StarBulletin.com

Symphony has rich classical, pops slate


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POSTED: Tuesday, May 05, 2009

The Honolulu Symphony Orchestra has a full slate for the 2009-10 season, including a Toyota Pops bill featuring Glen Campbell, Ben Vereen and Mary Wilson of the Supremes, plus a Halekulani MasterWorks season spotlighting famous composers, plus a “;Mostly Mozart”; festival.

New subscribers can take advantage of a “;value pricing plan”; that can knock as much as 50 percent off season tickets, sold at the Symphony box office: 792-2000 (weekdays) or 524-0815, ext. 245 (evenings). All shows take place at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

Masterworks

Performances are 8 p.m. Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays:

» Sept. 19 and 20: Honolulu Symphony opening night, with debut of bassist Edgar Meyer, banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck and tabla drummer Zakir Hussain's Triple Concerto, a blend of American folk and classical Indian music. Plus Ravel's “;Alborada del Gracioso”; and Mussorgsky/Ravel's “;Pictures at an Exhibition.”;

» Oct. 3 and 4: Family Classics with the stars of “;Lost”; includes Debussy's “;Clair de lune,”; Poulenc's “;The Story of Babar the Elephant (L'histoire de Babar, le petit elephant, melodrama for narrator and orchestra)”; and Tchaikovsky's “;Swan Lake Suite.”;

» Oct. 17 and 18: Pianist Arnaldo Cohen performs Shostakovich's “;October (tone poem),”; Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Tchaikovsky's “;Symphonie Pathetique.”;

» Nov. 7 and 8: Haydn's “;The Creation,”; 8 p.m. Nov. 7 and 4 p.m. Nov. 8. The guest list is still being finalized for Haydn's great oratorio.

» Nov. 21 and 22: Violinist Jennifer Frautschi performs a program including Stephen Warbeck's “;Princess Ka'iulani Suite”; from the upcoming film, plus Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2.

» Nov. 28 and 29: Pianist Christopher O'Riley delivers “;Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra,”; Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Brahms' Symphony No. 2.

» Jan. 16 and 17: Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers performs Vaughan Williams' “;The Lark Ascending,”; Ravel's “;Tzigane”; and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra.

» March 20 and 21: Baritone Quinn Kelsey sings “;Porgy and Bess,”; plus Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 “;New World.”;

» April 9 and 10: Schumann's Piano Concerto, with Jorge Mester and Hai-Kyung Suh playing piano in a program including Shostakovich's “;Festive Overture,”; Schumann's Piano Concerto and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 “;Italian.”;

» May 15 and 16: Season finale with Bach's “;Suite No. 3 in D”; and Mahler's Symphony No. 1 “;Titan.”;

Pops

Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays:

» Oct. 23 and 24: Broadway Legend Ben Vereen brings the classic music of Broadway.

» Nov. 13 and 14: “;Abbey Road”; concert celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' “;Abbey Road,”; including such song favorites as “;Come Together,”; “;Something,”; “;Octopus's Garden”; and “;Here Comes the Sun.”;

» Dec. 11 and 12: Glen Campbell, the “;Rhinestone Cowboy,”; comes to town for a Holiday Pops show, performing such hits as “;Gentle on My Mind,”; “;Wichita Lineman”; and “;By the Time I Get to Phoenix.”;

» Jan. 8 and 9, 2010: Singer-songwriter Melody Gardot brings a blend of blues, jazz and folk in the footsteps of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.

» March 26 and 27: Mary Wilson, the former Supremes vocalist, brings Motown to Honolulu with songs like “;Baby Love,”; “;Come See About Me”; and “;Stop! In the Name of Love.”;

» April 16 and 17: Three-time Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner Kaumakaiwa Kanaka'ole makes his Pops debut with original music, plus slack-key guitar masters Jeff Peterson, Cyril Pahinui and Dennis Kamakahi.

» April 30 and May 1: Jimmy Borges—the only man ever allowed access to Frank Sinatra's musical arrangements—sings the tunes of Ol' Blue Eyes.

Mostly Mozart

» March 13: The “;Prague”; Symphony, at 8 p.m., with Joseph Johnson, cello, also with Dvorak's Cello Concerto.

» March 14: Symphony No. 39, at 4 p.m., including Haydn's Trumpet Concerto.

» May 8: Symphony No. 40, 8 p.m.; also featuring Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, with Sean Kennard, piano.

» May 9: The “;Jupiter”; Symphony, 4 p.m. May 9, with Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, with Ignace Jang, violin.