LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i residents will have a rare opportunity this weekend to enjoy classical music the way it was played hundreds of years ago, literally. Three members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center of New York will be
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i residents will have a rare opportunity this weekend to enjoy classical music the way it was played hundreds of years ago, literally.
Three members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center of New York will be gracing Kaua‘i with two performances Saturday and Sunday, bringing with them some instruments that date back to Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.
“These folks are the real deal, these are real world-class performers,” said Scott Giarman, executive director of Kaua‘i United Way. “It’s very rare that you are able to get people of this caliber here on our little island. We are very fortunate.”
Violinist Ani Kavafian, on her 34th year performing with CMS, will be playing her 1736 Stradivarius. The Turkish-born musician’s career includes performances with the New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, according to CMS.
Cellist Lawrence Lesser, a laureate of the 1966 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia, has been a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the New Japan Philharmonic and orchestras worldwide, according to CMS. His cello was made by the Amati brothers in 1622 in Cremona, Italy.
The youngest of the three performers, violinist and violist Yura Lee, has an impressive repertoire that covers Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Bach, Vivaldi, Debussy, Schubert, Stravinsky, Paganini, Mendelssohn and many others, according to her official website.
At age 12, Lee became the youngest artist ever to receive the Debut Artist of the Year prize at the Performance Today awards given by National Public Radio. She has given recitals in London’s Wigmore Hall, Vienna’s Musikverein, Salzburg’s Mozarteum, Brussels’ Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and she has performed as a soloist in many orchestras across the U.S., according to CMS.
Giarman said this is the fourth year that the nonprofit Kaua‘i United Way brings CMS musicians to Kaua‘i. This year, they have decided to add a second performance on the island.
On Saturday, the musicians will perform at Seacliff Estate in the North Shore. This event is sold out at a maximum capacity of 80 people, at a $125 per ticket, which includes catering from Mark Oyama.
However, there is still room for Sunday’s performance in Po‘ipu, in the ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Resort and Spa. The South Shore show is $80 per person, with “heavy pupus” included, Giarman said.
All proceeds from both concerts, minus the $25 for catering, will go toward Kaua‘i United Way, which supports dozen of the island’s nonprofits.
Giarman said a concert with the same performers at New York’s Lincoln Center would cost a lot more, and would be attended by as much as 1,000 people. But here on Kaua‘i, besides the show being more affordable, the musicians will be performing in a “very intimate” setting. Last year’s concert, with different performers, attracted less than 100 people, he said.
“It’s such a small group that the performers interact with the audience — you’re right there with them,” Giarman said. “They talk about why these pieces of music are important to them; they talk about their instruments; they talk about working with each other.”
Tickets for the show at the Hyatt can be obtained by phone at 245-2043 until 3 p.m. today. After that, tickets will be sold at the door. Cash or credit cards are accepted.
The show at he Hyatt will be from 2 to 6 p.m.
