People's Artist Dang Thai Son to perform in Vietnam

People's Artist Dang Thai Son will return to Vietnam to perform a concert titled ‘Dang Thai Son-New Sound in 20th Century’ at the Opera House in Hanoi at 8pm on December 4.

Dang Thai Son will perform works of two famous French composers, Claude Debussy and Francis Poulenc. Besides that, he will also perform two works of musicians Do Hong Quan and Dang Huu Phuoc.

The program will be attended by artist Luu Hong Quang, who will play piano pieces of Francis Poulenc.

In his life, Dang Thai Son has remained devoted to Vietnamese music and always supported young musical talent of Vietnamese music. Currently, Dang Thai Son lives and works in Canada and also teaches music in France, the United States and China.

In his free time, Dang Thai Son holds lectures at music festivals in many countries.

People's Artist Dang Thai Son has performed in 40 countries across the world with famous orchestras, including the Leningrad Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and Dresden Philharmonic.

Color of south on show downtown

More than 130 artworks from six established artists are being displayed at HCMC Fine Arts Museum until Monday, featuring a feast of colors on daily life in the exhibition The Color of the South.

The artists are Duong Sen, Le Xuan Chieu, Luong Khanh Toan and Nguyen Dang Khoat  who are all aged between 57 and 64, were born in northern Vietnam and later moved to the southern hub and Ho Minh Quan (1961), from Hue City and Nguyen Dam Thuy (1967), the youngest and only woman in the group, from the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre.

Thuy brings 23 large oil paintings reflecting peaceful countryside sceneries in bright color tones and portraits of womanhood to the show, while Sen is a master of lacquer and has 33 works featuring the beauty of the sea or the rustic life in the Mekong Delta.

If Toan uses lacquers to depict landscapes, Khoat uses bright colors and the advantage of oil to tell his childhood memories in northern Vietnam.

Chieu’s 29 works straddle several genres such as multi-media, lacquer, silk, wood carving and pastels and features people living in the northern mountains.  Quan seems close to life in the central highlands with ladies in tea or coffee plantations.

Thai festival lights up HCM City

The Thai community in HCM City celebrated Loy Krathong, one of their most important festivals on Sunday in Thao Dien in District 2, with hundreds of people in attendance.

At the Festival of Light, organised for the second year in the city, people released sky lanterns and lotus-shaped floats made of banana leaves into the Sai Gon River with flowers, candles, and incense.

There was live music and a beauty pageant as people prayed and presented balloons to loved ones.

The festival takes place on full moon day in the 12th lunar month, falling this year on November 17.

This year the celebrations have been muted in Thailand because of the recent death of Charoen Khotchawat, the Supreme Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand, and the subsequent 30-day mourning.

The event was organised by the Thai consulate in HCM City and Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Sinh village presses paper for upcoming Tet holidays

Sinh village, a traditional craft village producing paper pictures for ritual ornamental purposes, is starting production ahead of Tet.

First artisans create black and white wood-block prints, which they then paint with various colours.

"Many wholesalers in other central provinces have sent us orders," said Ky Huu Phuoc, one of the artisans in the village.

Phuoc and 50 other families will devote themselves to the craft from now until Tet, which occurs on January 31.

The pictures will replace older ones on altars of the chicken god, male god and female god. Every Vietnamese house has an altar for the kitchen god in the kitchen.

Many Vietnamese also keep the old tradition of Mau (Mother) worshipping and devote an altar to this purpose. Pictures of Mau, like other ritual pictures, are replaced once a year on the threshold of Tet.

Others burn paper pictures of men and women in family ceremonies to end the year and welcome the new year, wishing for health and peace.

Sinh village, built in the 15th century on the bank of the Perfume River, once supplied 50 different types of pictures. Today, only about 10 are sold. Phuoc is an avid supporter of modernising the craft, although some experts worry that the traditional style will vanish.

Ly to perform in hometown for 90-minute concert

Singer Le Cat Trong Ly, 26, will give a solo performance as a gift for her childhood friends and hometown fans at the central city's Trung Vuong Theatre on Saturday.

As scheduled, the Da Nang-born star will sing 15 songs by famous musicians including Thanh Tung, Pham Dinh Chuong, Sa Huynh, as well as some of her own songs.

The 90-minute performance, entitled Mua Thu Trong Em (My Internal Fall), will be performed with the pianist Vu Dang Quoc Viet.

Vietnam Days open in Genoa

A wide range of activities are being hosted during two weeks of Vietnam Days in the Italian city of Genoa.

An exhibition highlighting the solidarity and friendship between the twin cities of Hai Phong and Genoa opened for the public on November 18 as part of the opening ceremony.

A business conference, film screenings on the subject of Vietnam and a talk show presenting Vietnam in the past and present were also made available for participants to enjoy.

Organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy and the Vietnam-Italy Friendship Association, the event will run until December 1 as part of activities to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.-

Cultural event boosts Vietnam-Russia ties

Russia’s Nenets Autonomous Okrug has held a cultural programme in Vietnam’s southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province to introduce its cultural values to local people.

The Governor of the autonomous region Igor Fyodorov, Russian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Anatoly Borovik and representatives from local authorities presented at the opening ceremony on November 18.

The event has made a significant contribution to promoting the comprehensive strategic partnership and the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia.

The relation between Ba Ria-Vung Tau province and Nenets Autonomous Okrug has been significantly developed over recent years. Oil firm Rusvietpetro, a joint venture

between the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and Zarubezhneft Joint Stock Co, is one manifestation of this partnership.

On the opening day of the cultural festivities, which will last until November 21, Russian artists from the Nenets Autonomous Okrug impressed local people with a series of dances and songs imbued with Russian cultural identity.

