In the Australian-Chinese maestro Dane Lam, the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra has the sort of charismatic, internationally connected music director every symphony board hopes to wrangle: a photogenic face for the institution with a personality that connects with the community as deeply as with the music. For his second season, Lam has set the bar high with masterpieces calculated to challenge as well as exalt his players and audience alike. From the beatific vision of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s swooningly dramatic Pathétique in late 2024, Lam now proceeds to one of the supreme tests in the canon: a compete cycle of the Beethoven symphonies—all nine of them. For details, consult the orchestra’s Web site. —Matthew Gurewitsch