As part of the Vietnam Connection Music Festival (VNCMF) 2018, Soul Live Project Complex (SLPC) in District 3 of HCMC will host two concerts namely “Jeff Bradetich & Friends” and “An Evening of Brahms, Brahms and Brahms,” introducing classical music masterpieces to the audience in a romantic space.

Contrabassist Jeff Bradetich, along with outstanding international and local classical music artists, will share the stage at the “Jeff Bradetich & Friends” concert - PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE ORGANIZER

“Jeff Bradetich & Friends” will take the stage today, August 20. Described by The New York Times as “the master of his instrument,” Jeff Bradetich is regarded as one of the top five leading contrabassists in the world.

For the first time, chamber music lovers in the city will get a chance to enjoy “Five Pieces for Two Violins & Piano, Op. 97d (1955),” which has been popularized by the version of two violins and a piano, but now, two violins will be replaced by two contrabasses performed by Jeff Bradetich and his wife, Gudrun Raschen.

The audience will also enjoy the piece, “Temperamental (2017)” written by Andres Martin exclusively for Jeff and was performed last year on his 60th birthday. Only in this concert, the piece will be performed with contrabass and string instruments and this is the second time it has been performed on the world stage.

Meanwhile, “An Evening of Brahms, Brahms and Brahms” will present the pure and delicate beauty of German classical music from the classical period to the romantic era on August 23.

Besides the familiar instruments such as violin and cello, the audience will have a chance to listen to the unique sounds of instruments considered by experts as hard to play including the clarinet and horn.

The concert will feature amazing Vietnamese and international artists like John Scott - one of the leading American professors of clarinet. For the first time in Vietnam, audience will enjoy the trio “Two Songs for Clarinet, Cello & Piano” and “Op. 91 (1884)” which were rearranged to use clarinet instead of female voice and cello instead of viola in the original.

The concerts will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are VND250,000 per person.

“With the variety of instruments and repertoire, the greatness in Brahms’ music and the exceptional pieces that are either Vietnam premiere or rarely performed here, these unique concerts will definitely bring you an impressive classical music experience,” said Dr. Chuong Vu, co-founder of VNCMF.

Established in 2015, VNCMF is a reputable series of classical music events in Vietnam, bringing together top-notch international artists as well as exceptional Vietnamese musicians working in and out of the country. In three seasons, the festival has initiated many meaningful classical music and cultural exchange activities, which aim to promote the academic art form and bring it closer to the public.