Well-known Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son will perform with the Korean Symphony Orchestra at a concert in the Hanoi Opera House on January 14’s night.

The Korean Symphony Orchestra will perform at the Hanoi Opera House on January 14's night (Photo courtesy of organisation board)

This will be the first time Son performs with the orchestra from the Republic of Korea (RoK) under the leadership of conductor Chi-Yong Chung.

The concert entitled Korea – Vietnam New Year Concert will be a mix of master pieces and Korean folk music. The master will be Piano Concerto by Norwegian Edvard Grieg and Radetzky March by J. Strauss I and opera extracts Pace, pace mio Dio from La Forza Del Destino by Verdi; Overture from Die Fledermaus by J. Strauss II and Russian Dance from The Nutcracker by Tchaikovsky. 

Korean folk pieces Seya Seya and Sin Arirang are arranged by musicians Chae Dong Sun and Kim Dong Jin for the symphony orchestra. 

Conductor Chung is music director and principal conductor at Korean Symphony Orchestra. He used to be Chairman of the Korean Conductors’ Association and has performed as guest conductor with many orchestras in the world such as Radio Symphony of Leipzig, Russian Philharmonic and Michigan State Symphony. The conductor also receives Austrian Culture Ministry Award and Music Association of Korean.

Son is Vietnam’s world-renowned concert pianist who was the first Asian to win first prize and the gold medal at the X Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition in 1980. 

He was presented with the Golden Medal for Merit to Culture from Poland and is currently piano faculty member of Oberlin Conservatory of Music in the US and guest professor at the Universite de Montreal in Canada.

The Korean Symphony Orchestra has been working to elevate its standing since it started in 1985. For the past 30 years the orchestra has more than 90 performances each year both domestically and abroad. 

The concert is the first event to be held in Vietnam by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the Korean embassy. It kicks off a wide range of cultural and art exchange activities between the two countries during the year.-VNA