Musician An Thuyen's daughter: My father spent his whole life yearning for his homeland.

(Baonghean.vn) - In just a few days, the concerts commemorating the 1st anniversary of the death of the late musician An Thuyen will be held at the Military Region 4 Guest House (Nghe An) and Bai Dinh Pagoda (Ninh Binh). On this occasion, we had a conversation with singer Bong Mai, the musician's daughter - who also came up with the idea and produced these concerts.

Late musician An Thuyen.

When organizing 2 music nights in Vinh City (Nghe An Province) and Bai Dinh Pagoda, which are not attractive locations for ticket sales, did the program's organizers feel it was too adventurous and "reckless"?

This is not a business problem, about profit and loss, so it is worth the risk, especially with a program that has emotional and spiritual meaning like this, it is better to make a special program than other programs. If we consider this a commercial program, we will be concerned about when and where to do it to attract the best customers.

On the other hand, when organizing this program, we want to have a different perspective on the places where music venues can be organized. For example, not every music program can be brought to places like Bai Dinh Pagoda. This is a special program in terms of emotions and gratitude, and needs to be held in places with special meaning.

Without much sponsorship, the family has to take care of everything from A to Z. Why not combine two concerts into one, ma'am?

Actually, for the concert in Vinh, we didn’t have much pressure to sell tickets. Partly because there were 3 sponsors - who had a good relationship with my father before. Through the program, they also wanted to have a gift for their homeland. Not to mention, we received support from the provincial leaders, from the Department of Culture - Sports & Tourism of Nghe An province.

As for the music night at Bai Dinh Pagoda, although the artists did not receive any remuneration, and the sound system was supported by Thang Long Music and Dance Theater, the cost of organizing the music night there was up to 1.5 billion VND. That was really a big pressure for the organizers in selling tickets.

But there are things that you spend money on that you can’t be sure to do. To be able to invite such a large number of artists to participate is already a difficult task. If they can put their feelings into it, then those of us in the Organizing Committee have no reason to worry about profit or loss.

Singer Bong Mai - daughter of late musician An Thuyen.

So when did the idea for this double night start?

This idea started with the 100-day program last year, which coincided with the first anniversary of my father's death. The 2 concerts commemorating the 100th day of his death last year were already a risk.

That daring received everyone's support, so we were able to do it well. These two music nights were carried out based on the wishes of his relatives, which was to do something special and to have memories that had a deeper meaning than normal music shows. Therefore, everyone tried their best to organize the best music night possible.

The music night “Neo dau bern que” was held in Vinh as a way for the family to fulfill the late musician’s last wish before he passed away. As his daughter, can you share specifically what that wish was?

Actually, my father did not make any wishes before he passed away. His departure was too sudden, without any preparation. His wishes were not the wishes of a person before leaving and leaving instructions, but it was a desire, a longing of a son far from his homeland, always thinking about it. If you listen to many of his songs, I believe that everyone will understand that.

I myself was born in Nghe An, there is no distance from my hometown. As someone who is already attached, my father's music stories are like a catalyst for me to be able to do this program better.

The last song he wrote was “When will I return to my hometown pond?” Can you tell us a little about the origin of this special song?

Before that, my father was a very regular writer but he usually sat writing in his office. When he passed away, people found the manuscript of this song on his desk and realized that it was written on the last night before he passed away. That coincidence is quite special. In this memorial program, male singer Tan Minh will be the one to perform the last song in his composing career.

I wonder how singer Bong Mai would feel when witnessing a concert in memory of her father taking place right in her homeland?

The concert in Vinh took place in a hall with only 600 seats. However, compared to the concert at Bai Dinh Pagoda, this concert was a huge pressure. Because this was not a place for ordinary audiences but all relatives, friends, people who understood the music of my father, musician An Thuyen.

Dou Dung(perform)