Van Cliburn Medalists to Solo in Summer Series

All three medalists in the 1997 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition will be soloists in the Pacific Symphony’s 11th summer season at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, the orchestra announced Tuesday.

Bronze-medal winner Aviram Reichert, will play Mozart’s Piano concerto No. 23 on July 25. Silver-medal winner Yakov Kasman will play Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto on Aug. 8. And gold medal-winner Jon Nakamatsu will play Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto on Sept. 12. The Pacific’s principal cellist, Timothy Landauer, will also be the soloist in Tchaikovsky’s “Variations on a Rococo Theme” on the Sept. 12 program.

The orchestra has cut back from six concerts last year to its traditional five because subscribers balked at the lengthier season, according to an orchestra spokesperson.

All concerts will begin at 8 p.m. Subscriptions go on sale in March at prices ranging from $110 to $245. Tickets to individual concerts will be $13 to $54 and go on sale June 1.

The ’98 Season:

* July 4: Richard Kaufman, conductor; Karl Warkentien, tap dancer; Cortes Alexander Trio, vocalists: music by John Williams, Lee Holdridge, Morton Gould, John Denver, Ward-Dragon, Sousa. Fireworks.

* July 25: Lucinda Carver, conductor; Aviram Reichert, piano: Mozart’s Symphony No. 16 and Piano Concerto No. 23; Suite No. 2 from Falla’s “The Three-Cornered Hat”; Suite No. 2 from Bizet’s “L’Arlesienne.”

* Aug. 8: Carl St.Clair, conductor; Yakov Kasman, piano: “Procession of the Nobles” from Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Mlada”; Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (“Emperor”); Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” March No. 1; Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks.”

* Aug. 29: St.Clair, conductor; Jon Nakamatsu, piano: Selections from Dvorak’s “Slavonic Dances,” Opuses 46 and 72; “Symphonic Dances” from Bernstein’s “West Side Story”; Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2.

* Sept. 12: Jack Everly, conductor; Timothy Landauer, cello: Tchaikovsky program, including the “Variations on a Rococo Theme” for cello and orchestra; Symphony No. 4; “1812” Overture. Cannons and fireworks.

All concerts will be at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive. Information: (714) 755-5799.