Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Broadcasts
On April 12: Under the direction of Dane Lam, we’ll hear Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville – summer of 1915” featuring guest artist, soprano, Sofia Troncoso. We’ll also hear Symphony Number 4, by Gustav Mahler, and “Tipping Point by Huang Ruo.
HPR and Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra have partnered to broadcast performances from the orchestra's 2024-2025 Halekulani Masterworks Series.
Each show is hosted by John Kalani Zak and features performances recorded live in Honolulu.
These performances will air for eleven weeks on Sundays at 3 p.m. on HPR-2, your home for classical music. The first broadcast airs on April 5, and the series concludes on June 14. Ways to listen & station locator.
Sponsored by The Rice Partnership.
April 5 - Ray Chen plays Barber
Violinist, Ray Chen joins conductor, Dane Lam and the Hawaii Symphony in this, the first in a new series of HSO’s Masterworks Concerts on HPR, which features Chen’s extraordinary performance of Samuel Barber’s “Violin Concerto, opus 14.” We’ll also hear “Concerto for Orchestra” by HSO’s composer in residence, Michael Thomas Foumai, “The Chairman Dances,” by John Adams, and Leonard Bernstein’s brilliant “Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.”
Performance date: October 4, 2024
Conductor: Dane Lam
Featured artist: Ray Chen - Violin
Music:
John Adams - The Chairman Dances
Samuel Barber - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Michael Thomas Foumai - Concerto for Orchestra
Leonard Bernstein - West Side Story Symphonic Dances
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Oct - Dec 2024
April 12 - Dane Conducts Mahler
Conductor Dane Lam and guest soprano, Sofia Troncoso, captivate Hawaii audiences with performances of Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville – Summer of 1915,” and “Symphony Number 4” by Gustav Mahler. Composer, Huang Ruo, explores themes of global climate change in his work, “Tipping Point” which was co-commissioned by the Hawaii Symphony.
Performance date: November 17, 2024
Conductor: Dane Lam
Featured artist: Sofia Troncoso - Soprano
Music:
Samuel Barber - Knoxville: Summer of 1915
Huang Ruo - Tipping Point
Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 4
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Oct - Dec 2024
April 19 - JoAnn conducts Pictures at an Exhibition
HSO Conductor Emerita, JoAnn Falletta, returns to the HSO stage to conduct an exceptional performance of Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez,” featuring guitarist, Jiji. Also on the program: Zoltán Kodály’s poignant work, “The Peacock,” and Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition.”
Performance date: January 12, 2025
Conductor: JoAnn Falletta
Featured artist: Jiji - Guitar
Music:
Zoltán Kodály - The Peacock
Joaquín Rodrigo - Concierto Aranjuez
Modest Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Jan - Mar 2025
April 26 - Beethoven Festival: Eroica - Symphonies No. 1 & 3
Beethoven Fest begins! The evolution of classical music arguably would not have reached such remarkable heights without the contributions of Beethoven. Dane Lam puts the Hawaii Symphony through its paces in this, the first of several concerts devoted to the great master. We’ll hear “Symphony Number 1” and “Symphony Number 3 – Eroica” plus a world premiere of “Eroica” by Ye Xiaogang.
Performance date: February 6, 2025
Conductor: Dane Lam
Music:
Ye Xiaogang - Eroica
Beethoven - Symphony No. 1
Beethoven Symphony No. 3
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Jan - Mar 2025
May 3 - Beethoven Festival: Immortal Beloved - Symphonies No. 2 & 7
Beethoven Fest continues! Beethoven's Second Symphony reflects the classical style of his predecessors Haydn and Mozart, while also showcasing his unique brand of comedy. Describing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 as “revolutionary” is an understatement. Following his rage with Napoleon after the latter crowned himself emperor, Beethoven removed the dedication of his Third Symphony, which he had originally intended for him.
Under the direction of Dane Lam, we’ll hear Beethoven’s “Symphony Number 2” and “Symphony Number 7,” as well as the Hawaii premiere of “Climb” by Jessica Hunt.
Performance date: February 9, 2025
Conductor: Dane Lam
Music:
Jessica Hunt - Climb
Beethoven - Symphony No. 2
Beethoven - Symphony No. 7
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Jan - Mar 2025
May 10 - Beethoven Festival: Pastorale - Symphonies No. 4 & 6
More Beethoven magic! Under the direction of Dane Lam, our concert begins with “Becoming Beethoven” by HSO composer in residence, Michael Thomas Foumai, which mirrors the orchestration of the Third Symphony, and is the equivalent of the Hollywood superhero origin story, using music to express the composer’s journey through hearing loss, retreat into nature, and lastly acceptance; drawing upon his deafness as a strength, and becoming the composer whose music would leave an everlasting mark on history. And, of course, we’ll hear from the Master, himself, with “Symphony Number 4” and “Symphony Number 6- Pastorale.”
