SATURDAY-SUNDAY
>> Pianist Ran Dank performs Prokofiev masterpiece
Acclaimed Israeli pianist Ran Dank joins conductor Stuart Chafetz and the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra in an ambitious program this weekend.
Dank, pictured above, performs Prokofiev’s “Piano Concerto No. 2,” a piece that the composer first conceived in 1912, but rewrote after the original score was lost in a fire. It’s one of Prokofiev’s most formidable works, with a first movement full of crashing chords, a second movement of fleet scales, an ominous third movement, and a “tempestuous” fourth movement. Athleticism is required to perform this music; Prokofiev appreciated that, referring to a “soccer-like” quality in his first concerto that is only amplified in the second.
Dank studied in his native Israel for his first 22 years. Upon arriving in New York to study at Juilliard in 2005, he made an impression, winning a student competition for pianists a year later. In 2010, he took second place in the Naumberg International Piano Contest — behind Soyeon Lee, who performed with the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra in 2016. Since then the two have performed in several duo piano concerts.
Chafetz, pictured at right, is known for conducting movie-music concerts here. He returns to his classical roots conducting Brahms’ “Symphony No. 1.” Brahms labored over the work over a 14-year-period, but it was worth it — with its grand, soaring themes in the final movement, it’s been described as “Beethoven’s 10th.”
RAN DANK
With the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra
>> Where: Blaisdell Concert Hall
>> When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday
>> Cost: $34-$92
>> Info: ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000
TUESDAY
>> Southern rockers in Black Stone Cherry roll out the blues
Black Stone Cherry brings its hard-driving sound to The Republik on Tuesday.
The Southern rock band is remarkable for its stability – there have been no changes in personnel since it started in 2001 in Edmonton, Kentucky, as a group of high school friends. Drummer/pianist John Fred Young had the strongest background in music – his father and uncle played for the Kentucky Headhunters, a Grammy-winning rock band – but the rest of the band members, Chris Robertson (guitar/lead vocals), Ben Wells (rhythm guitar) and Jon Lawhon (bass) all contribute songwriting and singing talents.
Black Stone Cherry’s sound features a heavy bass line and screaming guitars. Their lyrics often reflect a touch of sentimentality, like the singles “In My Blood” and “The Rambler,” which talk about family separation. The band can also do cynical commentary, as in “White Trash Millionaire,” one of its most popular singles.
The group has gained a large following in the U.K. Five of its six albums — “Folklore and Superstition” (2008), “Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea” (2011), “Magic Mountain” (2014), “Kentucky” (2016) and “Family Tree” (2018) — have reached No. 1 on the U.K. rock charts. \
BLACK STONE CHERRY
Presented by BAMP Project
>> Where: The Republik
>> When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
>> Cost: $25-$30
>> Info: jointherepublik.com or 941-7469
WEDNESDAY
>> Henry Kapono to share musical insights with Brother Noland
If you want to hear live Hawaiian pop music, there can’t be a better place than Blue Note Hawaii on Wednesday, when Henry Kapono hosts Brother Noland in the latest installment of Kapono’s Artist 2 Artist Concert Series.
Kapono has achieved a kind of emeritus position within the music community. His achievements cover a broad range of local music, including refreshing pop stylings with Cecilio Rodriguez back in the 1970s and ’80s, rock versions of Hawaiian standards on his 2006 Na Hoku Hoku Hanohano Award-winning album “The Wild Hawaiian,” and his most recent album of romantic originals, “Welcome 2MY Paradise.”
“Brother Noland” Conjugacion holds his own important place in Hawaiian music. His tune “Coconut Girl” is considered one of the first “Jawaiian” songs, blending Hawaiian style (though he has said it started out with a blues riff) and Jamaican reggae. Brother Noland is also a noted cultural practitioner, authoring the book “The Hawaiian Survival Handbook,” which describes traditional activities. He leads groups on wilderness trips where they can put these practices into action.
The event begins with a talk-story session about Kapono’s and Noland’s lives and music, followed by a jam session. Kapono and Brother Noland have been playing together frequently over the last few years as part of the Roughriders, a trio that includes John Cruz. They should be in sync.
KAPONO’S ARTIST 2 ARTIST CONCERT SERIES
>> Where: Blue Note Hawaii
>> When: 7 p.m. Wednesday (one show only)
>> Cost: $25-$45
>> Info: bluenotehawaii.com or 777-4890
MARCH 14
>> Pianist Daniel Hsu brings virtuoso romanticism to UH
Piano prodigy Daniel Hsu brings his poetic touch to Honolulu next week, performing a colorful program: a lively prelude and fugue by Bach; Rachmaninov’s intense “Étude-tableau in E-flat Minor, op. 39, No. 5;” Tchaikovsky’s “Dumka,” conjuring up images of the rustic Russian countryside; and Chopin’s “Sonata No. 2,” most famously described by Schumann as “four of his most reckless children.”
That’s only the first half. After intermission, Hsu tackles Lizst’s “Transcendental Etude No. 8,” suitably subtitled “Wild Hunt,” before closing with Mussorgsky’s sublime “Pictures of an Exhibition.”
The San Francisco Bay Area native was just 10 when he began studies at the Curtis Institute of Music. At age 21, Hsu took the bronze medal in the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, winning a special award for interpretation of a new work and for chamber music performance. His performances have been praised for their warmth, sensitivity and dynamic phrasing.
DANIEL HSU
>> Where: Orvis Auditorium
>> When: 7:30 p.m.
>> Cost: $10-$25
>> Info: outreach.hawaii.edu/community or 956-8246
>> Note: Hsu will also conduct a master class at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Room 36 at the UH-Manoa Music Department; the free event is open to the public, but RSVP is requested at hmta.org
