Composer's family seeks copyright protection

Contemplation: Music by late composer Trinh Cong Son, above, has been highly popular with students and young people. His younger sister has asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for help to stop unauthorised use of his music. — File Photo

HCM CITY — A younger sister of late composer Trinh Cong Son has sent a letter to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, asking that it help put an end to the unauthorised use of Son's music.

Trinh Vinh Trinh said she had been entrusted by the family to protect the intellectual property rights of the celebrated composer who died 10 years ago.

Son's music, most of which he wrote in the 1960s and 1970s, is highly popular with students and young people.

Three years ago, Trinh, on behalf of Son's family, asked music concerts, bars and music clubs that used Son's music to pay copyright fees.

However, most concerts have not paid fees to Son's family.

"The unauthorised use of Son's music has been going on for a long time, which has prompted us to raise our voice," she said.

"We want to collect copyright fees for Son's music to have money to set up Trinh Cong Son Fund to assist young talented artists at Son's will."

Many music concerts have been organised in Ha Noi and HCM City to mark Son's 10th death anniversary this year.

"Of these, only Ru Tinh (Lullaby to Love) concert bought the rights to perform Son's songs," Trinh said.

"Son's music copyright fees may reach VND1 billion (US$50,000) a year, the highest for any composers in Viet Nam," said Pho Duc Phuong, director of the Viet Nam Centre for Protection of Music Copyright.

"As a composer, I understand the difficult problems faced by Son's family as his music copyright has been violated publicly and more often," Phuong said.

According to Phuong, Son's family has not signed a contract with the centre, which has been entrusted by more than 1,000 songwriters and composers to collect royalty fees from those who use their materials.

"Son's family has called music concert organisers about the copyright violations, but few of them are ready to buy a copyright for the use of his music," Phuong said. — VNS

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Bob Dylan plays in HCMC

Bob Dylan will play songs by the famous Vietnamese songwriter, Trinh Cong Son, at his HCMC concert - Photo: Official website of Bob Dylan

The legendary American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan will perform in Vietnam for one night only on his 2011 tour at the HCMC-based Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), 702 Nguyen Van Linh Parkway, District 7, on April 10. 

He will sing at Loretta Grounds of the university in front of around 10,000 fans in a live show called “Bob Dylan commemorates Trinh Cong Son”. Trinh Cong Son, who wrote over 500 songs during his lifetime for Vietnam’s music, died in 2001. He was considered the Bob Dylan of Vietnam for his moving antiwar songs in the 1960s and 70s.

Bob Dylan has been a major figure in music for five decades with his songs such as Blowin’ in the Wind and The Times They Are A Changin’ which became the anthems for the US civil rights and antiwar movements. The 70-year-old artist Bob Dylan has won many Grammy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and many others throughout his career.

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Bob Dylan’s show to tribute legendary Trinh Cong Son

There will be an hour tribute to the legendary song-writer Trinh Cong Son in Bob Dylan’s show scheduled to take place in Ho Chi Minh City-based Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT) on April 10.

Trinh Cong Son has been dubbed the “Vietnamese Bob Dylan” for his anti-war songs.

He is widely considered one of the most salient figures of modern Vietnamese music with more than 600 compositions. April 1 this year will commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death.

Bob Dylan’s show organizers have contacted Son’s family to prepare for the tribute. However, the famous American singer-songwriter will likely not perform any of Trinh Cong Son’s songs or music, according to newswire Dat Viet.

“Currently we cannot say anything for certain as everything is still under preparation and we’re in the process of trying to obtain the permit,” said Nguyen Trung Truc, Son’s brother in law.

This is no confirmation from RMIT yet. However, Bob Dylan’s show promises to be a spectacular performance set up by his own crew.

The Minnesota-originated Bob Dylan dropped out of school and went to New York to pursue his dream of becoming a music professional. At age 20, he was signed to Columbia Records and his career started to take off.

Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres, exploring numerous distinct traditions in American music—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly, to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing.

He was listed among 100 most influential people of the 20th century by the Time Magazine in 1999.

“Clean Cut Kid” and “Masters of War” are two songs he wrote about the Vietnam War.

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A decade since Trinh Cong Son’s death

A painting by the late Trinh Cong Son whose songs are known and loved throughout Vietnam Photo: Provided by the artist’s family

Events will be held around the country to mark the 10th death anniversary of famous Vietnamese songwriter, Trinh Cong Son, for a month from March 5 to April 4.

The program will start with two music nights directed by Pham Hoang Nam at the HCMC Opera House on March 18 and Hanoi Opera House on March 24.

A free touring live show by the Quang Dung singers will be start at Vietnam National University, Hanoi on March 27, before going to Nghinh Luong pavilion on March 3 and Vietnam National University HCMC on April 4. A music night called Hue-Saigon-Hanoi will follow at the Hoi Ngo club-house at Binh Quoi Tourist Area in HCMC’s Binh Thanh District. The event is being organized by his younger sister, singer Trinh Vinh Trinh, MC Do Trung Quan and Cao Lap.

On April 10, paintings made by the late song writer will be displayed at the White Palace in HCMC. The same day, Trinh Vinh Trinh will debut a website about Trinh Cong Son made by his family.

There will also be a painting exhibition featuring more than 30 paintings at HCMC Fine Art Museum in District 1. The show will tour to the Morin Hotel in Hue City.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Trinh Cong Son wrote over 600 songs. His songs have been translated into English, Japanese and French.

He died April 1, 2001.

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Songwriter's love letters to be published

HCM CITY — The letters Trinh Cong Son wrote to his first lover as a young man in the 1960s are set to be published in book form by his family.

One of Viet Nam's greatest modern musicians wrote more than 300 letters to Ngo Vu Dao Anh, with whom he was fervently in love as a 25-year old after he graduated from the Quy Nhon Pedagogy College and chose to live and work as a teacher in B'lao, a mountain town in Lam Dong.

Anh, a Hue native, is said to be the source of inspiration for most of Son's love songs.

He wrote to her between 1964 and 1967. Despite the passage of more than 40 years, the war, her marriage and migration to the US, Anh preserved the letters, envelopes, and dry leaves like a treasure.

Both his first and last letters thank Anh, for her love for his town and for her love for him. Each letter is almost a piece of literature, filled with poetry and his feelings about love and human destiny.

Even after their love ended in 1967, Son and Anh continued to exchange letters, confiding about the sadness and happiness of their lives.

The last letter she received was in January 2001, three months before he passed away.

His family said the letters will be published next month to mark his 10th death anniversary.

Poet Nguyen Duy, who will edit the book, said though Son was excellent at writing love letters, they were not just about two people's love but also a commentary on contemporary society.

Curiously, Anh is the younger sister of Ngo Vu Bich Diem, who inspired Son to write Diem Xua (Diem of the Past). His unrequited love for her began when she was just 15.

The musician's family also plans to organise a series of music shows titled 10 Nam Nho Trinh Cong Son (10 Year Commemorating Trinh Cong Son) from March to April in various parts of the country.

It will begin with concerts at the Ha Noi Opera House, HCM City Opera House, and White Palace in HCM City.

There will be free performances at universities in Ha Noi, Hue, and HCM City and at the Binh Quoi Tourist Village.

The event will give Son's family the first opportunity to display 30 of the multi-faceted genius' paintings.

At White Palace on April 10, Trinh Vinh Trinh, Son's sister, will release two albums of her brother's music. — VNS

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