Performance date: February 16, 2025
Conductor: Dane Lam
Music:
Michael Thomas Foumai - Becoming Beethoven
Beethoven - Symphony No. 4
Beethoven - Symphony No. 6 Pastorale
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Jan - Mar 2025
May 17 - Beethoven Festival: Fate - Symphonies no. 5 & 8
Four notes: that is all Beethoven needed to make a powerful statement with his Fifth Symphony. Continuously pushing the musical boundaries of his conservative surroundings, Beethoven chose to forgo an introduction that might ease the audience into the music. Instead, awakening the audience with a jump scare, creating one of the most iconic moments in classical music. Under the direction of Dane Lam, we’ll also hear Symphony Number 8, and “Old Bei” (Beethoven’s Chinese nickname,) by Hong Kong-born composer, Raymond Yiu, who writes: “Beethoven taught us how to use the orchestra. He made us consciously aware of acoustic pace, in terms of tempo and also in terms of contrast of dynamics. It is amazing how he develops entire movements from very short motives.”
Performance date: March 6, 2025
Conductor: Dane Lam
Music:
Raymond Yiu - Old Bei
Beethoven Symphony No. 8
Beethoven Symphony No. 5
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Jan - Mar 2025
May 24 - Beethoven Festival: Joy - Symphony No. 9
HSO’s “Beethoven Fest” culminates in an expression of pure joy with “Beethoven’s Symphony number 9.” Often revered as the greatest classical piece of all time, it has been used as anthems, hymns, end-of-year songs, and more. Dane Lam conducts the orchestra in a performance that features the O’ahu Choral Society under the direction of Josh Habermann, featuring soprano, Maria Valdes, Mezzo-soprano, Blythe Kelsey, tenor, Alok Kumar, and bass, David Soar.
We’ll also hear “Symphony Number 2” by Dai-Keong Lee, a prolific composer from Honolulu. Lee was French horn player with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, and, in 1936, he had his first work premiered by the HSO.
Performance date: March 9, 2025
Conductor: Dane Lam
Featured artists: O’ahu Choral Society
Music:
Dai-Keong Lee - Symphony No. 2
Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 Choral
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Jan - Mar 2025
May 31 - HSO Spotlight
Concertmaster Iggy Jang takes the spotlight in Vaughan Williams’ “ The Lark Ascending,” and Principal Horn, Anna Lenhart, in Strauss’ First Horn Concerto. Showcasing the artistry of your HSO, Dane Lam conducts vibrant symphonic favorites, from Debussy’s dreamy “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” to Respighi’s sweeping depiction of the “Fountains of Rome.”
Performance date: April 6, 2025
Conductor: Dane Lam
Featured artists:
Iggy Jang - violin
Anna Lenhart - horn
Music:
Michael Thomas Foumai - HSO Overture
Ralph Vaughan Williams - The Lark Ascending
Respighi - The Fountains of Rome
Debussy - Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Richard Strauss -Concerto for Horn 1
Maurice Ravel - La Valse
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Mar - June 2025
June 7 - Mother Goose and The Hen: Ravel, Haydn & Mozart
Proclaimed by the New York Times ‘a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs,’ Jeremy Denk is one of America’s foremost pianists. The New York Times bestselling author and MacArthur “Genius” shares the stage as soloist and conductor with your HSO for Mozart’s greatest concerto, the “Piano Concerto No. 25.” We’ll also hear Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite” and Haydn’s “Symphony 83 – The Hen.”
Performance date: May 18, 2025
Piano/Leader: Jeremy Denk
Featured artist/Leader: Iggy Jang - Violin
Music:
Ravel - Mother Goose Suite
Haydn -Symphony No. 83 “The Hen”
Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 25
Encore: Wagner Pilgrim Chorus
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Mar - June 2025
June 14 - Brahms Symphony No. 1
Blessed with “poetic and sensitive pianism” (Washington Post) and a “wondrous sense of color” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang captivates audiences with her virtuosity, lyricism, and interpretive sensitivity. She is the guest artist for this, the last in our series of HSO Masterworks concerts on HPR.Dane Lam conducts the orchestra in evocative performances of “Overture number 2” by Louise Farrenc, “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” by Rachmaninoff, and “Symphony Number 1,” by Johannes Brahms.
Performance date: June 15, 2025
Conductor: Dane Lam
Featured Artist: Joyce Yang - Piano
Music:
Louise Farenc - Overture No. 2
Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Brahms - Symphony No. 1
View the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra Concert Guide for Mar - June 2025