Hanoi to host Sunday Family Concert next month  

The Sunday Family Concert, featuring Japanese conductor Honna Tetsuji, MC & Narrator Dao Mai Anh and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra, will play Hanoi June 10.

According to a press release from the orchestra this week, the concert will include Peter and Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev, J. Sebelius’s Symphonic Poem “Filandia”, and a conducting corner.

Tickets cost VND150,000, 250,000, and 300,000.

Tickets are available at the Hanoi Opera House – 1 Trang Tien Street, and the Workers' Theater – 42 Trang Tien Street. They can also be booked online at www.ticketvn.com or via email at ticketvn@gmail.com.

For free delivery call 0913489858, 0983067996, 35651806, 66617859. $0 $0The concert will be held at the Workers' Theater from 10am to 2pm.

Hanoi children to exhibit paintings  

An exhibition of children's drawings and paintings has been organized to promote art education, especially for disadvantaged children.

The works will be held on June 1-10 at the Artlink Gallery in Hanoi.

The display will include more than 100 works produced by children living at the Bo De Pagoda, the Birla Children's Village, the Xa Dan School for Disadvantaged Children, and talented members of the Mam Sang Club.

Thirty percent of the profit from the sale of these drawings will be used to support disadvantaged children in Bo De Pagoda, Birla Children Center and Xa Dan School.

For more information, contact Ms Tran Thi Thu Dung at: dungtt@3dmarcom.com

The Artlink Gallery is located on the 11th Floor of the 3D Center Tower, Duy Tan Street, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.

Pianist Roger Muraro returns to Hanoi

A winner of prestigious international competitions such as the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow and Liszt in Parma, Roger Muraro has performed around the world, reports VietnamPlus.

Last year, he had a successful performance at Hanoi Opera House and he returns to the same venue at 1 Trang Tien Street on June 16.

This year’s program will include famous works such as Robert Schumann’s Waldszenen op. 82, Franz Liszt’s Rhapsody Hungary No.15, S 244 and Hector Berlioz’s ‘Rakoczy’, the Concert paraphrase on ‘La sonnambula’ by Bellini S 393.

Roger Muraro has co-partnered conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Marek Janowski, Myung-Whun Chung, Kent Nagano and David Robertson and performed with prestigious orchestras like Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, French National Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tickets are priced at VND100,000, VND150,000 and VND200,000 and VND75,000 and VND50,000 for students and available at L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street in Hanoi.

Thibault Cauvin comes to Idecaf

Thibault Cauvin performs at Idecaf at 8 p.m. on June 5 at the invitation of the Center of Culture and Cooperation with France and Idecaf.

Cauvin is the only guitarist in the world to win 13 first prizes in international contests at the age of 20. Known as ‘the ambassador for the modern guitar’, he has performed in New York, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, Istanbul, London, Melbourne, Singapore and Tel Aviv.

His fourth album ‘No4’, which was released by U.S.’s GSP San Francisco in 2009, has been a huge hit thanks to a combination of different modern musical genres.

Tickets are priced at VND100,000 each with a 50% discount for students and are available at Idecaf, 31 Thai Van Lung Street in District 1.

‘Insurgentes’ to be screened in Hanoi

The Onion Cellar will present a documentary film themed ‘Insurgentes’ in Hanoi Cinematheque at 8 p.m. on May 30 and 31.

Directed by Lasse Hoile, the film follows Steven Wilson during his worldwide journey in an attempt to seek new musical inspirations, depicting the artist as a real music lover.

Born in 1967 in England, Wilson was the founder, lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of progressive rock band Porcupine Tree. The film also features other renowned artists he met during the trip such as Mikael Akerfeldt of Swedish metal band Opeth, Israel’s Aviv Geffen and legendary music producer Trevor Horn.

Check out www.facebook.com/theonioncellar for further information or email onioncellarproject@gmail.com.

Tickets are priced at VND50,000 each and are available from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily at Hanoi Cinematheque, 22A Hai Ba Trung Street in Hanoi.

American dancers fly on city stage

The news of an American modern dance group, “The Trey McIntyre Project”, coming to HCMC to perform at the Opera House was enthusiastically received by both the expatriate population and Vietnamese cultural, business and student groups. The program was sponsored by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.   

The Trey McIntyre ballet group were magnificently expressive.  They transformed the human body into a manifestation of the words and melody of the music.  The choreographer and artistic director, Trey McIntyre, is much sought after to design works for other ballet companies including the New York City Ballet, Ballet of Santiago, Chile and the Stuttgart ballet.  These creations profile his inventive style and modern spirit.   We were extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity of sharing this modern American dance musical experience.

A collaboration with the Bong Sen Dancers performing traditional Vietnamese dance added a delightful cultural contrast to the program. The unison of the gentle sensual movements of the Vietnamese dancers in their matching costumes was the antithesis of the highly individualized energetic actions of the American dancers.

The highlight of the performance for me was the dance interpretation of the music of Roy Orbison performed in the segment “In Dreams”.  I had never before thought of his music and lyrics as being a vehicle for contemporary dance and was mesmerized by the interweaving of these two mediums.

The eight dancers are absolute masters of their genre and superb artists. This was a performance that will stay in our memories.