Music

Big band: The event held in Hà Nội is expected to contribute to the deeper international friendship between Germany and Việt Nam. — Photo reissner-band.deViet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Germany’s Reißner Big-Band will play Bavarian folk music on the pedestrian street in Hà Nội on August 11. The musicians of Reißner will carry with them their instruments, including tuba, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, as well as a joyous mood. With a variety of traditional instruments and vast repertoire of songs, Bavarian folk music represents a unique tradition within the cultural landscape of Germany. Bavarian culture is a deeply rooted tradition of music, costumes and way of life. Bavarian folk music is made famous worldwide through folk festivals such as the Oktoberfest in Munich, and played at weddings in Öland and in the city. The event held in Hà Nội is expected to contribute to the deeper international … [Read more...] about Traditional German folk music to be played on Hà Nội’s pedestrian street

US singer Paul Simon, the former half of the duo Simon and Garfunkel, performs at a November 2016 concert in the Spanish Basque city of Barakaldo. — AFP PhotoViet Nam News NEW YORK — Folk rock legend Paul Simon on Thursday announced an album with fresh takes on previously released songs as he prepares to retire from touring. The former half of Simon and Garfunkel, who pioneered world music fusion in the 1980s, previously said that he will stop touring after a September 22 concert at Forest Hills Stadium in the New York borough of Queens, where he grew up. Preparing for his live finale, Simon said he will on September 7 release a 14th solo studio album, In the Blue Light, in which collaborators joining him to reinterpret his songs. "It’s an unusual occurrence for an artist to have the opportunity to revisit earlier works and rethink them; to modify, even completely change parts of the originals," Simon, 76, writes in the liner notes, according to a statement … [Read more...] about Paul Simon to mark touring retirement with new album

Singer Justin Bieber (second right), pictured in 2016, is better known for his off-stage antics. — AFP PhotoViet Nam News NEW YORK — Trouble-prone pop star Justin Bieber will be a married man after popping the question to model Hailey Baldwin whom he has dated for one month, reports said on Sunday. The 24-year-old Canadian heartthrob, who has become better known for his off-stage antics, proposed to the 21-year-old over dinner Saturday night at a restaurant in The Bahamas, the celebrity news site TMZ said. The site quoted witnesses at the restaurant, who said that Bieber’s security team asked them all to put their phones away for the proposal. A representative for Bieber did not comment but relatives of the couple suggested that the news was true. "Proud is an understatement! Excited for the next chapter!" the singer’s father Jeremy Bieber wrote on Instagram with a picture of his son. His mother, Pattie Mallette, simply tweeted: "Love Love Love Love Love … [Read more...] about Justin Bieber engaged to model Baldwin: reports

Viet Nam News QUEBEC CITY — With her distinctly breathy, coquettish voice, Jane Birkin 50 years ago emerged as the muse to her late partner Serge Gainsbourg. Birkin has revived the legendary French songwriter’s music by singing accompanied by a full orchestra – a format that would have pleased Gainsbourg, who frequently brought in classical motifs. Birkin, who took her Gainsbourg Symphonique Saturday night to Quebec City’s giant summer festival, the Festival d’ete de Quebec, explained some of the memories behind the songs: Je t’aime... moi non plus When Birkin first met Gainsbourg in 1968, the songwriter was heartbroken from a failed romance with film icon Brigitte Bardot. Birkin, a fledging actress from England, had just arrived in France after divorcing composer John Barry. Je t’aime... moi non plus – which means, awkwardly, "I love you... neither do I" – became infamous for its raciness including recorded groans of erotic … [Read more...] about Jane Birkin recalls memories as she brings back Gainsbourg

The first concert held Tuesday night featured well-known symphonies such as Canon (Johann Pachelbel), Divertimento (Mozart), Four Seasons: Spring (Vivaldi), and Diễm Xưa (Old Flame) by the renowned Vietnamese composer Trịnh Công Sơn. — Photo nhandan.com.vnViet Nam News ĐÀ NẴNG — Residents in the central city of Đà Nẵng are being treated to a series of concerts by a quartet from the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. The concerts are organised to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Japan. The quartet includes violinists Masakazu Saito, Shunichiro Saito, and Kumiko Nakagawa, and cellist Tetsuya Osawa. The first concert held Tuesday night at the Nguyễn Hiến Dĩnh Theatre in Đà Nẵng City featured well-known symphonies such as Canon (Johann Pachelbel), Divertimento (Mozart), Four Seasons: Spring (Vivaldi), … [Read more...] about Free concerts delight locals in Đà Nẵng

