NADINE KAM / NKAM@STARBULLETIN.COM
Violinist Angella Ahn regaled the crowd at last night's concert with stories about the songs between numbers while her sister Lucia, dressed in a burnt orange leather gown, awaits her cue.
Aural trippin’ THE Ahn Trio's performance at the Blaisdell Concert Hall last night was a perfect example of how to present contemporary classical music to an audience unfamiliar with such sounds.
with Ahn Trio
Review by Gary C.W. Chun
gchun@starbulletin.comThe "Ahn-Plugged" concert contained relatively short pieces, some of them easy-to-follow arrangements of well-known rock songs, from concert opener "Ziggy Stardust," the David Bowie glam tune transcribed by the trio's good friend and composer Kenji Bunch, and The Doors' "Riders on the Storm," transcribed for the trio by Michal Rataj, to lush, romantic pieces by film composers Michael Nyman (including a lovely version of "The Heart Asks Pleasure First" from "The Piano") and Maurice Jarre.
The legendary and Oscar-winning French composer wrote "Engadiner Suite" especially for the trio, and their performance of the evocative Winter movement showed off how simpatico the sisters are, especially the two string players, violinist Angella and cellist Maria. They generated a real sense of warmth, in contrast to the cooler, suspended notes played by pianist Lucia.
IN ADDITION TO making musical harmony, the sisters looked great on stage. All three of them pulled off looks trendy, glamorous and colorful, adding visual flair to the usual all-black concert-hall ensembles. (There were probably plenty of men in the audience who appreciated the effort!)
But easily marketable cosmetic looks are one thing, and talent is another. While the sisters don't push any virtuosic aspects in their performance, they play wonderfully together.
In addition to the aforementioned Jarre, the first half of the concert ended with the addition of a couple of dynamic tango-driven compositions by the great Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla. It was easy to hear how the trio attacked his challenging compositions with a controlled, well-executed fervor and passion.
Throughout, Angella was the vivacious spokesperson for the trio, even though she's the youngest of the three. Twins Maria and Lucia, looking very tanned, tackled their instruments with a feral ferocity.
The highlight of the second half, Kenji Bunch's "Swing Shift: Music for Evening Hours," was the trio's showcase. A piece of six movements, Bunch fills it with late-night imagery of Manhattan, populated by "club crawlers" and night-shift workers, with lonely, deserted streets conjured from a series of hard-edged, staccato grooves.
And it was only appropriate that, with their mother in attendance, The Ahn Trio encored with a sentimental Korean love standard that was a favorite of Mom's. It was an apt way to end a fine evening of music.
The concert was one of many events planned to celebrate the 2003 centennial anniversary of Korean immigration to Hawaii.
While here, the trio also performed for school children earlier in the day. Many of the music students also showed up for the evening performance.
The personable sisters hung out after the show to greet fans and sign copies of their newest CD, "Groovebox," which, coincidentally, is being released nationally today.
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