REVIEW

East-West concert
crafts drama of
musical diversity

The meeting of two different cultures is a topic that has fascinated creative artists for centuries. On Friday the Honolulu Symphony presented four works from four different centuries, each of which dealt with cross-cultural exchange in a different way.

'Thunder From the East' Repeats at Blaisdell Concert Hall, 4 p.m. today. Tickets are $21 to $64, with discounts available to students, seniors and military. Call 792-2000.

The featured work of the evening was Zhou Long's Concerto for Taiko and Timpani, commissioned by the Honolulu Symphony and heard in its world premiere performance at Friday's concert.

The stage was balanced in a sort of East-West symmetry as Stuart Chafetz commanded five different-sized timpani on the left, and Kenny Endo presided over five different-sized taiko drums on the right. In a long passage at the beginning, as well as shorter passages in the middle and again at the conclusion, the two drummers traded solos while the orchestra was silent.

They did not exactly meet halfway, as the timpani spent most of the concerto imitating the sounds of the taiko drums. The composer emphasized the variable pitch drums in the solo passages, giving Chafetz a workout on the foot pedals and Endo numerous opportunities to bend the pitches of his small hand-held drum.

Neither drummer was overly taxed technically, as the solo parts emphasized subtlety and tongue-in-cheek humor rather than virtuosity.

The tutti passages were dominated by driving rhythmic ostinatos and jazz syncopation. The sounds of taiko pervaded the entire ensemble, as the percussion section also used taiko drums and other Asian instruments.

There were few prominent melodies, and most of these were given to clarinetist Scott Anderson. He played several jazzy licks that provided contrast to the relentless driving rhythms.

Maestro Samuel Wong was in his element in this dramatic piece, which proved to be entertaining for the audience and intriguing in its musical diversity.

The concert opened with an 18th-century work, Mozart's Overture to "The Abduction from the Seraglio." The opera capitalized on the Viennese fascination for all things Turkish, and the overture is dominated by the "Turkish percussion unit" of triangle, cymbals and bass drum.

Alexander Borodin's evocative "In the Steppes of Central Asia" opened the second half of the concert. The work features the intermingling of Russian and Asian melodies, with a specific patriotic agenda for its 19th-century audience. The beautifully rounded performance began with a haunting clarinet solo by Anderson and ended with an equally beautiful flute solo by Susan McGinn, both of which were set against shimmering violin harmonics.

The concert concluded with Bartok's riveting Suite from "The Miraculous Mandarin." The work features a rich palette of orchestral timbres, including prominent passages for the usually retiring viola section, as well as the sharp dissonance and thrilling motoric rhythms for which this 20th-century composer is noted.