Viet Nam News NEW YORK — Indie rockers The National and Bon Iver on Wednesday unveiled the latest entrant into the streaming universe – a site for musicians to post their outtakes hassle-free. Dubbed People, the platform is designed not as a rival to major streaming sites such as Spotify but rather as a free site of benefit to musicians and, ideally, to fans. People, available in test form at https://beta.p-e-o-p-l-e.com/, will let artists upload tracks that did not make the cut for albums, early versions of songs that did see the light of day, or pretty much anything else the musicians think the world may want to hear. Justin Vernon, the central member of Wisconsin-based experimental rockers Bon Iver, posted songs including Digi Heart, a cloud of electronic effects with echoes of his band’s more recent output. Vernon wrote on People that he recorded the song in 2011 with Ivan Howard, the singer of the North Carolina band The Rosebuds in which Vernon once played … [Read more...] about Indie rockers start streaming site for outtakes

Viet Nam News NEW YORK — Two of the most sought-after producers in pop music, Mark Ronson and Diplo, have walked different paths, with Ronson reviving retro funk and Diplo reaching eagerly across the globe. The two have fused their brands of dance music to create a new duo, Silk City, which made its debut Saturday to the sweaty masses at New York’s Governors Ball. In its eighth year, Governors Ball – which brings some 150,000 people over three days to tiny Randall’s Island, where the New York boroughs of Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx come together – remains the longest-running of a proliferating number of summer music festivals in the metropolis. This year’s festival took on daily themes, with Friday rekindling the flame of early 2000s indie rock and Saturday drawing a significantly younger crowd with a heavy emphasis on hip-hop. Silk City – so named after a Philadelphia diner where a young Diplo built his name as a DJ – kicked off … [Read more...] about Top DJs fuse styles at New York’s Governors Ball

Audio-visual performance 4DOORS to take place in Hanoi tomorrow Familiar and elegant Heritage Space, where audio-visual performance 4DOORS will be presented on Friday - PHOTO: COURTESY OF HERITAGE SPACE Heritage Space and DomDom will tomorrow present “4DOORS”, the second concert of the experimental musical performance series “Beyond Sound 2018”. This time will be an audio-visual performance, a product of collaboration between Autonomicon - an international group represented by Denis Trusov, and new age artists from DomDom. The project tells about the gloomy borderline states of the human psyche, desperate situations, unbearable and existential loneliness inherent in every human being. The project’s toolkit includes real time sound engineering, music by Autonomicon and Hanoi musicians, and a specific postmodern game with texts in both English and Vietnamese that will be transformed during the show. They are the lost and found keys to the locked … [Read more...] about Audio-visual performance 4DOORS to take place in Hanoi tomorrow

French flutist and pianist to perform in Vietnam French flutist Nicolas Duchamp will perform in HCMC tomorrow to mark the 100th death anniversary of great composer Debussy - PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ORGANIZER Internationally acclaimed flutist Nicolas Duchamp and pianist Hélène Jeanney will perform at HCMC’s International Cultural Exchange with France (IDECAF) tomorrow to mark the 100th death anniversary of French composer Debussy. Duchamp will open the concert with Debussy’s Syrinx, a piece of music for solo flute composed in 1913, and Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) written from 1892 to 1894, which was inspired by a poem of the same title by French poet Stéphane Mallarmé. Jeanney will continue with a solo piano piece L’Isle joyeuse (The Joyful Island) composed by Debussy in 1904. The duo will complete the night with works by three French composers, including Francis … [Read more...] about French flutist and pianist to perform in Vietnam

Singing festival wraps up in Ha Giang An artist sings and plays a Tinh gourd lute at the festival - PHOTO: VNA The sixth national festival of the art of Then singing and Tinh gourd lute of the Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic groups concluded in the northernmost province of Ha Giang early this week, news website Vietnamplus reports. Speaking at the closing ceremony, Nguyen Thi Hai Nhung, head of the Department of Traditional Culture under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the festival has successfully showcased the solidarity and patriotism of Vietnamese ethnic groups. It was also a chance to introduce the cultural heritage of ethnic groups to international friends. She affirmed that during the event, Vietnam’s heritage, particularly Then singing and Tinh gourd lute, left strong impressions on visitors. The festival was attended by more than 500 artists from 14 provinces nationwide, with nearly 60 original performances. These performances deeply reflected … [Read more...] about Singing festival wraps up in Ha Giang