Young Vietnamese pianists to play at CEG Concert

Young Vietnamese pianists, who have won prizes at domestic and international music competition, will share the stage at the CEG Concert scheduled at Hanoi Opera House on December 21.

Prominent among the participating artists include Truong Thi Ngan Ha, gold medalist of the 2012 Asia – Pacific Piano Festival in the Republic of Korea; Nguyen Hong Linh, first prize winner of the 2014 Chopin International Piano Competition in Thailand; and Nguyen Hoang Phuong Thy, special prize winner of the Piano Talents 2014 International Competition for Young Pianist in Italy.

The concert will also see performances from opera singer Dinh Trang, clarinetist Tran Khanh Quang and cellists from the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra.

The event, hosted by CEG Music Club, aims to create a venue for young talents to share their love and passion for music and help lift their confidence while performing on major stages at home and abroad.

Ha Tinh to preserve 200-year-old dwelling

The Ha Tinh Museum is preparing a plan to preserve a 200-year-old "typical Vietnamese house", officials say.

The museum staff said they discovered the house in mountainous Huong Son Commune, Huong Khe District during a recent investigative trip.

The house is in good condition with all original structures intact, from the gate to the main building. The gate, built with laterite bricks, has complicated carvings on it.

The main building includes three sections of a wooden frame that are similar to the nha ruong (wooden house with many beams and pillars) found in Hue. Traditional carvings of birds and flora were also found on the wooden beams.

The house's roof is covered by the yin-yang earthen tiles and its walls are made of unbaked clay.

Writer Bui Ngoc Tan passes away after long cancer fight

Writer Bui Ngoc Tan, 80, passed away on Thursday after many years fighting cancer.

Tan was born in 1934 in the northern city of Hai Phong. He worked as a journalist for Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper under the pen name Tan Sac in 1954. By the age of 20, he had many stories printed in newspapers.

He has also written many novels and memoirs. His novel Bien Va Chim Boi Ca (The Sea and the Kingfisher) won the grand prize at the French literature festival Livre&Mer (Book and the Sea) in 2012.

His burial service will be held today in Hai Phong.

Casa Italia to host Italian-style Christmas celebration

The Embassy of Italy will offer Vietnamese people an experience of Italian Christmas at Casa Italia (18 Le Phung Hieu Street, Ha Noi) today at 6pm.

Maestro Ton That Triem and his choir will sing typical Italian Christmas Carols, the most popular of which is Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle (You Descend from the Stars).

Afterwards VivereVietnam, a project by Italian language and culture teachers, will introduce some Italian Christmas practices and typical dishes served on the occasion of the festivity.

The highlight of the event will be the official unveiling of the Christmas tree and crib prepared by VivereVietnam and Vietnamese students from various universities and institutions. The meaning of these objects in Italy will also be explained.

The evening will be closed by drinking toasts with spumante (Italian champagne) and tasting panettone, the centrepiece of Italian Christmas dessert. Free entrance.

Old literature book displayed

Around 70 famous works of Vietnamese literature are on show at Nha Nam Bookstore, 107B9 To Hieu Street, Cau Giay District.

Titled Nhung Cuon Sach Vang Bong Mot Thoi (Once-Famed Books), the exhibition features noted works like Kep Tu Ben by Nguyen Cong Hoan, printed in Saturday Novel newspaper in 1935; Gio Dau Mua (Early Season Chilly Wind) by Thach Lam, published by Doi Nay Publishing House in 1937; and Tat Den (Turning Off Light) by Ngo Tat To, published by Mai Linh Publishing House in 1939.

The exhibition also includes rare poetry compilations like the printed version of Tieng Thu (Sound of Autumn) by Luu Trong Lu, published by Librairie Centrale Publishing House in 1939, and Tho Han Mac Tu (Han Mac Tu's Collection), published by Dong Phuong Publishing House in 1942.

The copies have been gathered by collectors including Hoang Minh, Vu Ha Tue and Lai Nguyen An.

The exhibition, jointly organised by Writers' Association Publishing House and Nha Nam Culture and Communications Company, will run until Monday.

A traditional Vietnamese-Republic of Korean (RoK) music programme was held in the northern Thai Nguyen province on December 19, attracting large numbers of artists and singers of the two countries.

At the event, local people had the chance to get a better understanding of the Korean people and land through many unique typical instrument performances and enjoyed Vietnamese folk songs performed by Korean artists.

 Within the framework of the event, a wide range of interesting activities including a photo exhibition, film screenings and the wearing of the Hanbok- a traditional Korean dress were held.

 This was a golden opportunity for artists, artisans, actors, and producers to exchange experience, expand cooperation, and develop cultural values.

 The event running from December 19-February 28 is part of activities celebrating the 22nd anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and RoK and welcoming the RoK-ASEAN Summit.

ASEAN artists depict life in the Mekong basin

An exhibition on the evening of December 19 in Vientiane featured the works of 109 Vietnamese, Lao, and Thai artists – offering a spectacular insight into the cultures, traditions and ecosystems of the Mekong basin and the daily life of its peoples.

Some of the most striking aspects of the event themed ‘connecting love’, arose from the relations of similarity of perception of the artists regarding the cultural life of the region.

The event  has an important significance on the community of ASEAN countries by helping the peoples of the Mekong River basin develop closer cultural, ethnic and social bonds, a sponsor of the event noted.

The exhibition was earlier held in Khon Kaen province, Thailand on November 7 marking the 50th anniversary of Khon Kaen University.

