Music

A night of Mozart and TchaikovskyBradley Winterton Korean pianist Cho Eun Young will perform at a concert featuring Mozart’s piano concertos in HCMC on April 19 - PHOTO: BRADLEY WINTERTON Mozart’s piano concertos represent a pinnacle. Quite what they are a pinnacle of is another matter, because nothing like them had ever been produced before. But a pinnacle they are nonetheless. The piano was at the time a relatively new instrument. Its ability to create notes soft or loud was described in its name, the ‘pianoforte’ – soft (‘piano’) or loud (‘forte’). This was an advance on the older harpsichord, where the strings were plucked with a kind of claw rather than hammered with a padded hammer, as in the new piano. Mozart essentially wrote his piano concertos to play himself, to exhibit his technical virtuosity in a public concert, as well as to express his softer feelings in, for example, the slow movements. The concertos were … [Read more...] about A night of Mozart and Tchaikovsky

German baritone to perform classical music in HCMCVu Yen German baritone Benjamin Appl will perform at “From Europe with love” concert in HCMC this Saturday - PHOTO: VU YEN World-renowned German baritone Benjamin Appl and Vietnamese female pianist Bich Tra will perform at the “From Europe with love” concert in HCMC this weekend. This is the very first project of the Soul Live Project Series - Classical Music initiated by Amberstone Media, marking the first step of a long journey to shorten the distance between the audience and the arts. The concert will take place at the Soul Live Project Complex, 216 Pasteur, District 3 from 7 p.m. on April 21, 2018. It will feature some of the greatest works by Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, Benjamin Britten, and Francis Poulenc, and also some lesser known gems, even to Europeans, will be introduced in Vietnam for the first time. With the “poetry in songs from the cities of … [Read more...] about German baritone to perform classical music in HCMC

Music performance in memory of late Trinh Cong SonMinh Phong Singer Hong Nhung performs the famous song “Em Con Nho Hay Em Da Quen” by late musician Trinh Cong Son during a music concert to commemorate him on Nguyen Van Binh book street - PHOTO: HOANG PHONG Local youths and fans of Trinh’s music on Sunday night descended on Nguyen Van Binh book street in the downtown area to join a music concert in commemoration of the late musician Trinh Cong Son on the occasion of his 17th death anniversary. His everlasting songs including Biet Dau Coi Nguon (Where the origin is), Mot coi di ve (A place for leaving and returning) and Em Con Nho Hay Em Da Quen (You still remember or forget) were sung during the concert by famous singers like Hong Nhung, Lan Nha, Tran Manh Tuan and the music band “Music One”. Vietnamese artists join hands with millions of music fans across the country to organize music concerts from North to South on the occasion of the death … [Read more...] about Music performance in memory of late Trinh Cong Son

Cinderella again graces the Saigon stageBradley Winterton A scene in the “Cinderella” ballet - PHOTO: HBSO I’ve said it before and I’m more than happy to say it again – the HBSO’s full-length ballet Cinderella is one of the finest things you’ll see anywhere in the world. It’s being revived in the Saigon Opera House on April 7 and 8, beginning at 8 p.m. Sergei Prokofiev completed the music in 1945, and his version immediately took the lead over earlier versions. “I tried to paint the different characters,” he said. “Cinderella gentle and dreamy, the father fearful, the step-mother quick-tempered, the sisters selfish, the young prince full of passion, in such a way that the spectators cannot but share their joy and their sorrow.” The Norwegian choreographer Johanne Jakhelln Constant created Saigon’s version in 2013 as part of the Norway-Vietnam cooperation program known as ‘Transposition’, … [Read more...] about Cinderella again graces the Saigon stage

Concert set for this weekend to remember Trinh Cong SonHoang Phong A music concert is scheduled to take place at the Students’ Cultural House in Hanoi City on March 31 and April 1 in memory of the late musician Trinh Cong Son, one of the modern legends of Vietnamese music, on the occasion of his 17th death anniversary. Those who are fans of Trinh’s music will be able to hear again famous songs of Trinh Cong Son including Loi me ru (Mother’s Lullaby), Chieu mot minh qua pho (strolling downtown alone in the afternoon), Diem xua (Diem of the Past,) and Hoa vang may do (Bright Yellow Flowers). The concert will be performed by singers Nguyet Ca, Hoang Lan and Bui Minh Quan, the top three winners of Vietnam Idol 2015. The triplet embraced the passion and love for Trinh’s music since a younger age and they expect to express their feelings and pay homage to the late musician through the night concert. Last year, a scholarship program, named after Trinh Cong Son who … [Read more...] about Concert set for this weekend to remember Trinh Cong Son

