If you’re a musician playing in a HCM City concert hall - make sure you bring your own seat and pray it doesn’t rain.

When will HCM City have such a concert hall?

HCM City, with over six million people, has only two small concert halls, which both fail to meet standards.

Recently, HCM City audience enjoyed opera “Don Giovanni” played by the Prague Symphony Orchestra, one of the most famous orchestras in the world, at the Toyota Classic 2009 concert. However, the orchestra faced a lot of technical problems - the stage was too small and chairs were deemed unsuitable for instrumentalists.

Whenever the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra goes to HCM City for a performance, it has little choice but to opt for the HCM City Opera House. However, they always have to carry all kind of equipment with them, including chairs for their artists.

Lacking concert halls is increasingly a problem for Vietnam’s largest city. Its biggest theatre was a meeting hall in the past so the stage is very narrow and it doesn’t meet criteria for classical music performance. Inside people can still hear street sounds. During rainy days, the audience is unable to listen to music because of the sound of rain from the roof.

Besides this theatre, the city has only another place for chamber music – the HCM City Conservatory of Music. However, this theatre is very small and modest and is considered not very appropriate for elite shows.

In the city, experimental art activities are often introduced at artists’ home or private clubs, for example the house of Professor Tran Van Khe.

Hoa Binh