There was no song titles, only the names of the performers. Many artists couldn’t communicate with each other, but a great show was put on by 60 artists and 300 musical instruments.

The stage was very simple, with a blue panel bearing the name of the show and artists in black and white outfits. Along with the music were pantomime acts performed by Spanish artists or calligraphic works made by Korean artists. Between acts were talks with artists and organizers.

This was the scene at the 2^nd International Percussion Festival named “Cracking Bamboo” held last weekend at the Hanoi Opera House.

The most outstanding piece was a music composition played with bamboo sticks, plastic buckets, pots, cups, glasses and gongs.

Hanoians were very surprised at the artists’ creativity when working together to make new music.

“The music you enjoyed today just appeared yesterday. Two days ago, nobody knew what we would hear,” noted Prof. Vu Chi Nguyen, deputy director of the Vietnam National Conservatory of Music.

Vietnamese artists contributed an item entitled “The House of Dolls” and Kim Ngoc’s solo item “We Are All Alone.” These acts were highly appreciated and artists were invited to perform them in Germany this May 2010.

PV