Buu Son Temple sets Vietnamese records

Buu Son Temple, also known as Clay Temple, in Soc Trang Province has set two Vietnamese records for the two biggest Buddhist ritual objects made from clay.

Da Bao Tower and the Lotus Throne were granted certificates by Vietnam Guinness Organisation on November 14, when the first Ngo Boat Racing Festival of Khmer People in Mekong Delta was held.

The Da Bao Tower is 2.5 metres-high with 13 floors. Each floor has 16 Buddhas guarding their 16 doors. The Da Bao Tower was made in one year, from 1939 until 1940.

The Lotus Throne was made between 1940 and 1941. The throne is about 2.4 metres high, and consists of 5 tonnes of clay. Each of its 1,000 lotus petals carry one Buddha above a Bagua Eight Trigram.

According to the managers of Buu Son Temple, both of these objects were created by Ngo Kim Tong, who passed away in 1970. Tong contributed much to the building and management of the temple. Currently, Buu Son Temple houses hundreds of clay Buddhist statues.

The temple is also known for having eight giant candles. Two 100kg candles have been in use for 43 years and are burning out. The last six candles weigh 200kg each, and have not been used yet.

Finnish posters on show in Binh Duong

More than 100 Finnish posters are being displayed at an exhibition that opened on November 18 in the southern province of Binh Duong.

The exhibition, titled “100 Years – 100 Posters”, features the land and people of Finland as well as their culture and traditional arts.

Finnish Ambassador to Vietnam Kimmo Lahdevirta highlighted the event as part of activities to mark the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Organised by the Finnish Embassy in Vietnam and the provincial People’s Committee, the event will run until November 22.

A business conference will be hosted on this occasion with the aim of enhancing cooperation between Vietnamese and Finnish businesses and research institutes.

Finland has provided Vietnam with grants and official development assistance (ODA) to help the country implement its environment and clean water supply projects, thus improving the local living standards.

Vietnam Cultural Heritage Week

The Vietnam Cultural Heritage Week officially opened at the Hanoi-based Culture Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups on November 18.

Addressing the opening ceremony, State President Truong Tan Sang affirmed the key role of national unity in helping Vietnam overcome difficulties and challenges and successfully implement the process of industrialization and modernization, national construction and defence and international integration.

He stressed the need to strengthen the bloc of great national unity and protect the legitimate rights of all citizens, with a focus on improving living standards for ethnic minority groups, both materially and spiritually. It is also essential to preserve and uphold the cultural values of all ethnic groups and promote solidarity among them, he said.

During the week entitled “Great National Solidarity - Vietnam Cultural Heritage”, there are many cultural events, such as music and dance performances by 300 artists from 54 ethnic groups, a wood sculpture camp, cultural exchanges, traditional crafts village introductions, history lectures, and a cow racing.

The event involves 400 representatives from 17 ethnic minority groups of 13 provinces and cities namely Son La, Lai Chau, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Quang Tri, Quang Ngai, Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, and An Giang.

Vietnamese Day activities in Italy

A series of activities are taking place in the Italian port city of Genoa from November 18 to December 1 as part of Vietnamese Day.

They are co-sponsored by the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy and the Vietnam-Italy Friendship Association to mark the 40th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Prominent among them are the photographic exhibition on Haiphong and Genoa - two sister cities, and a seminar on opportunities for Vietnam-Italy economic cooperation.

There is also a film show to introduce Vietnamese movies to Italian and other international friends in addition to an exchange programme with Genoa residents who

participated in the movements supporting the Vietnamese struggle against foreign aggressors four decades ago.

Nenetskiy culture shines in Ba Ria-Vung Tau

The Cultural Day of Russia’s Nenetskiy autonomous region was launched in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on November 18.

The four-day event took place on the occasion of Russian President V. Putin’s Vietnam visit, which concluded a few days ago. It introduced Russian culture in contribution to strengthening the time-honoured friendship, solidarity and comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

Since their official establishment in January 1950, Vietnam-Russia diplomatic ties have continued to grow and flourish through generations of both nations.

The two countries have enjoyed fruitful cooperation in various fields, especially in oil and gas exploration and exploitation, with the Vietnam -Russia Oil and Gas Joint Venture (Vietsovpetro) as a bright spot.

Russia’s Nenetskiy autonomous region and Vietnam’s Ba Ria-Vung Tau province have tightened their relations since the signing of a memorandum of understanding in October 2010.

The ongoing cultural event, which includes many music and dance performances, is expected to help the Vietnamese people know more about the Russian people and their traditional cultural values.

World famous Austrian artist performs in Vietnam

Revered Austrian musician, Harri Stojka and his band will perform two live  jazz concerts,  in Hanoi on November 23 and Ho Chi Minh City on November 25, as part of the European Music Festival 2013.

Harri is Austria’s most renowned jazz artist. Originally from a Roma nomadic family, he was surrounded by nomadic rhythms from a very early age, which could account for his talented ability to play an extensive range of music from pop, jazz and rock.

His band includes Claudius Jelinek (guitar), Herbert Berger (clarinet), Gidon Ochsner (rhythm guitar) and Peter Strutzenberger (doublebass).

Stojka and his band’s CD “a tribute to swing” was nominated for the German Music Council’s award within a week of release.

They have since been invited to attend the Jazz Festival in Montreux, Kahmoro Festival and Sziget Budapest, Django Reinhardt Memorial Festival in Augsburg, Jazz Garz Festival and various other Jazz festivals in Jakarta and Youjjakarta.

Free tickets will be available at the Austrian Embassy or Goethe Institute in Hanoi from November 19 to 21.

Source: VOV/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri