The event drew the participation of the Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovakia, Pham Truong Giang, alongside representatives of the Vietnamese communities in Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary.
It was more than a performance – it was a cultural dialogue, where the sounds of Viet Nam resonated in the heart of Europe.
Students from the Jozef Kresánek Art School performed works by Czech-Vietnamese composer and pianist Hoang Thi Kieu Anh.
Each melody carried echoes of Vietnamese folk traditions: rhythms reminiscent of festival drums, and lyrical lines evoking the spirit of ‘Ca tru’ (ceremonial singing) – an art form recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Giang highlighted the role of the artist as a “cultural ambassador”, using the universal language of music to strengthen ties between the two nations.
Born in 1966 in Thanh Hoa Province into a family steeped in musical tradition, Hoang Thi Kieu Anh graduated in piano from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU) in 1995. She has since composed more than 300 instrumental works and songs.
Her collections ‘Nhung Hinh Anh Viet Nam’ (Images of Viet Nam, 2006) and ‘Trong Dong’ (Bronze Drum, 2006 and 2010), released by The Music Centre Bratislava and The Slovak Music Bridge, have become staples among young Slovak pianists, featuring prominently in national and international competitions.
A landmark in her career came in 2017, when she introduced an opera in Vietnamese at the Festival Forfest in the Czech Republic, accompanying Czech-Japanese soloist Nao Higano on piano.