Founded in 1997, the ‘connecting love’ exhibition has become an annual cultural exchange activity between the three countries over past 17 years.

HCM City’s annual tet flower and book fests to reflect Vietnamese charcteristics

The annual street book festival, part of Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2015-the much awaited annual flower show is scheduled to launch starting February 16 to 22.

This year’s event themed “Vietnamese characteristics and magnanimity”, Street Book Festival and Nguyen Hue Flower Street 2015 will be held on Ham Nghi Street in stead of Nguyen Hue Street due to the construction of Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line No.1 and Nguyen Hue walking street.

The event is aimed to highlight Vietnamese’sTet culture and has been held for 11 consecutive years, attracted more than one million visitors each year.

The street book festival (Photo) will display thousands of copies of publications of various genres such as politics, culture, history, literature and economics, and universal knowledge by leading publishers in the country.

The book fair will be divided into four parts. The “Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City over 40 years of history” section will feature local and international documents, photos, books and magazines on the April 30 Victory.

The “Being proud to be a citizen of the City named Uncle Ho” section will highlight achievements, changes and images of the city in various fields, and the people’s living in the past 40 years.

The third section will display maps, photos, documents and artifacts which affirm Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelogoes.

There will be an area of children book, books for the blind and electric books.

Lan Song Xanh Music Award 2014 ends

The award ceremony of Lan Song Xanh 2014 was held at Lan Anh music venue in Ho Chi Minh City on December 19.

Lan Song Xanh Music Awards aims at honoring singers and musicians who have had outstanding contributions to Vietnamese musical industry during the year.

Winners of the “Most Favorite Musician” awards included Tien Cookie, Tu Dua, Pham Toan Thang, Vu Cat Tuong, Do Hieu, Nguyen Hong Thuan, Ai Phuong, Pham Hoang Duy, Chau Dang Khoa and Minh Thu.

Musician Nguyen Duy Anh was named “Most Effective Sound-Mixing Musician” and Viet Tan “Best Studio”. The “Song of the year” went to “4 chu lam”  ( The Four A Lot ) composed by Pham Toan Thang and performed by Truc Nhan and Truong Thao Nhi.

Singer Ho Ngoc Ha was honored with ‘Album of the Year’ award for Moi Tinh xua (The old love).

Gat di nuoc mat (Wipe Away The Tears) written by Do Hieu and performed by Noo Phuoc Thinh won the “Single of the year” title (Photo).

Noo Phuoc Thinh, Dong Nhi, Uyen Linh, Duong Trieu Vu and Cao Thai Son got the “Top hit” award. The “Top Gold” prize belonged to Ho Ngoc Ha, Dam Vinh Hung, Le Quyen, Tuan Hung and Cam Ly.

The O Plus band received the”Discovery” award.  Truc Nhan got the ‘Promising Male Singer’ award, voted by reporters, and the ‘Promising Female Singer’ award wen to Vu Cat Tuong.

Launched in 1997 by the Voice of Ho Chi Minh City radio station, the Lan Song Xanh (Green Wave) Music Awards is one of the nation’s biggest music contests.

Japan Literature Week to open in Hanoi

Japanese Literature Week 2014 will take place in Hanoi from December 26, 2014 to January 8, 2015 to popularize Japanese works and help Vietnamese readers understand more about Japanese literature.

The week will feature various activities, including a Japanese book exhibition, workshop on Japanese detective literature, and an event to honour the winner of a writing contest themed ‘I Love Japanese Literature’.

Open November 4 to December 3 across the country, the writing contest 'I Love Japanese Literature' offered Vietnamese readers a chance to create and express their love for Japanese fiction.

Additionally, a Japanese film based on a Japanese work will be screened for Japanese literature lovers in Vietnam.

On this occasion, about 40 books by 10 authors translated in Japanese and Vietnamese published by Nha Nam Publishing and Communications JSC, will be displayed at the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam at 27 Quang Trung street, Hoan Kiem district. The books are works by well-known Japanese authors such as Murakami Haruki, Yoshimoto Banana, Hirashino Keigo, Ekuni Kaori, Ogawa Yoko, Suzuki Koji and Yamada Amy.

The event will be held by the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam in coordination with Nha Nam Publishing and Communications JSC.

Young circus artists from three Indochinese countries Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia gather for a circus gala to be held in Hanoi from December 19-21.

The first Indochina Circus Gala for Young Talent – Hanoi 2014, hosted by Vietnam’s Circus and Variety Arts School, offers various performances to welcome the Christmas and New Year holiday and is a playground for young circus artists in Indochina to meet.

Hosts Vietnam bring to the event repertoires that saw resounding success at international events, such as the acrobatic performance ‘Shaping on swings’, special prize at the Wuqiao International Circus Festival 2013 in China; ‘Shaping on horizontal bar’, bronze medal at 2014 Wuhan International Acrobatics Art Festival in China; and magic performance ‘Mysterious Orient’, silver medal at the 2012 National Magic Festival.

Circus artists from Cambodia will bring in notable repertoires, including ‘Tumbling on bridge’, ‘Tumbling on suspended net, ‘Juggling’, and ‘Shaping on trapeze’.

Lao circus artists will also be involved with ‘Collective juggling’, ‘One-wheel bicycling’, and ‘Humor magic’.

Performances are scheduled for 8pm on Friday, 3pm and 8pm on Saturday, and 8pm on Sunday, at the circle theatre of Vietnam Circus School in Mai Dich, Cau Giay district, Hanoi.

VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND