Societies’ New Season Will Feature Van Cliburn Winner

IRVINE — Six groups will play here next season under the combined auspices of the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Laguna Chamber Music Society. Four of them will be making their first appearances for the societies, and one--the Brentano String Quartet--will feature the winner of the 1997 Van Cliburn Competition, which takes place in June.

The Brentano quartet will play Feb. 24. The Tchaikovsky Piano Trio (Nov. 24), the Paris Piano Trio (Jan. 8) and the Arditti String Quartet (March 24) will also be making their series debuts.

The popular Cuarteto Latinoamericano will launch the seventh annual series with a return engagement Oct. 15. The Guarneri String Quartet will return Oct. 27.

All six concerts will take place at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Road, and will start at 8 p.m. Season tickets are available now for $80 to $140. Tickets to individual concerts will be available later at prices to be announced. Information: (714) 553-2422.

The 1997-98 season:

* Oct. 15: Cuarteto Latinoamericano: Reza Vali’s Folk Songs No. 2, Miguel del Aguila’s Presto II, Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Quartet No. 12, Arturo Marquez’s Homenanje a Gismonte, Joaquin Turina’s “La oracion del torero” and Alberto Ginastera’s Quartet No. 1.

* Oct. 27: the Guarneri String Quartet: Mozart’s Quartets Nos. 6 and 7, Verdi’s Quartet in E minor and Brahms’ Quartet in C minor, Opus 51, No. 1.

* Nov. 24: the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio: Rachmaninoff’s “Elegiaque” Trio No. 1, Smetana’s Trio in G minor and Schubert’s Trio No. 2.

* Jan. 8: the Paris Piano Trio: Saint-Saens’ Trio No. 1, Ravel’s Trio in A minor and Chausson’s Trio in G minor.

* Feb. 24: the Brentano String Quartet: program to be announced.

* March 24: the Arditti String Quartet: Beethoven’s “Grosse Fuge,” Opus 133; Elliot Carter’s Quartet No. 5; Gyorgy Ligeti’s Quartet No. 2; and Akira Nishimura’s Quartet No. 2 (“Pulses of Light”).

Subscribers will also be offered tickets, for an additional $30, to hear violinist Sarah Chang on Nov. 6 at the 427-seat Laguna Beach Artists’ Theatre. Chang’s program will include Mozart’s Sonata in C, K. 296; Strauss’ Sonata in E-flat, Opus 18; Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 2; Chopin’s Nocturne”; and Saraste’s “Carmen” Fantasy.