The family of the late musician Van Cao donated the National Anthem according to his will.

Painter Van Thao, the eldest son of the late musician Van Cao, shared that recently his family agreed to sign a petition to the National Assembly Office to donate the song "Tien Quan Ca" to the State and people of Vietnam.

“The reason my family decided to give the song “Tien Quan Ca” composed by my father to the State and all the Vietnamese people, which the National Assembly Office will represent to receive, is to follow my father’s last wish before he passed away. As I shared, when he finished writing the song “Tien Quan Ca” and it was chosen by Uncle Ho as the “National Anthem”, my father cried. He said, from today on, the song “Tien Quan Ca” is no longer mine but belongs to the people.

He felt very honored and proud because among many songs, only “Tien Quan Ca” was chosen as the “National Anthem” of Vietnam and was stipulated in our country’s constitution. Up to now, the song has “lived” for more than 70 years, accompanying countless ups and downs of the country’s history. Every time the “National Anthem” is played, people hear the heroic melody of the nation.

Before the copyright law was enacted, the song was still owned by the family. The government never raised the issue of paying royalties for the use of the song to the family. Perhaps the difficulty was that the song had existed for so long and for so long that they did not know how to pay.

The family has never asked for money from the author of the song “National Anthem”. So now, following my father’s wishes, my family wants to donate this song to the state, to the people… and the National Assembly will represent us to receive it.

The Marching Song has lived with the Vietnamese people for the past 70 years. Photo: TL.

In the public donation application, there are full signatures of all members with legal inheritance rights in the family and certified by the Judiciary.

The petition also clearly states that the family does not ask for any benefits, the family donated selflessly. After donating, the State has the right to use the song in any form," the eldest son of the late musician Van Cao emotionally said.

Artist Van Thao added that this Friday (July 8), the family of the late musician Van Cao will sit down with the National Assembly Office to discuss in more detail the timing and method of donating the song. According to artist Van Thao, the National Assembly Office wants to donate “Tien Quan Ca” before the anniversary of the death of the late musician Van Cao (the anniversary of the death of the late musician is July 10).

However, according to information from the National Assembly Office, the ceremony to receive the song "Tien Quan Ca" by the late musician Van Cao will take place on July 15 at the National Assembly Building.

According to the late musician's family, the donation of the National Anthem was made according to the last wishes of musician Van Cao. Photo: TL.

During the ceremony, representatives of the Party and State leaders will also posthumously award the Ho Chi Minh Medal to the late musician Van Cao and present a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister to Mrs. Nghiem Thuy Bang, the late musician's wife.

In 2010, Ms. Nghiem Thuy Bang wrote an open letter to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism about donating the work "Tien Quan Ca" to the State and people of Vietnam according to the will of her late husband.

Many press agencies have also reported on the Vietnam Music Copyright Protection Center collecting royalties for the musical work “Tien Quan Ca” by the late musician Van Cao in the program “Hat Mai Khuc Quan Hanh” on August 15, 2015 at the Youth Theater and the program “Tu Hao To Toi” on August 17, 2015 at the Quan Ngua Sports Complex in Hanoi. These are two programs aiming at the 70th Anniversary of the August Revolution and the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Therefore, on August 25, 2015, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Copyright Office worked with and notified the Vietnam Center for Music Copyright Protection to stop collecting copyright fees for the song "Tien Quan Ca"./.