Hanoi concerts to mark Chopin’s 200th birthday

Two concerts to mark Chopin’s 200th birthday will take place at the Hanoi Opera House in September

The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra will celebrate Chopin’s 200th birth anniversary with two concerts by world-renowned Japanese conductor Tetsuji Honna and talented young Vietnamese pianist Luu Hong Quang on September 7-8.

At the events to be held at the Hanoi Opera House, Quang, 20, will perform “Concerto No.1 E minor” by Frederic Chopin and “Symphony No.6 ‘Pathetique’” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

He has won several international awards. In January 2006 he won a special prize at the Frederick Chopin International Piano Competition in Japan and in June the same year, the third prize at the Val Tidone International Music Competitions in 16–17 age group category.

In 2008 a judge gave him 90 points at the annual Val Tidone International Music Competitions in Piacenza, Italy, fetching Quang a special prize. Another prize designated for contestants scoring 95 or more went unclaimed.

In 2009 he won the Recital Award Piano in Sydney, Australia.

Tetsuji Honna, also a multiple award winner, has been musical adviser and conductor of the VNSO since 2001.

Chopin, the 19th century Polish-born composer, is considered one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time, with his heroic, tragic piano compositions credited with capturing the essence of Poland's soul. His birthday falls on 1 March 1810.

Tickets to the shows cost VND150,000 (US$7.73) to VND300,000.

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Ladies capture their love of Ha Noi

Relic: Gieng Co (Old Well) by Pham Thi Thu. Historic: O Quan Chuong Trong Mua (Quan Chuong Gate in Rain) by Kim Lan. More than words: Net Xua (Old Feature) by Thi Tho.

HA NOI — Female photographers from the Hai Au Photography Club based in HCM City have organised an exhibition entitled Ha Noi – Visual Angles featuring 100 black-and-white photos.

The exhibition will remain open at the Temple of Literature in central Ha Noi until September 3 to express the artists' love for the capital and celebrate its 1,000th anniversary.

The Hai Au Club, for female photographers only, sponsored trips to Ha Noi for its members to take photos of the capital.

Fifteen women established the club in 1990. Members range in age and profession but they all have the same passion for capturing beautiful moments through pictures.

During the last 20 years, they have taken hundreds of trips throughout the country and have won 290 awards at home and abroad.

The artists spent hours exploring the capital's streets, Old Quarter, traditional craft villages and ancient pagodas to experience local life and capture some of the beautiful images that epitomise the culture of the capital city.

Their chosen sites included Bat Trang Pottery Village, Ngoc Son Temple, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Thay Pagoda, Tram Pagoda, West Lake, One-Pillar Pagoda and the Temple of Literature.

The artworks reflect the sensitive souls of the artists and their love for Ha Noi, says Vu Quoc Khanh, chairman of the Viet Nam Association for Photographic Artists.

"It's easy to feel the tenderness and precision of the female photographers through their works," he says. "They express the lively life in Ha Noi which is both modern and traditional."

"Ha Noi has been modernised but retains the charms of its Old Quarter, traditional craft villages and ancient pagodas," says photographer Dao Hoa Nu, head of the club.

The members have selected the best shots to be included in a book to celebrate the club's 20th birthday. The book was released as a gift for visitors at the opening ceremony of the exhibition. — VNS

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HCM City student wins TV host competition

Host with the most: Master of Ceremonies Competition winner Nguyen Thi Huynh Giao (left) and runner-up Huynh Trung Phong at the Hoa Binh Theatre in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Ly Vo Phu Hung

HCM CITY — A student at HCM City Foreign Trade University has won this year's annual Master of Ceremonies (MC) competition after impressing the audience with her argument about Vietnamese women marrying foreign men.

Nguyen Thi Huynh Giao's confidence and intelligence during the debate contest convinced two members of the jury, veteran artists Hoang Dung and Dam Loan.

Through her answers, Giao said she wanted to send a message there were still many women marrying foreigners because of true love, not for wealth.

"It is women's right to marry men with whom they can find joy, happiness and respect," Giao said.