Mozart and the symphonyBradley Winterton The symphony is not at the forefront of Mozart’s productions, as it is of Beethoven’s. Many people prefer his operas, his piano concertos, his masses and his chamber music, quartets and quintets especially. Nonetheless, his symphonies are a major constituent of his output, unequal though they may be. He wrote 41 symphonies, but many of them were juvenile productions. Today numbers 29 to 41 are generally considered the important, mature ones. The Ho Chi Minh City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra (HBSO) will be performing Symphony Number 41 in the Saigon Opera House on Thursday, March 29, beginning at 8 p.m. Mozart’s final three symphonies are considered the finest of them all. They are in E flat, G minor and C major, and all were completed in the summer of 1788. Brahms wrote as follows: “The last three symphonies of Mozart are much more important [than Beethoven’s First Symphony]. Some people are beginning to feel … [Read more...] about Mozart and the symphony

Spotify expands to VietnamChi Thinh Headphones are seen in front of a logo of online music streaming service Spotify in this February 18, 2014 - PHOTO: REUTERS After hearsay and guesswork, on March 13, the worldwide well-known music streaming service Spotify.com has officially entered Vietnam’s market. The launch took place in HCMC in the presence of famous Vietnamese artists such as My Tam, Dam Vinh Hung and Le Quyen. Similar to other markets, Spotify offers Vietnamese music lovers both free and premium versions, the latter with a monthly charge of VND59,000 or VND708,000 per year with 30 days of free trial. Prior to the launch, the business had announced their recruitment for freelance technicians and editors to perfect the apps on iOS and Android. Spotify earned its reputation through the friendly layouts, smart system to unearth users’ habits to suggest songs, create playlists as well as sharing others’ based on subscribers’ preference, gender … [Read more...] about Spotify expands to Vietnam

International artists to show up at Vietnam-Italy concert this FridayHoang Phong Guitar duo Robert Guzik and Adam Woch from Poland will perform at the concert marking the 45th anniversary of Italy-Vietnam diplomatic relations - PHOTO: VNA The Italian Embassy in Hanoi is joining forces with the IBLA Foundation to organize a music concert on March 16 at the Hanoi Youth Theater to mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Italy and Vietnam. Young musicians who have been awarded with the prestigious IBLA Grand Prize from different countries around the globe will converge in the concert to perform music pieces from Italian and European classical composers, such as Rossini, Cimarosa, Schubert, Brahms, and Liszt among others. The concert is expected to have the presence of several world-renowned artists such as guitar duo Robert Guzik and Adam Woch from Poland, pianist Tamara Licheli from Georgia, accordionist Ghenadie Rotari and pianist Valentina … [Read more...] about International artists to show up at Vietnam-Italy concert this Friday

Star violinist returns to SaigonBradley Winterton Violinist Bui Cong Duy - PHOTO: TL Sunday, March 18, sees an important concert from the HCMC Ballet and Symphony Orchestra (HBSO). It consists of two major 19th century concertos for string instruments, the first for violin by Max Bruch, the second for cello by Camille Saint-Saens. But what will probably catch the eye of Saigon’s concert-goers is that the first soloist will be Vietnam’s acclaimed violinist Bui Cong Duy. Though nowadays a resident in Hanoi, Bui Cong Duy is a frequent visitor to the Saigon Opera House, where this concert will take place, beginning at 8pm. He was here, for example, in August 2016 for a series of Vietnam Connection events. Then he played, among other things, the solo violin part in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No:4 and one of the two solo violins in the same composer’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin, arranged for two violins. An article on these events appeared in The Saigon … [Read more...] about Star violinist returns to Saigon

More on the HBSO program for 2018Bradley Winterton The Ho Chi Minh City Ballet and Symphony Orchestra (HBSO) has certainly come up with a rich banquet of concerts, ballets and opera performances for the delectation of its Saigon audiences in the rest of 2018. The highlight may be a brand new opera production of Weber’s Der Freischutz (‘The Marksman’) on July 28 and 29. The German team of director David Hermann and conductor Askan Geisler will be in charge, as they were for Mozart’s Die Zauberflote (‘The Magic Flute). The ever-popular Die Zauberflote is itself scheduled for another revival, this time on June 9 and 10, conducted by Tran Nhat Minh. Even more welcome, if that were possible, is a revival of Johanne Jakhelln Constant’s extraordinarily beautiful production of Prokofiev’s ballet Cinderella on April 7 and 8. If there were a delicious Easter present, this is most certainly it. Among the other highlights of a long program stretching … [Read more...] about More on the HBSO program for 2018