VietNamNet Bridge – A concert by the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, South Korean violinist Yoon-Jin Kim, and German conductor Gudni Emilsson will be held at the Hanoi Opera House, 1 Trang Tien, Hanoi, on December 20-21.

South Korean violinist Yoon-Jin Kim.

Under the baton of Gudni Emilsson, the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra will perform Overture “Egmont” op. 84 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major op. 35 by P.I. Tschaikowsky, and Symphony no. 4, A major op. 90 “Italian” by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.

Complimentary tickets are available at the Goethe-Institut Hanoi, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc; Tel: (04) 3 734 22 51/52/53; email: info@hanoi.goethe.org as of December 15.

Gudni Emilsson had an early start in music, with his first lessons from his father at the age of 4. In his hometown of Reykjavik, where he was born in 1964, he studied the violin at the conservatory before receiving a scholarship from Iceland, which enabled him to graduate in Trossingen, Germany with a Master’s degree in piano and conducting.

He continued his studies in master classes with famous conductors, such as Sergiu Celibidache, John Eliot Gardiner and Ilya Musin. Emilsson has been awarded prizes from the Herbert von Karajan Foundation and the Richard Wagner Foundation, was named Musician of the Year by the Icelandic Foundation LIND, and was honored by the Deutschen Musikrat.

He has appeared as a guest conductor with numerous orchestras and ensembles not only in Germany, but also in the rest of Europe and in the USA, Brazil and Vietnam. His musical travels have taken him to festivals and stages the world over. He has served as the artistic director of the Tübinger Kammerorchester since 1999 and the Carmerata Bohemica Prague since 2005. During that year he also assumed the role of chief conductor of the new Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.

South Korean violinist Yoon-Jin Kim began her training at a young age in Germany at the Tossingen University of Music Preschool for Talented Youth. After high school, she took up studies at the University of Music in Stuttgart, graduating in 2005. She continued her studies at the Music Universities of Zürich and Würzburg where she studied under such renowned violinists as Svetlin Roussev, Hery Luc and Josef Kopelman.

Yoon-Jin Kim is a multiple recipient of the “Jugend musiziert” award and was a prize winner in the competitions “Valesesia Music” and “Premio D’Oro.” She has been invited to festivals and master classes, as well as orchestras from Germany, Europe, Thailand, Korea and China.

The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1959. Members include many successful graduates of the Hanoi Conservatory of Music, as well as Vietnamese musicians who have received their training in well-known music universities in Europe and Asia. Under the direction of Ngo Hoang Quan, they have frequently cooperated with renowned conductors, including Colin Metters from Great Britain, Tetshji Honna from Japan and Jonathan Stockhammer and Gudni Emilsson from Germany.

PV