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Paganini reincarnated

Ignace Jang and The Extinguishable: Blaisdell Concert Hall, 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. Cost: $15-$20; 792-2000

By Ruth O. Bingham
Special to the Star-Bulletin

AT first glance, the Honolulu Symphony's current program seems an odd potpourri: the ever-popular William Tell Overture by Rossini; Paganini's virtuosic Concerto No. 1; the world premiere of Peter Askim's On Awakening ...; and Carl Nielsen's epic Symphony No. 4, The Inextinguishable. For the most part, however, the program proceeds smoothly, showcasing the symphony's talents.

The Rossini and Nielsen pieces highlighted outstanding soloists, including associate principals less often heard: violinist Claire Sakai Hazzard, trumpeter Mark Schubert, and timpanist Stephen Dinion. The Paganini Concerto featured concertmaster Ignace Jang in a technical tour de force.

Yesterday's premiere spotlighted bass-ist Peter Askim as composer; and the Nielsen displayed the orchestra's ensemble strength.

Concertmaster Jang stole the concert, walking off with the audience's hearts and ears before the second half even began. With his somber, impassive demeanor, Jang resembled a reincarnated Paganini, lacking only the long, flailing hair. Jang ripped through Paganini's virtuosic pyrotechnics without seeming to break a sweat, every note in its place, harmonics in tune, ricochets exceptionally clean ... In Paganini's 19th century parlance: Bravo Jang!

Jang was more than ably supported by Maestro Wong, who followed Jang's numerous shifts in tempo like a fine accompanist. The only moments of discomfiture lay, of course, in the famously difficult third-movement passage in 10ths. I am not convinced the passage can be played perfectly in tune, but Jang came closer than I have heard, better than quite a few recordings.

Jang's performance closed the first half with a well-deserved, extended standing ovation leading into an encore, the lyrical Andante of Bach's second sonata.

With a Rossini revival underway, the era in which people felt they had to apologize for enjoying his music is over. Rossini will surely be loved as long as there is symphonic music, not because it is exceptionally well crafted or profound, but because it is beautiful and has a "presence" in live performance unmatched by most.

Rossini is also gratifying: the solos are as wonderful to hear as to play (cellos! trombones! triangle! trumpet! flute! violins!). Is William Tell great? Probably not, but it is great fun.Wong walked that fine line between having too much fun and being too safe.

The second half of the concert opened with Askim's On Awakening ..., formally one long crescendo, a form that builds enormous tension. Perhaps its style was too great a contrast to the first half; perhaps the audience was expecting a more lyrical resolution to that tension.

Honolulu received Askim's work with polite applause that reflected less dislike than incomprehension: when it was over, the audience was not sure it was over.

I, for one, am sorry On Awakening ... was not better received: Askim is young, but shows promise. His work is less slick, but more interesting and emotionally honest than the previous two premieres by the symphony.

Carl Nielsen tends to be overshadowed by more avant-garde composers of the post-Romantic musical crisis, and Wong deserves credit for programming his Symphony No. 4, undoubtedly the finest work at the concert.

Wong carefully articulated the symphony's internal dialogue and interruptions, sweeping across four movements to a climactic triumph. Of special note was violinist Claire Hazzard's exquisite pianissimo solo, which led into the quixotic second movement, and, at the other extreme in dynamics, timpanists Stuart Chafetz's and Stephen Dinion's adrenaline-charged battles in the finale.

Wong joked that lawyers advised against placing the dueling timpani where Nielsen directed (as close to the audience as possible) because they were so loud. Placing them in front would have been overwhelming, but overwhelming was Nielsen's point. Besides, how often do we get to see timpanists dominate?

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