and former Tokyo String Quartet leader Martin Beaver, a favorite among local audiences. Beaver is a mentor to Jonathan Korth, professor of piano at the University of Hawaii, who will join him on stage.

Chamber Music Hawaii 2017-18 Season

>> “South of the Border”: Wind music of Cuba, Brazil and Argentina. 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16, Doris Duke Theatre; 7 p.m. Oct. 18, University of Hawaii-West Oahu library; 7:30 p.m. Oct. 23, Paliku Theatre

>> “Musical Titans”: Mozart and Tchaikovsky String Quartets. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 6, Paliku Theatre; 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13, Doris Duke Theatre; 7 p.m. Nov. 14, UH-West Oahu library

>> Annual Holiday Concerts: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4, Cathedral of St. Andrew, music of five centuries; traditional and contemporary holiday classics, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 11, Paliku Theatre

>> “The Russian Connection”: music of Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich featuring pianist Joyce Yang. 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22, Doris Duke Theatre ($35, $45 reserved seating)

>> “Piazzolla’s Tango”: Honolulu guitarist Ian O’Sullivan. 7:30 p.m. Feb. 12, Doris Duke Theatre; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19, Paliku Theatre

>> “Voices of the Baroque”: Eric Esparza from DePaul University conducts Italian and Spanish masterpieces. 7:30 p.m. March 2, Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa

>> “Brass, Bach and the Renaissance”: 7:30 p.m. April 9, Doris Duke Theatre; 7 p.m. April 17, UH-West Oahu library; 7:30 p.m. April 23, Paliku Theatre

>> Onium Ballet, “The Glorious Appalachian Spring”: Wartime resetting of the Copeland-Martha Graham classic. 4 p.m. May 27, Paliku Theatre ($35, $45 reserved seating)  

Honolulu Chamber Music Series 2017-18

>> Verona Quartet; Ravel, Sebastian Curry, Beethoven “Razumovsky” quartet: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6

>> Pianist Steven Hough: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27: Debussy, “Clair de Lune”; Schumann, “Fantasy in C Major”; Beethoven, “Appassionata”

>> Violinist Martin Beaver and UH-Manoa piano professor Jonathan Korth: 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2

>> Doric String Quartet: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10

>> Trio Rafale: 7:30 p.m. March 9