CHINESE ORCHESTRA ONE OF 18 CENTER BOOKINGS

The Central Philharmonic of China, the first Western-style orchestra from mainland China to tour the United States, will be among 18 offerings by the Orange County Philharmonic Society in its 1987-88 season, the society announced Tuesday.

Society officials say they hope the Chinese orchestra and other ensembles will offset the reduced number of Orange County appearances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic. They also say the diversity of the season, the society’s second at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and 34th overall, will compensate for the lack of a single orchestra equaling the reputation of some of the 1986-87 bookings, such as the Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony.

“I tried very hard for either the Vienna Philharmonic or the Orchestra de Paris as a centerpiece for the season, but I had some bad luck,” said Erich Vollmer, the society’s general manager. “The Vienna (Philharmonic) is touring (in 1987-88), but the tour was set before I started talking to them. We had a date for the Orchestre de Paris, but that fell through. But I still say this is the most varied season we have ever had.”

Vollmer was able to include the L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Rotterdam Philharmonic. The Los Angeles Philharmonic will make four appearances, led at least twice by Andre Previn and once by East German conductor Kurt Sanderling. Solo artists for the various ensembles or in recital will include cellist Yo-Yo Ma, flutist James Galway and soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa.

Details about repertory remain uncertain, Vollmer said. One exception is Stravinsky’s “Ebony Concerto for Clarinet and Swing Band,” with soloist Richard Stoltzman and the Thundering Herd big band of Woody Herman, for whom the 1945 piece was written.

Prices for the three series of subscription programs have not been set.

The four appearances by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 1987-88 compares to eight in 1985-86 and six in 1986-87. Two of the six in the current season were sponsored by the Center as part of its opening week in September.

Vollmer said he would have booked the Philharmonic six times but was led to believe it is less interested in playing outside of Los Angeles than in previous years.

Philharmonic spokeswoman Norma Flynn said there is no general change in attitude toward touring. “It’s just that the Center is booking very far in advance, and they didn’t have enough dates that were good for us,” she said.

The Chinese orchestra is clearly the society’s most novel booking. Western exposure of the ensemble has been limited to a Hong Kong concert and a broadcast to Europe, according to Chinese Embassy officials in Washington, who described the Peking-based orchestra as the more prominent of the country’s two symphonic organizations. They said the group has existed since before the Cultural Revolution, 10 years of national turmoil that ended in 1976. During that time, the group was mostly inactive. It will perform here with a Chinese conductor, Zuohuang Chen, and two unannounced Chinese soloists.

The Orange County society hardly has exclusivity as the group’s Southern California presenter. The 100-member orchestra will also perform in November in Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, Mira Costa College gymnasium in Oceanside and Bridges Auditorium at Claremont College.

Conductor Simon Rattle will be taking his City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on its first U.S. tour. Rattle, 32, regularly has been a guest conductor for the Los Angeles Philharmonic in the last few years, but the English ensemble has been his main commitment since 1977.

The Rotterdam Philharmonic, returning to the area for the first time in eight years, will be conducted by James Conlon. And L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Switzerland’s leading orchestra, will be making its first visit to Southern California.

Soviet emigre violinist Viktoria Mullova will perform with the Philharmonic, conducted by Andre Previn, while another Soviet emigre, pianist Bella Davidovich, will appear with the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Violinist Joshua Bell, 19, who made his Los Angeles Philharmonic/Hollywood Bowl debut last year, is joining French pianist Jean-Ives Thibaudet, 24, for a duo recital.

When the society’s 1986-87 season increased from 12 to 18 concerts, it was largely as a result of a public relations embarrassment. Vollmer, whose group rents the 3,000-seat Center for its programs, realized after the facility’s September, 1986, opening that he could not seat about 600 people who ordered subscriptions. To meet the demand, the society added a six-concert series that starts Thursday.

‘87-’88 CENTER CONCERTS

Series A

- Oct. 15: Rotterdam Philharmonic, James Conlon conducting; Bella Davidovich, pianist.

- Oct. 27: Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

- Nov. 7: Los Angeles Philharmonic, Andre Previn conducting; Victoria Mullova, violin.

- Jan. 27: Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwartz conducting.

- March 2: Pittsburgh Symphony, Charles Dutoit conducting.

- March 19: Los Angeles Philharmonic, Kurt Sanderling conducting.

Series B

- Oct. 17: Los Angeles Philharmonic, Andre Previn conducting.

- Nov. 11: Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Armin Jordan conducting.

- Feb. 8: Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Jerzy Maksymiuk conducting; Christopher Parkening, guitar.

- March 14: Baltimore Symphony, David Zinman conducting; Yo-Yo Ma, cello.

- March 29: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Simon Rattle conducting.

- May 27: Los Angeles Philharmonic, conductor and soloist to be announced.

Series C

- Oct. 18: Flutist James Galway with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, with fellow flutist Ransom Wilson conducting and playing.

- Oct. 31: Soprano Kiri Te Kanawa as recitalist; accompanist unannounced.

- Nov. 9: Central Philharmonic of China, Zuohuang Chen conducting; soloists to be announced.

- Jan. 18: Joshua Bell, violin; Jean-Ives Thibaudet, piano.

- Feb. 15: Woody Herman and the Thundering Herd; Richard Stoltzman, clarinet.

- April 19: Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, Karl Muenchinger conducting.