Classical music has never been a world unto itself, even during the 20th century, when composers deliberately set themselves and their music apart. Throughout music history, even the most classical of classical composers commented on, reacted to, and incorporated other musics in their own.

It should come as no surprise, then, to hear influences from popular commercial musics in contemporary classical pieces. Unfortunately, the rift between "classical" and "popular" remains deep, and mixing the two still raises eyebrows.

Increasingly, young composers such as Kenji Bunch are attempting to bridge that rift.

On Friday, Bunch's "Hardware Concerto," featuring the Ahn Trio with the Honolulu Symphony, received an enthusiastic reception, most particularly by younger members of the audience.

Bunch explained that he was following in the tradition of Haydn and Mozart and working toward "maintaining (orchestral music) as a living, continuing tradition ... "

In doing so, he incorporated newer styles — rock, Bollywood, funk, etc. — into a traditional three-movement concerto format. And he wielded traditional media — a piano trio and an orchestra — in new ways, i.e., like a rock band backed by a studio orchestra, a sound new yet wholly familiar to several generations.

"Hardware Concerto" rocked: It laid down strong rhythms and bass lines, used repeated patterns as melodic foundations, and was both catchy and accessible. The result was a paradox — a bridge that brought classical music closer to commercial music without commercial music seeming to move any closer to classical, which raises myriad questions about their futures ... or perhaps future.

Ex-classmates and close friends of Bunch's, the Ahn Trio, twins Maria (cello) and Lucia (piano) with younger sister Angella (violin), rocked as well, moving easily between rhythmic and lyrical, the dancelike and multimetric. Angella revealed a lovely singing tone in the second movement; Maria "got down-n-dirty" on rhythmic passages; and Lucia alternated light technique with percussive chords. Solo passages allowed their skills to shine through, but for much of the piece, their parts were embedded, helping create the fabric rather than standing out.

That they enjoyed playing Bunch's music was evident. "Kenji is just a big part of who we are," Angella said. "He was really the first composer to write stuff for us. He helped us develop confidence, and to enjoy playing contemporary music. We never do a concert without doing one of Kenji's pieces."

Angella's recommendation was: "Let go of all your preconceptions of classical music — you're going to want to get up and dance!"

Samuel Wong conducted with attention to balance and meaning throughout, but was more at ease with the concert's opening "King Lear Overture" by Berlioz and with Symphony No. 6 by Dvorak, after the break.

As audiences have come to expect, under Wong's leadership, the orchestra sounded very good, more relaxed and more secure than they have in recent weeks under guest conductors.

Their finest playing, however, came in a rare treat — one of Dvorak's "Slavonic Dances" as an orchestral encore. The performance evinced why encores are so treasured on both sides of the podium: beloved, polished, personal — idiosyncratic, even — they are chosen and played from the heart, for the sheer pleasure of it. Just the way music should be played.

'JOURNEY THROUGH IMAGINATION'

The Ahn Trio in concert with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, part of the Halekulani MasterWorks series

4 P.M. TODAY

BLAISDELL CONCERT HALL

$27-$70

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