Inauguration of the Memorial Site for Poet and Musician Nguyen Trong Tao in his hometown Nghe An
On the evening of June 12, in Dien Hoa commune, Dien Chau district, the inauguration ceremony of the Memorial Area for poet and musician Nguyen Trong Tao and the art program "Nguyen Trong Tao - Realm of Memories" took place.
Attending the program were comrades: Le Doan Hop - former member of the Party Central Committee, former Minister of Information and Communications, Chairman of the Nghe An Association in Hanoi; Nguyen The Ky - former member of the Party Central Committee, former Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, former General Director of the Voice of Vietnam, Chairman of the Central Council for Theory and Criticism of Literature and Arts; Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; leaders of departments and branches; many relatives, friends of artists near and far, and local people.
In the emotional atmosphere of remembering the talented poet and musician, delegates, relatives, friends and fans listened to famous songs composed by him such as:Rowing on the Bung River; Hometown songs; My hometown's quan ho village; Ferry eyes; A fool, a me…,through the voices of famous artists: Anh Tho, Trong Tan, Ha Quynh Nhu...
Many friends also shared memorable memories of Nguyen Trong Tao - a multi-talented man with a deep love for his homeland and a life devoted to art.
Within the framework of the program, the delegates visited the Memorial of poet and musician Nguyen Trong Tao. The memorial was started in July 2022 right at the place where he was born and raised, designed by his son, Architect, Dr. Nguyen Vu Trong Thi, taking ideas from his compositions and the characteristics of the three lands where he lived: Hue, Nghe An and Hanoi.
Familiar images in Nguyen Trong Tao's poetry such as rivers, boats, eyes, moons, musical notes... are stylized; containing passionate feelings for the homeland, country and the modernity and integration in the artistic style of the talented poet and musician.
Poet and musician Nguyen Trong Tao was born on August 25, 1947, into a family of scholars in Truong Khe village (now Dien Hoa), Dien Chau district, Nghe An province. He was a multi-talented person, showing his innate talent early in the arts: he wrote his first poem at the age of 14, his first song at the age of 20, and published his first collection of poems at the age of 27.
Nguyen Trong Tao was also a soldier, enlisting in 1969. From the army, he studied at Nguyen Du Writing School, and held many positions at the Military Region 4 Cultural House, the Thua Thien Hue Literature and Arts Association, the Vietnam Musicians Association, etc. Throughout his career, poet and musician Nguyen Trong Tao published more than 20 books including poetry, literature, music, criticism and essays and won many prestigious awards, including the State Prize for Literature and Arts.
When mentioning Nguyen Trong Tao, the public will always remember the poetry collections and epic poems written with talented writing style such as:Nursery Rhymes for Adults, The Refuge, The World Without a Moon, The Path of the Stars… Regarding music, Nguyen Trong Tao also has many songs that have touched the hearts of listeners for many generations such as:My hometown's quan ho village, Song of the hometown river, Ferry eyes...Regarding painting, Nguyen Trong Tao is the author of hundreds of book covers and illustrations.
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Nguyen Trong Tao has lived a full life for art. At the end of 2017, he suffered a stroke. After the serious illness, Nguyen Trong Tao seemed to have more creative emotions. In August 2018, he organized the poetry and music night "Song Que Song" in Vinh City, Nghe An Province - the first and only live show he organized in his hometown.
At the event, he confided to a large audience in his hometown, saying that he thought he was going to die, but then, miraculously, he felt life awakening inside him. That was perhaps the greatest luck of his life, and he believed that his luck was partly thanks to his “motherland” Nghe An. Bringing the music night to Vinh was also partly his deep gratitude to his homeland.
On January 7, 2019, he passed away due to a serious illness at the age of 72. The “man who came out of folk songs”, the “musician of the Vietnamese countryside” is no longer here, but the artistic legacy he left behind will forever remain in the hearts of many generations of the public. Therefore, the Memorial Area for Poet and Musician Nguyen Trong Tao is a meaningful project, not only realizing the wishes of him and his family, but also meeting the expectations of many friends, artists and fans.
