The SPYO String Quartet will perform Vietnam’s famous love songs rearranged by young musician Nguyen Do Anh Tuan at the "Impression" concert on May 11 - Photo: Courtesy of organizer

The “Dau an” (Impression) concert is part of the Soul Live Project Series: The Modern Classics, which aims to shorten the distance between the HCMC audience and classical music.

"Impression" is the fourth concert of the series, after emotional music journeys with the Vera Quartet from the US, the dynamic duo from Hong Kong - Timothy Sun and Jacqueline Leung, and Korean folk tunes with percussionist Gina.

At the concert "Impression", the audience will enjoy famous love songs by songwriters who had left a tremendous influence on the Vietnamese music industry, including Trinh Cong Son, Duong Thu, Thanh Tung, Bao Chan, Quoc Bao, Ngoc Le, and Anh Quan.

Despite the differences in composition styles, all these works came from a place of love in their heart, simply delivered in melodious tunes.

These beautiful melodies will be rearranged by the young music arranger and composer Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, and presented in a youthful, modern way through the performance of four talented young artists from SPYO.

The Vietnamese classics will be integrated into the context of a love story.

Part 1 of the program, called "Her”, symbolizes feelings of a young girl in love, which are pure and tender, told by the string melodies of songs like Hoa Co Mua Xuan (Spring Flowers and Grasses), Hoa Mi Hot Trong Mua (Nightingale Sings in the Rain), Vinh Biet Mua He (Goodbye Summer), and Chuyen Tinh (Love Story).

The second part, "Him", is told from the perspective of a man, who is more mature, expressing a gentle yet passionate yearning for love through songs like Nang Thuy Tinh (Glass Sunshine), Ru Tinh (Lullaby of Love), Giot Nang Ben Them (Sunshine by the Terrace), and Xe Dap Oi (Dear Bicycle).

With the aim of rejuvenating chamber music and bringing it closer to the community, especially the young audience who love to experience and are opened to new cultures, SPYO is a group of young musicians at the age of 18 to 25, led by experienced members of the Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra and international and regional renowned conductors.

For this concert, SPYO has selected four well-trained musicians from the HCMC Conservatory of Music, who have worked with different local orchestras and have had many performing experiences at various programs in HCMC, ranging from community projects to large-scale concerts at the Saigon Opera House.

They are violinist Lam Hoai Bao, violinist Doan Trong Ho Nguyen, viola player Nguyen Kim Chau Giang, and cellist Nguyen Hoang Le Uyen.

The music of “Impression” will be rearranged by a masterful, young composer in his 20s - Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, head of Music at the Soul Music & Performing Arts Academy and a graduate of the renowned Berklee College of Music.

Besides rearranging the Vietnamese music masterpieces, Tuan will also bring to the stage his own composition, the String Quartet No.1 for the very first time in HCMC, through the performance of SPYO String Quartet.

The concert will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets cost VND300,000 per person. For detail information and booking online, visit https://dreamspass.vn/spyo-dauan/.

Saigon Times