Beethoven

Soprano Maria Valdes visits Classical Pacific ahead of a busy weekend of rehearsals with fellow soloists, the Oʻahu Choral Society and maestro Dane Lam, as they prepare for the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra's performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

Ahead of the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra's final Beethoven Festival concert, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the artistic director of the Oʻahu Choral Society Joshua Habermann visits Classical Pacific.

London-based composer Raymond Yiu’s "Old Bei" is a tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven and his influence in China. Yiu is in Honolulu for the world premiere of the revised version of this work with the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra on Thursday, March 6. During his visit, he stopped by Hawai‘i Public Radio to discuss the light and dark in music and life, the connections and complexities within them, and, of course, the warm weather in Hawaiʻi.

What’s your favorite Beethoven symphony? Michael-Thomas Foumai, composer-in-residence of the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, reveals his favorite on Evening Concert. But you’ll have to listen to the end to find out. In the meantime, Foumai shares a preview of the upcoming concerts in HSO’s Beethoven Festival. You’ll hear about Beethoven’s top hits as well as a contemporary work that pays homage to the “Old Bei.”

Michael-Thomas Foumai visits Gene Schiller ahead of the final Beethoven Festival concerts. Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra returns to the Blaisdell Concert Hall on March 6 to perform Beethoven’s fifth and eighth symphonies.

Chamber Music Hawai‘i (CMH) violinist Helen Liu and bassoonist Tommy Morrison joined Morning Café to preview this weekend’s Beethoven Fest at Doris Duke Theatre. The chamber music group’s performance accompanies Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra’s monthlong Beethoven Festival, which presents all nine of Beethoven’s symphonies.

Nicholas Chakinis, the Director of Finance for the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, is a songwriter and former radio music host! Chakinis shares his experiences as a musician, a listener and a supporter, offering advice to musicians as they navigate their own paths.

The Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra is performing all nine Beethoven Symphonies in February. This week, HSO performs Symphonies No. 4 and No. 6, along with composer in residence Michael-Thomas Foumaiʻs Becoming Beethoven. During a break in a rehearsal, Classical Pacific's Sharene Taba spoke with Music and Artistic Director Maestro Dane Lam, as well as with violinists Maile Reeves, Helen Liu, Sheryl Shohet, Michael Lim, percussionist Christopher Cabrera, timpanist Bradley Davis and trombonists Gabral Cruz & Jason Byerlotzer.

Michael-Thomas Foumai, the Susan Kosasa Composer in Residence for Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, introduces the second week of HSO's Beethoven Festival. On Feb. 15, HSO presents Beyond the Music, a free concert talk with the orchestra, conductor Dane Lam and narration by Foumai. On Feb. 16, the symphony performs Beethoven Symphonies No. 4 and No. 6, along with Foumaiʻs Becoming Beethoven.

Autumn Woods, Associate Director of Advancement for the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, shares a glimpse behind-the-scenes at the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra. She also discusses the impact of music on family life and shares her eclectic playlist.