The 22-year-old woman of Ben Tre Province also shared her thoughts about married life, saying that love and children were the most important factors in married life, a statement that evoked support from the audience at Hoa Binh Theatre on Sunday.

The only male candidate in the final, Huynh Trung Phong, a teacher at HCM City Physical Education School, was the runner-up of the competition.

Phong of HCM City was confident about his opinions about the practice of tattooing among young people, his topic in the debate contest.

"Tattooing is an art form. It is people's right to have or make a tattoo," Phong said, pointing out the reasons why more and more young people now wanted a tattoo.

However, he said that those who want them should "think carefully before tattooing something onto your bodies".

Two contestants tied for third place, Ho Pham Thanh Giang of Binh Dinh Province, a graduate of the HCM City Economics University, and Dang Thi Bich Nga of Quang Ngai Province, a graduate of the HCM City National University's Economics Faculty.

Nga also won a prize for the person who had the most emotive voice.

Apart from the debate contest, four finalists had to host a talk show with guests.

The guests, comedian Hoai Linh and singers Doan Trang, Ho Quynh Huong and Dam Vinh Hung, provided laughs and a joyful mood.

The MC Competition has been held annually since 2004 by HCM City Television with the aim of finding new MCs for TV programmes. This year's competition attracted nearly 600 candidates from across the country. — VNS

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Summer ends in re-runs for neglected kids' TV

HCM CITY — Reruns of Kinh Van Hoa (Kaleidoscope) and Xom Cao Cao (Grasshoppers Hamlet) are being broadcast on television because of a shortage of locally made films and TV series for children.

The acclaimed series have been shown many times on HTV Channel 7 and television around the country for years.

"We lack scripts to make new TV series for children," Chu Thien, a well-known director who has made noteworthy films and TV series targeting children.

"I've received some scripts but I've decided not to develop any of them," Thien said.

"Making series for children is not easy. I like scripts featuring childhood's innocence and their ways of solving their own problems," he said.

Thien's recent series Gia Dinh Phep Thuat (A Witchcraft Family) is filled with amusing scenes and circumstances and has received a warm welcome from young audiences.

With a script by Kwon In-chan from South Korea, the 500-episode series is Viet Nam's longest TV series for children.

The series is being screened on HTV7 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday evenings. Fewer TV series for children are being made each year.

The series have been typically shown during children's summer holidays. At least three new series for children were screened on HTV during summer vacation several years ago.

Last year, children saw the 30-episode Mua He Soi Dong (Interesting Summer Holidays) and the 21-episode Nhung Ngay He Xanh (Green Summer).

Interesting Summer is about six teenagers who become good friends while on a 10-day summer vacation.

The 30-episode Giac Mo Bien (Dreams of Sea) is the only new series being screened on HTV Channel 7 for the summer. It is about the dreams of a group of junior high school students whose parents urge them to attend extra classes during summer vacation.

TV stations also lack game shows and entertainment programmes for children.

"With so few TV programmes to watch, my son buys ghost stories which fill the shelves of bookstores," Mai Hoa, mother of a nine-year-old boy, said.

For many film directors making films and series, focusing on romance and family issues is much easier than making productions that target children aged between six and 14.

Film studios often make films and series in exchange for commercial spots during TV. But companies usually choose to advertise their goods during peak viewing hours and not during children's series. The shortage of child actors is another difficulty faced by film studios.

"Filming must be done during summer holidays when child actors are not busy with their studies at school," said film director Do Phu Hai. — VNS

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Aussie expats gear for footy championship in China

The Vietnam Swans Australian Rules Football team after they defeated the Cambodia Cobras last month in Phnom Penh in the lead up to the Asean Championships in Shanghai in October - Photo: The official website of Vietnam Swans

Australians that live in Vietnam are readying for the Australian Rules Football Grand final that is coming up in September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

But there is another contest coming up that is equally important to a group of footy fans here – the annual Australian Rules Football Asian Championships that this year are being held in Shanghai.

