 |
| Contestant Luu Hong Quang performs at the international piano contest in Hanoi - Photo: VietnamPlus |
The Korean pianist also won a special prize from Vietnamese Music Association.
Vietnam did not bag any first prizes but won three seconds and two thirds at the competition, which was held in Vietnam for the first time from September 5-12. The award ceremony took place at Hanoi Opera House on Monday,
In the category for pianists aged 10-13, Vietnamese Do Hoang Linh Chi and Canada’s Vu Duc Manh Vincent picked up second prizes, each worth US$500.
The first prize in the category worth US1,000 went to Kiroki Ukine from Japan who also won best performance of Chopin music by a Japanese music organization.
Do Hoang Linh Chi also got Dang Thai Son Scholarship worth US$1,000.
In the category for 14-17 year-olds, Tran Viet Bao and Luu Duc Anh of Vietnam and Montesclaros Ma Regina from the Philippines won second prizes, each worth US$800. Tran Viet Bao earned best Nocturne performance presented by the Vietnamese Musician Association. Nguyen Le Binh Anh took third prize and was presented with a Dang Thai Son Scholarship.
In the open category, Vietnamese Luu Hong Quang and Shih Wei Chen from Taiwan won third prizes, worth US$800 each. Quang also received a Dang Thai Son Scholarship.
Vietnam puppetry wins golds
Vietnam took away two gold medals out of four in the team section of the second International Puppetry Festival, which wrapped up in Hanoi on September 9, reports the Vietnam News Agency.
The first gold went to the Thang Long Puppetry Theater troupe. Their show about the millennium celebrations in Hanoi had 10 acts featuring the working life of farmers, traditional customs and folk festivals. The second went to the Vietnam Puppetry Theater team for their interpretation of three stories by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, including “The Brave Tin Soldier”, “The Ugly Duckling” and “The Little Mermaid”. It was the first time the theater has brought foreign literature to the water stage.
Singaporean and Indonesian troupes won the other two team gold medals.
The organizing board also presented 12 gold and seven silver prizes to the most outstanding artists and three prizes to the best directors.
The six-day festival, organized by the Department of Performing Arts under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, attracted 12 foreign troupes and five from Vietnam, including the Vietnam Puppetry Theater, the Thang Long Puppetry Theater and the puppetry troupes from Haiphong City, Daklak Province and HCMC.
