Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra performs in Russia for the first time

Within the framework of “Vietnam Cultural Days in Russia” in 2014, on the evening of September 14, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra performed its first concert at the Tchaikovsky Theater in Moscow, opening its first tour in Russia. The performance was a great success and left many beautiful impressions in the hearts of Russian and Vietnamese audiences who love this “scholarly music genre”.

Performance of Symphony No. 12 by the genius composer Shostakovich

During the concert, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra performed two Vietnamese pieces of music: "Tro Mot" by musician Do Hong Quan, a violin concerto by musician Pham Minh Thanh, and a Russian classic, Symphony No. 12 by genius musician Shostakovich, along with a symphony with a very Vietnamese melody.

The applause seemed to never end after each piece of music, whether Vietnamese or Russian. The performance level of the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the talented Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji reached a remarkable level. In the cradle of classical music in the Russian Federation, both in the capital and other modern cities... people enjoy symphonic chamber music at a fairly high level, yet they enthusiastically came and attentively enjoyed and applauded... Many Russian and Vietnamese audiences living and studying in Russia highly appreciated the performance.

“You saw how we applauded...A wonderful program, very skilled performance. Everyone played very well on all instruments,” commented Lev Leonhidovich, a veteran chemistry major who was invited to this special concert for the first time.

Galina, whose grandson is half Vietnamese, expressed her interest in Vietnamese music, which she had heard through the lullabies that her Vietnamese son-in-law often sang to put her grandson to sleep: “I love Vietnamese music very much, perhaps because I am very familiar with and love Vietnamese culture, and I like Vietnamese folk music melodies. I felt that in this performance and I hope to continue to have performances like this and to have more Vietnamese folk melodies.”

Ngo Margarita, a student and also a child of Vietnamese-Russian blood, was very excited to enjoy these wonders of art. She said: “It is very special because this orchestra has never performed in Russia before. I really enjoyed it and felt very different but very interesting things in this performance. Everyone played very well and with quality.”

Musician Do Hong Quan highly appreciated the success of the orchestra.

Musician Do Hong Quan, whose work was chosen to open the event, commented on the artistic quality of the performance: “Today’s program is a testament to the level and class of the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra when it performed Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 12, a very difficult symphony. Regarding the two Vietnamese works, the musicians played very well, conveying the soul of the nation through the melodies and the way they performed.”

“This is a very promising and highly qualified orchestra. The conductor and the leaders of this ensemble are very good. They have not only made this ensemble strong but also organized very good performances. The artists and musicians performed very well and at a high level, I really liked it,” said Mr. Ghenadi Sharonov, General Director of the Moscow Oil and Gas Company “NheftGazRezerv”, about the performance that came to Russia for the first time.

He also expressed hope that this program will expand its activities and perform in other provinces and cities of the Russian Federation.

A large audience came to enjoy the program.

Likewise, highly appreciating this activity, in his opening speech, Mr. Nguyen Hung, Counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia affirmed: “We believe that culture is a very good means to strengthen cooperation between countries. The leaders of our two countries are very interested in developing this activity in each country... Today's performance is an important activity to promote relations and mutual understanding between our two countries”.

According to VOV