The China weekend of games that starts October 16 will attract teams of Aussie expats from all over Asia. The Vietnam Swans will be going with players from Hanoi, HCMC and Vung Tau to meet teams from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, you name it. All of these places have Aussies who are working overseas that are keen to see as much of the region as possible and take part in sports and the social events while they are here.

On Saturday August 28, in the lead-up to the champs, the Saigon Swans played the Hanoi Hawks in Hanoi and got blitzed 15 goals, 6points to 6 goals, 9 points.

“It was a wake-up call in the preparation for the Asian Champs,” said Vietnam Swans President Phil (Fabbo) Johns who is based in Saigon.

He explained that the Saigon chapter of the national team make up 90% of the Vietnam team players who play in international matches like the Asia Championships. “So it was a bit concerning that Saigon got rolled so easy,” he said adding, “Hanoi just came out of the box and blitzed it.”

Mark Williams from the Hanoi team said he was very pleased to back up another win against Saigon after the first annual ANZAC Day game in Vung Tau earlier this year that Hanoi had only won by a single point.

Perhaps at Saturday’s match in Hanoi the Saigon Swans had been disconcerted earlier in the day when there was talk of the game being canceled due to bad weather. It had been raining all week in Hanoi and the playing field at the United Nations International School was flooded. It wasn’t till almost lunch that they heard they could go ahead.

Hanoi’s scoring was strongly bolstered by a twelth grade player who managed to almost score the winning margin on his own – obviously taking full advantage of the age difference between him and most of the Saigon defenders.

Johns said he hoped to get the young fellow to join the team in Shanghai.

The weekend before the match the Swans held a car boot sale to raise money for the trip to the Asian Championships that was sponsored by Vietnam Homewares and Crown relocations.

Also this month the team started holding Aus Kick every Sunday 8-9am at the AIS Sports Center in Thao Dien for any kids who are interested in the sport.

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Photos capture milestone moments

A photo exhibition called “65 years – landmarks in history” opened at the Exhibition Center for Culture and Arts, to mark the 65th anniversary of the August Revolution (August, 19, 1945) and the National Day (September 2, 1945), reports VietnamPlus.

The exhibition features over 200 photos that mark the most important days in Vietnam’s past 65 years. The photos are in three categories.

The first group of photos tells about the foundation of the Communist Party of Vietnam from the establishment of the Viet Minh Revolutionary organization, the national congress convened in Tan Trao on August 13, 1945 and President Ho Chi Minh’s proclamation of the Declaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square on September 2, 1945.

The second category describes the revolutionary wars for national independence and reunification.

The photos record the great courage and sacrifices of the people during three decades of fighting. Images depicting the General Offensive in 1968, the historical victory on April 30, 1975 and the first Congress of Vietnam’s National Assembly will help young people particularly to understand more about those events.

The third part presents the country’s milestones and achievements during its construction and defense and 25 years of renovation. The rapid growth of the economy, better quality of life, achievements of industrialization and modernization in the peacetime are shown.

The exhibition that opened Saturday at 2 Hoa Lu street in Hanoi runs until September 3.

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Vietnam joins Super Yosakoi festival in Japan

Vietnam's dancing group attended the Super Yosakoi 2010 Festival held in Tokyo Saturday and Sunday

Photo: VNA

A dancing group of Vietnam attended the Super Yosakoi 2010 Festival held in Tokyo Saturday and Sunday.

The Super Yosakoi festival, one of the biggest Yosakoi festivals in Japan, drew 98 dancing teams with almost 6,000 dancers, including foreign groups from Vietnam, the Republic of Korea and Ghana.

Vietnam’s Yosakoi dance team said their participation in the event is expected to contribute to promoting the Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relations and increasing solidarity and mutual understanding between the two peoples, particularly the youths.

“Established in 2008 with initial name of the Hanoi Super Yosakoi, the Yosakoi – 1,000 years of Hanoi” team now can develop dances for its performance.

On this occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Phu Binh met with the Vietnamese dancers and wished they continue their activities to contribute to promoting exchanges of culture and increasing people-to-people friendship.

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