Few instruments can claim to be ancient and modern, but the organ can. Over the course of 2,000 years, it has continuously evolved, incorporating new technologies, which today means state-of-the-art computers, wave physics, and digital sampling.

In every era, the organ has been a wonder to behold, and the instrument debuted at Honolulu Symphony's concert on Friday is a prime example.

The program insert described it as "one of the most technologically advanced organs in the world," fully computerized, with its sound digitized and projected through "an array of 36 speakers." Even more impressive were the instrument's statistics, its range, ranks, stops, and pipes making it one of the largest organs in the United States — and it's portable.

Named the Commercial Data Systems concert organ, it was built specifically for the Honolulu Symphony and Blaisdell Concert Hall and designed by Mark Wong, President of CDS and long-time associate of the symphony, first as a performer then later as a supporter.

The debut of this marvel featured the esteemed Anthony Newman, organist, harpsichordist, fortepianist, author, composer, conductor, etc., performing Joseph Jongen's "Symphonie Concertante," Op.81, an organ concerto famed for its challenges.

In organ concertos, virtuosity tends to slip past unnoticed: the organist's hands and feet may be flying and their eyes looking 10 places at once, but they sit ramrod straight, their deceptively still backs to the audience, and about half of everything they play gets attributed to the orchestra.

There is no visual flash to organists: it's all in the sound.

On stage, Newman seems unassuming, and if you close your eyes and listen, it does not seem possible for such overpowering music to be produced by such a mild-mannered soul. But make no mistake: Newman's performance on Friday was a tour de force.

Guest conductor Toshiyuki Shimada introduced the closing work, Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, the "Eroica," with a mini-lecture on the various ways Beethoven used one of the melodies.

Shimada has conducted Symphony No.3 "perhaps 50 times," and he affirmed, "I really believe in my interpretation of this piece." During the week's rehearsals, he worked on getting the orchestra's sound to match what he hears in his head.

What Shimada heard did not seem to match what the orchestra heard, and Friday's performance was marked by subtle tugs-of-war, as the musicians slipped into their expectations and Shimada pulled them back to his interpretation.

Shimada's reading presented an ensemble work, in which parts, even solos, were carefully integrated into the general fabric, and with emphases on clarity and creating the moment. What remained unconvincing, however, was his sense of structure: underlying coherence and large-scale pacing.

Beethoven's Third was the largest, weightiest symphony of its time, but because of its concise structure, it should never feel long. Beethoven also interconnected parts, revealing an unfaltering logic in even the most bizarre twists.

On Friday, Beethoven's Third was long, its momentum more external than internal, its twists acquiring an oddly mechanical randomness, and its shattering outbursts becoming punctuation.

The "Funeral March" of the second movement, for example, endures as one of the most painful movements ever composed: it captures the devastating, faltering anguish of loss, tempered now and again by sweet memories. Shimada minimized the dotted rhythms and softened its angularities, smoothing out the anguish along with the dots and anchoring "reality" in the sweet memories.

In short, Shimada's reading was nice, but it was not stirring.

Shimada opened the program with Berlioz's "Roman Carnival Overture," a youthful work of operatic origins, filled with drama, melody, and rousing sentiment. In this, Shimada delivered both clarity and coherence, balanced ensemble highlighted by outstanding solos. Most memorable were Jason Sudduth's extended lyric solo on English horn and the brass section's final, ringing chord.

The performance was dedicated to the memory of Dale Bechtel, a long-time member of the Symphony and of the Honolulu musical community.