Reaching for the high notes

Like many orchestras, the Honolulu Symphony is in debt, but unlike many, it's digging itself out

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How is classical music doing in our concert halls? The season is reaching its midpoint, a good time to discuss how the Honolulu Symphony and other U.S. orchestras are faring.

The steadily increasing number of orchestras, annual concerts, administrative positions and budgets suggest that they are doing well. Everything is getting bigger. As a result, the quality of performance has become competitive and has improved.

A few weeks ago, at a New York meeting with music journalists, the president of the American Symphony Orchestra League, Henry Fogel, stated that the nation has 300 to 400 professional orchestras with salaried musicians. Their budgets range from $8,000 to $80 million, and about half have budgets of $13 to $18 million.

The bad news is that three-quarters of American orchestras suffer from budget shortfalls, Fogel said. Since 2000, nine have filed for bankruptcy, and three did not return.

The Honolulu Symphony's budget is about $8.5 million, at the lower end of the national scale. Last year the symphony's former executive director, Gideon Toeplitz, said the organization was about $370,000 in debt -- excellent news, actually, considering the cumulative $2 million it owed three years ago.

Where do orchestras get money? Tickets, endowments and grants. Tom Gulick, Toeplitz's successor, says about 35 percent of the symphony's profits come from ticket sales, similar to other orchestras. The state has also set aside $6 million in endowments, although that money hasn't come through yet. Private corporations and community donors also participate.

The symphony has restored the salary levels of its musicians, after years of cuts. But moving from the Blaisdell Concert Hall to other venues to make way for Disney's "The Lion King" has increased expenses this year. Frequent moving of instruments to Hawaii Theatre and Mamiya Theatre, and related costs, added to the debt, although Gulick says it's still manageable.

So, how do orchestras around the country fulfill their budgets?

» More music education. The Honolulu Symphony has education programs on Oahu and the neighbor islands.

» Management respected by the musicians. We are in the early but promising phases of a new administration.

» Quality. New maestro Andreas Delfs is adamant that the symphony become the orchestra of the Pacific Rim.

» Programming. We're waiting to see what will happen next season.

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Defining classical music in general is easy: An enormous group of works composed between the times of Haydn and Copland. But classical music in concert halls typically means selected works by Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Mozart and few other masters.

We hear this small portion often, so quality of performance must make up for lack of novelty. But lately, many American orchestras have been expanding their horizons, offering both excellent performances and intriguing new experiences.

Some bend music here and there and mix musical genres; a few add new pieces to standard programs; others interpret traditional repertoire with a new touch. On the whole, the classical concert experience is being redefined. It is gradually happening here, too.

Christopher O'Riley, host of National Public Radio's "From the Top," demonstrated this approach for a Honolulu audience last Monday. By integrating musical genres, the pianist presented an audience of diverse ages and musical backgrounds with a program alternating Debussy's French impressionist style with '70s English folk/hip music by Nick Drake.

His crossover program and arrangements of Drake's music were hip, unpretentious, fine and definitely refreshing. With his arrangements of pieces by rock icons such as Radiohead and Elliott Smith, O'Riley has gained full approval of the likes of Rolling Stone magazine. Beyond that, he has ventured into a refreshing concert format. His fantastic performance was a bonus, drawing several encores.

The performance of lesser-known pieces from the classical repertoire can be innovative, too. This season, Andreas Delfs and the Honolulu Symphony performed Schumann's Overture Opus 52, a work rarely heard in concert halls. Delfs explained how the piece's light traits make it different from Schumann's works. His charisma and wit made the presentation fun, and I hope he will continue to explain more complex pieces in the future.

Next, what we do not hear much in Hawaii. Although Mozart's Symphonies Nos. 25 and 39 are certainly not a novelty in the larger concert world, they are here. We heard them this weekend, under guest maestro Heiichiro Ohyama's lead. But the delight in this all-Mozart program was the Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat, which allowed us to see the Honolulu Symphony's oboist, J. Scott Janusch, clarinetist Scott Anderson, bassoonist Paul Barret and hornist Wade Butin as a "concertino" group. That gave us the occasion to observe the soloists' talents in an unusual setting.

What about innovative interpretations of well-known works?

Delfs had that spice when he conducted Beethoven's First Symphony in the same program. The rhythm was tight, the volume was brilliant and the orchestra colored the score almost visibly. This work is seldom performed, and, according to Delfs, it was the orchestra's players who wanted it on the program. Great choice for a wonderfully pungent performance. The same evening, pianist Cecil Licad played Chopin's famous Second Concerto with spirit.

Overall, the Honolulu Symphony's current season sticks with convention. But something interesting has happened. Because of the scheduling of Disney's "The Lion King" at the Blaisdell Concert Hall, the orchestra was forced to play in smaller venues. This change forced additions to the repertoire of works conceived for smaller ensembles.

This has resulted in the creation of a context for more intimate chamber music -- rarely performed by the symphony -- and performances true to the traditions of Haydn and Mozart. Unfortunately, space turned out to be an obstacle as well.

The Symphony and chorus, under Julian Wachner's baton, performed Beethoven and Haydn in the second concert of the season in Hawaii Theatre. This early-1900s vaudeville house, which became a movie theater and then a multipurpose performance facility, seats 1,400, two-thirds of the Blaisdell's capacity.

Although Haydn was performed with grace and ease, the large number of musicians on the small stage for Beethoven's "Mass in C" was a challenge. The interpretation was good, but a better choice would have enhanced the program. Maybe a new, contemporary piece with a smaller group? The change would have let the musicians do what they do best: work with each other with ease.

Next, the Mamiya Theatre, the scene for the Nov. 3 concert featuring Dvorak's "String Serenade," Bach's Violin and Oboe Concerto, Boccherini's Cello Concerto and Pachelbel's "Canon." In the intimate atmosphere of the theater, we had the chance to appreciate the exquisite performance of oboist Janusch and the balanced sound of the ensemble, under the experienced guidance of concertmaster Ignace Jang and harpsichordist Thomas Yee.

But again, the space was used unwisely. Between pieces, chairs and instruments were constantly moved. Why not plan something to occupy the audience during these transitions? An introduction to the pieces? True, Jang briefly entertained with a joke between furniture shifts, but the changes took forever.

The season opened at the Blaisdell, with violinist Sarah Chang as guest soloist. Although the quality of the performance was high, the event lacked novelty. Chang has been playing with the orchestra since 1997, establishing herself almost as an addendum to the ranks. She is a spirited and nontraditional performer, and we need more exceptions like her.

The quality of the Honolulu Symphony musicians is obvious, and although we've had only few chances to see Delfs at work, we sense his expertise. Hopefully a fresh look at the repertoire, combined with excellence in performance, will prompt new experiences from which everybody will benefit. While attracting a new audience and pleasantly surprising habitués, the musicians will also gain from new, invigorating challenges.