The Saigon Times Concert Harmony of Trust, slated for January 8, 2011, is organized by the Saigon Times Group to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon (January 4, 1991 – January 4, 2011). All the proceeds from the concert will be used to assist disadvantaged students in central provinces.
Over 110 years ago, Spanish maestro Francisco Tarrega visited Granada in his country. In no time, the beautiful Granada inspired Tarrega to compose Recuerdos de la Alhambra. Later, Tarrega’s work became an immortal masterpiece of classical guitar.
That night, almost a year ago, in the hall of the HCM City Opera House, the timbre of Recuerdos de la Alhambra was magically brought to life again, indulging viewers with its musical treat. Characterizing the piece is tremolo, a well-known classical guitar technique of repeating the same note by using two or three fingers. That night, in the extremely tranquil hall, how wonderful the guitar tremolo was!
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| Filipino-American conductor Dean Anderson |
But what made viewers excitedly satisfied was that they were listening to the timbre of guitar tremolo while no guitar was found on the stage. Instead, it was the pipa, a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument, played by the famous artist Tu Shan Xiang that caused the spectators to think that they were listening to Recuerdos de la Alhambra performed by a first-class guitarist. Among the audience, Prof. Tran Van Khe, an authority on traditional Vietnamese music, sat enjoying attentively. When the last notes of the piece were over, the entire hall broke into rapturous applause.
The above scene was one memorable moment of the first “Harmony of Trust” Saigon Times Concert music night on January 10 this year in celebration of the 19th anniversary of Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon, the Weekly’s sister publication.
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| Pipa maestro Tu Shan Xiang |
On the night, in fact, Recuerdos de la Alhambra was just one of the works which sent the organizer’s message to the audience. Tu Shan Xiang’s pipa, or later the T’rung, a traditional Vietnamese instrument, played by artist Ngo Tuyet Mai, were successful examples of using music as “a borderless medium” capable of building up and linking trust among humans regardless of their skin colors, races, religions or political opinions. In other words, music in this case could play the role of “Esperanto” helping harmonize trust as the music program’s motto has stated.
In his article introducing the music show by the end of 2009, Thu Hoai, a Saigon Times writer, put it, “The Saigon Times Concert came into being to bring the widely accepted music values closer to the general public. Such music performances are expected to send trust and harmony farther and wider. In a society with so many changes, where a considerable number of values has deteriorated, nothing is worth being built up than trust—the trust in the sustainable existence of cultural values which lay the foundation for a caring and humane society…”
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| Ukrainian violinist Mira Khomik |
This target is further set in the Saigon Times Concert scheduled for January 8, 2011 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon. Like the previous show, the concert night will feature artists from various countries. Performing this time will be artists from the United States, Japan, China, Ukraine and Vietnam.
Vietnam Sketch and From the New World
To prepare for the concert night, Filipino-American conductor Dean Anderson has selectively picked Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)’s Symphony No. 9 From the New World for the performance he will conduct with the HCM City Symphony Orchestra. This work was written by the famous Czech composer during his trip to America and was premiered by the New York Philharmonic. “The ‘New World’ Symphony has come to embody themes of global unity and peace,” said Anderson in an email sent to the Saigon Times. “Since I come as a representative of America, I feel it is appropriate to choose this piece, but also because it has global appeal to all nations, as we live in, and are always striving to enrich our lives, thus creating a ‘New World’ as each day passes.”
The beautiful Ukrainian violinist Mira Khomik will perform two chapters of Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto. “It has a lot of depth, sadness, hope, as well as sarcastic elements of illusion of happiness (…) To me personally this piece means a deep connection to my culture and history. Through studying this music and performing it, the work becomes the easiest language to share this story, and fully express myself,” she said.
Japanese soprano singer Rumi Yano will bring to the concert hall a classic folk song of Naples. The song O sole mio was written by Di Capua (1864-1917) in 1898, characterized by habanera, a Spanish dance. In festivals in Italy, this song full of loving words brims with brightness. By offering a Western folk song to be performed by an Oriental singer to the Saigonese audience, the Saigon Times Concert wants to highlight East-West combination on Thursday’s “New World.”
Pipa maestro Tu Shan Xiang’s return will debut in this country a new piece entitled Vietnam Sketch he wrote following his Vietnam visit. To a certain extent, his inspiration can be compared to that of Tarrega when the latter created Recuerdos de la Alhambra. Tu Shan Xiang’s Vietnam Sketch describes an expatriate’s feelings when he first visited Vietnam, seeing in his own eyes “seas of motorbikes” in HCM City (Chapter 1), the charming attraction of “Cham dancers” in My Son (Chapter 2), and, above all, the exceptional vitality of the Vietnamese who attach their life to their “Affectionate Homeland” (Chapter 4). This work has been performed during the artist’s tour of Japan, Korea, the Netherlands and France to mark his 40-year music career.
Community contribution
At the end of the previous Saigon Times Concert, Tu Shan Xiang lingered on to talk with Prof. Tran Van Khe. Looking at the two at the time, one might think that they were cronies who had not met each other for a long time. Reporters didn’t tell what they were talking about. However, music is a topic tolerant of no border. When writing Recuerdos de la Alhambra, Tarrega was on his own. But his work has been shared b y innumerable audiences. In a sense, viewers at the Saigon Times Concert will do the same. Enjoying music during the performances is individual, but viewers’ presence at the event also signifies a contribution to the community.
By organizing the Saigon Times Concert, the Saigon Times Group wishes to bring about sympathy and harmony in an effort to build up trust and enrich community culture for the sake of societal balance. This kind of trust will give hope to the youth, especially those who are poor students suffering the hardships of life.
The tickets of the first Saigon Times Concert gained VND150 million, and all was used to provide scholarships for poor studious students in the provinces. Likewise, all the proceeds this time will be used for scholarships for poor students in central Vietnam where stunning floods raged through the region as a result of not only frustrating nature but also human negligence.
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