Watercolor painting exhibition to be held to support poor people 

An exhibition displaying nearly 50 pictures by Truong Han Minh, who is master traditional Chinese watercolor paintings in Vietnam, will be held at the Equatorial Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City from January 14 to 18. 

The show entitled ‘Painter Truong Han Minh – 60 years of Passion in watercolor painting’ aims to celebrate the artist’s career and launch the website www.truonghanminh.com.

The sale of some of his paintings will be donated to support the poor people of Ho Chi Minh City.

An auction of some of his works last year raised over VND2 billion (US$100,000) and this money helped many disabled children in Vietnam.

Truong Han Minh was born in 1951 in Cho Lon, HCM city. He original came from Guan Dong, in China. He has had a passion for painting since early childhood. Truong Han Minh is also Chairperson of the Chinese Fine Arts Association and a member of Vietnamese Fine Arts Association. He has taught at many Art schools in the city.

His paintings have been displayed at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum; Ho Chi Minh City Museum; Museum of the Nationalities in Vietnam; and in many other countries such as the U.S., France, Australia, Canada, Japan, China and Taiwan.

International seminar on “The art of Đờn ca tài tử” 

On January 9 an international seminar on “The art of Đờn ca tài tử and sentimental performance” was held in HCM city by the HCMC People’s Committee, Music Institute. 

“Đờn ca tài tử “is a fading genre of folk music which developed and spread mainly in the south of Vietnam during the last century.

120 delegates from Germany, France, Cyprus, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore and Japan attended the seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City from January 9-11.

Since April 2010, under the guidance of Vice PM Nguyen Thien Nhan, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in cooperation with HCMC People’s Committee and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of other southern cities and provinces has been conducting research to trace the origins and systemize the theory of this form of music to present to UNESCO for recognition as a world heritage art form. Signature songs of “Đờn ca tài tử “have been compiled to submit to UNESCO by March 2011, for recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The seminar is aimed to raise the awareness of the world community on Vietnam’s “đờn ca tài tử”, which has long been one of the most-searched genres of music by foreign travelers, especially by those visiting the Mekong Delta. The seminar also encourages domestic and international preservation and development of the traditional values of “đờn ca tài tử”.

“Đờn ca tài tử” is worthy of representation of the southern region of Vietnam, alongside  “ca trù” and “quan họ” of the north, Hue royal court music of the central region and the gong music of Tay Nguyen, which has already been recognized as a cultural heritage by UNESCO.

Tran Van Khe, professor and master of Vietnamese traditional music claims that this unique art of music subtly combines both folk and scholarly features and also brings out the creativity of players as the genre is not firmly bound to any fixed formula.

Vinh Bao, a master musician stated during a regular music gathering held two weeks ago at the private house of professor Khe, that this art certainly has its rules but these rules are flexible to permit players to express their emotions in different tones, melodies and rhythms. He also believed that even though “đờn ca tài tử” was only 200 years old it should not be an obstruction in its effort to seek recognition as a heritage form.

According to Prof Khe, UNESCO has expressed its interest in the reputation and status of “đờn ca tài tử” since 1960.   In 1963, UNESCO officially invited him and a local female singer Bach Hue to record a “đờn ca tài tử” clip entitled “Vietnam Traditions of the South” comprising of 11 tracks, which were later produced as part of a UNESCO Collection. In 1972 another “đờn ca tài tử” clip played by Professor Tran Van Khe and musician Vinh Bao playing different musical instruments was produced and publicized. In 1994, Ocora Radio France coordinated with the two masters and Hai Phuong, a female artist playing 16-chord zither, to produce two albums which became best-sellers in France during that year.

“Don ca tai tu” has won international acclaim and admiration, especially amongst connoisseurs of traditional music forms. South Korean expert Sheen Dae-Cheol is one such admirer who praises the charm and special characteristics of the genre. He is one of the dozens of experts who will participate in an international conference on “don ca tai tu”. Due to the influx of western and foreign music, Vietnamese traditional music genre of “don ca tai tu” has survived and not lost its unique musical flavor or aesthetics.

Hence it can aptly be concluded that “don ca tai tu” is a very valuable traditional music form which needs to be preserved and enjoyed for posterity. “Don ca tai tu” certainly merits its place on the world stage, notwithstanding being designated as a masterpiece of Oral and Intangible cultural and musical Heritage for all humanity.

Vietnam’s Symphony Orchestra to perform in New York

Vietnamese artists have joined with others from Japan, the Republic of Korea and the US in a “Peace” concert at Carnegie Hall in New York.

The first joint concert attracted many diplomatic officials and people from four countries.

Artists presented many pieces of music from world famous musicians, such as Mikhail Glinka, Peter Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaininoff, to express aspiration for peace and friendship among four countries.

Speaking on the occasion, Vietnamese ambassador to the US, Bui The Giang described such a joint concert held in New York for the first time as a show of friendship and cooperation among the four countries.

The concert was conducted by Japanese famous conductor, Honna Tetsuiji, with the participation of artists from the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, the US Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and 16-year old Korean pianist Isadora Kim.

Book exhibition in celebration of National Party Congress

The Ho Chi Minh City Book Distribution Joint Stock Company (Fahasa) in coordination with the Youth, Culture and Literature Publishing Houses has opened a book exhibition at 40 Nguyen Hue street, District 1, HCM City.

On display from January 10-16 are 10,000 books with 1,500 titles on the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).

Besides, the organising board has presented nearly 1,000 books to soldiers working in border areas and on off-shore islands.

The exhibition is one of cultural activities to celebrate the 11th National Party Congress.

Music festival in Hanoi

A music festival took place at the Cultural Friendship Palace in Hanoi on January 7.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee to welcome the coming 11th National Party Congress.   

It attracted many students and artists from universities and colleges in the capital city, who sang beautifully in praise of Uncle Ho and the Party, as well as socio-economic achievements in the current renewal process.

Another music festival in praise of the Party will be held at the Saigon Opera House on January 10.

Fast forwarding through a 22-km highway

A fast-forward video clip of a car traveling along the 22-km Vo Van Kiet Highway in Ho Chi Minh City has, for some unknown reason, become among the most popular stories on newswire VnExpress.

Nguyen The Duong sent the clip showing the vehicle traveling from District 1 to Binh Chanh District along the erstwhile East-West Highway. 

A tunnel has been built beneath the river and the highway will continue by a further 21.9 km to District 2 when work is expected to finish next April at a total cost of US$660.6 million, including $428 million sourced from Japanese ODA loans.

A reader known only as T. says: “Amazing! I wish I can race through the highway at such speed and not be stopped by traffic cops”

“It's breathtaking; if only I could travel like that,” writes another.

PV