Silence says it all

Published: 01/03/2009 05:00

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Pianist Dang Thai Son played solo for the first time ever in his motherland last week

Acclaimed pianist Dang Thai Son praises the progress classical music has made in Vietnam.

World-renowned pianist Dang Thai Son is keen to perform more in his homeland now that classical music has gained an appreciative following in Vietnam.

“I recognize this [change] by the silence in the concert hall. I am experienced enough to distinguish between two kinds of audience: one is silent because they relish the music, the other is silent because they have switched off. There’s a world of difference,” Son told Thanh Nien Daily ahead of his Hanoi concert last week.

Besides his beloved Chopin and other western fare, the 50-year-old maestro likes quite a few pieces written by Vietnamese composers.

One of his favorites is “Song of Falcons” by Dam Linh, and he frequently plays works by Do Hong Quan and Dang Huu Phuc on the international stage.

He reckons Vietnam has many talented youngsters but they need more encouragement and support if they are to mature.

“I have attended several performances by young Vietnamese musicians, such as violinist Bui Cong Duy. Just last week I saw three young pianists [Nguyen Viet Trung, Luu Hong Quang and one other] in concert in Hanoi. They are talented and professionally trained,” Son said.

The trouble, in his and others’ opinion, is that Vietnam does not have a long-term program for training these youngsters. What seems to happen is that they flare up briefly then the flame sputters out and dies.

“To develop young talent demands more from everyone, especially the goverment,” Son said.

Many countries, especially Asian nations like China and South Korea, have invested heavily in musical education and youth development with an emphasis on Western classical music, Son noted. “Vietnam can’t run counter the trend.”

Son has always wanted to open a piano academy in Vietnam, but a lack of money has prevented him from realizing his dream.

“For this I need benefactors, both organizations and individuals. I myself can only train the best and brightest and arrange for them to further their studies abroad,” he said.

As for fostering an appreciation of classical music in Vietnam, Son thinks there should be talks and pamphlets before each concert so that people can gain an inkling of what’s in store for them.

“They will listen to the music only if they are interested. All the concert promoters do these days is advertise the artists and ignore the program’s content,” Son said.

A bigger concert hall is needed too. “The Hanoi Grand Opera House can only seat 600, and that’s not enough. We need a hall with seating for 1,500 at least,” he said.

Soundproofing is another matter that needs to be addressed so that audiences are not distracted from the music. At the Hanoi Opera, for example, it’s not uncommon to hear the sound of traffic through the thin walls, and it turns off the audience as much as the performer, Son said.

Asked about his concert in Hanoi last week, Son said, “Every year I come back to Vietnam to perform in concert, but it’s always been with an orchestra for the past fifteen years. This time I was solo and it went off well.”

After his performance of pieces by Chopin, Faure and Ravel, an obviously pleased Son spent time chatting with members of the audience.

Son was propelled to stardom in 1980 when he became the first-ever Asian and only Vietnamese to win the International Chopin Piano Competition. Ever since, he has performed Chopin’s poetic yet technically demanding masterpieces to wide acclaim.

At the age of 24, he became the youngest artist ever to be named a People’s Artist - the most coveted honor that Vietnam bestows on artists.

His style has changed from the effervescence and romanticism of when he was 20 and is best described these days as unruffled and profound.

As evidence of his international standing, Son is the subject of a biography titled “A Pianist Chosen by Chopin - The Dang Thai Son Story,” written by Japanese journalist and music critic Ikuma Yoshiko.

“Aptitude, hard work and good fortune are what it takes to succeed,” Son said.

Next year, Son will be a major participant in the international program for commemorating the bicentennial of Frederic Chopin’s birth.

Fittingly, he will be one of the 10 judges of the International Frederic Chopin Competition, which was first held in Poland in 1927 and is one of the oldest and most prestigious music contests in the world.

Just as suitably, Dang Thai Son will be one of three pianists performing in a concert to celebrate the 200th birth of Poland’s favorite son on the first of March, 1810.

Reported by Bao Anh

Provide by Vietnam Travel

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