PHOTO COURTESY OF J. HENRY FAIR Tokyo String Quartet members are violist Kazuhide Isomura, left, first violinist Martin Beaver, cellist Clive Greensmith and second violinist Kikuei Ikeda.

Classical stars
headed here

This weekend is pretty remarkable for local classical music buffs, as two world-class acts come into town -- one a distinguished quartet to kick off the 50th anniversary of the Honolulu Chamber Music Series, and the other a renowned pianist guesting with the Honolulu Symphony.

Regarded as one of the supreme chamber music ensembles in the world since its inception 35 years ago, the Tokyo String Quartet returns after a five-year absence with a program of Haydn, Zemlinsky and Dvorak. This marks their sixth visit to Honolulu under the aegis of the series.

Even though he is already known to fans here, this will be first violinist Martin Beaver's island debut with the group, since he joined the Quartet in 2002. (The rest of the group is comprised of founding member and violist Kazuhide Isomura, second violinist Kikuei Ikeda, who has been a member of the quartet since 1974, and, since 1999, cellist Clive Greensmith.)

PHOTO COURTESY ANDREW ECCLES/ DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON Lang Lang

Widely hailed as the biggest, most exciting pianist in recent memory, 22-year-old Lang Lang makes his Hawaii debut with the Honolulu Symphony and conductor Samuel Wong, performing with them the virtuosic Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, considered one of the most popular and most accessible of all of the composer's concertos.

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "In the face of this young Chinese artist's technical arsenal, there is nothing to do but gape in awestruck amazement. He gets around the keyboard with astonishing agility and exactitude; he can thunder out 10-fingered chords at top speed and volume without dropping so much as a note, and he commands a formidable dynamic range."

Lang Lang is passionately dedicated to sharing music with young people and was recently recognized for his efforts by UNICEF, who appointed him their newest and youngest international Goodwill Ambassador.

His latest release, the "Live at Carnegie Hall" recital, has recently come out on both CD and DVD. Lang's next recording, due out in early 2005, will feature Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," with Valery Gergiev conducting the Kirov Orchestra.

Tokyo String Quartet Where: Orvis Auditorium, University of Hawaii at Manoa When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow Tickets: $24 general, $15 students and Honolulu Symphony musicians Info: 956-8246 or outreach.hawaii.edu "Russian Masters with Lang Lang" With the Honolulu Symphony Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall When: 8 p.m. today and 4 p.m. Sunday Tickets: $21, $33, $43, $51 and $64 Call: 792-2000