Many songs and music pieces by late musician Hoang Van, a leading composer of Vietnam’s revolutionary music in the 1950s and 60s, are featured on the website www.hoangvan.org. — Photo www.hoangvan.org

The site includes more than 650 works by composer Van. Only a half of them were recorded and released. Many documents and articles on the artist’s life and career are also included. 

On the site, music lovers can search Van’s works arranged by topics by using key words. 

“Through the website, we hope fans, singers, composers, music producers and researchers can work together to learn about and introduce Vietnamese music and composer Van in particular,” said music conductor Le Phi Phi, the site’s administrator.

Phi, a son of composer Van, and his staff uploaded Van’s works in video and mp3 on the website. 

Phi and his family are also running the “Hoang Van Music Fund” which encourages people to send information, materials and financial support to promote the late composer’s music. 

Van was born in 1930 into an intellectual family at Hang Thung Street in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. His father and grandfather were Confucian scholars.

At 16, he took up the revolutionary task to serve as a courier for revolutionaries in Hanoi.

He began his career in 1951 after releasing revolutionary songs about Vietnamese soldiers and people during the French war, including Chiến Thắng Tây Bắc (Victories in Northwest Vietnam).  

In 1954, his song, Hò Kéo Pháo (Songs for Soldiers Moving Artillery into Battle), was a hit. After that, he composed songs, choral pieces and other music pieces. 

He also composed music for films, dramas, operas. He was sent to study music in China and Bulgaria. 

Many of Van's songs have been performed by pop stars and are still fresh today. Photo courtesy of the Vietnam Musicians' Association

His famous songs, such as Tôi Là Người Thợ Lò (I’m a Miner), Quảng Bình Quê Ta Ơi (Quảng Bình Province-My Homeland) and Tình Ca Tây Nguyên (Song of Central Highlands), feature the country's soldiers, farmers and workers. 

Many of his romantic songs, released after 1975, have been performed by pop stars and are still fresh today. 

His music books have been released in Germany, Russia and Bulgaria.

He worked as a music lecturer for leading art schools, including the Hanoi Conservatory of Music. His students included veteran musicians An Thuyen, Van Thanh Nho and Phu Quang who have played a role in the country’s music industry.  

Van died in 2018 in Hanoi. 

For his contributions, he was awarded the Hồ Chí Minh Prize in Literature and Arts, the highest award in Vietnam.  VNS 

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