This will be a very special musical journey, highlighted by the participation of two guest artists: leading international violinist Stephane Tran Ngoc and talented pianist Luu Hong Quang, performing with the HBSO Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Meritorious Artist Tran Vuong Thach.
Violinist Stephane Tran Ngoc, who lives in Paris, France, graduated top of his class in violin and chamber music at the National Superior Conservatory of Dance and Music of France in Paris at just age 15. He has performed in more than 30 countries, and his recordings have been released around the world. He is also a renowned educator and one of the most highly qualified violin teachers at the National Superior Conservatory of Dance and Music of France.
Meanwhile, pianist Luu Hong Quang is one of Viet Nam’s leading young pianists on the international stage, acclaimed for his solid technique, refined sensitivity, and profound performance style.
According to HBSO, inspired by the beauty and appeal of the concerto genre, the concert will take audiences into a musical world of diverse emotions, from the lively, free-spirited atmosphere of Antonin Dvorak’s Carnival Overture, op. 92, to the distinctive sounds of composer Hoang Cuong’s Violin Concerto, and finally to the grandeur, depth, and drama of Johannes Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, op. 15.
These three works, each with its own distinctive musical character, will combine to create a rich artistic flow, in which the beauty of the orchestra blends with the expressive power and virtuoso technique of the soloists.
The programme opens with Carnival Overture, op. 92 by Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. The work opens a gateway to a vibrant, colourful, and energetic world of festivity. Its agile movements and rich orchestration create a captivating opening, while vividly showcasing Dvorak’s expressive vitality.
Next comes composer Hoang Cuong’s Violin Concerto, featuring a solo performance by violinist Stephane Tran Ngoc. The combination of a work bearing the imprint of Vietnamese music and a performer with an extensive international career makes this a special highlight of the concert.
While Stephane Tran Ngoc’s violin opens up agile, colourful, and richly interactive musical lines, Luu Hong Quang’s virtuoso playing will lead audiences into a vast musical landscape, where power, lyricism and inner movement coexist in Johannes Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, op. 15 — one of the most monumental and challenging concerto works of the 19th century.
From the opening Maestoso notes, Brahms establishes a vast, intense, and powerful musical landscape. Yet behind this grandeur lies a world of profound lyricism, particularly in the Adagio, where the piano emerges like a deeply reflective soliloquy. Then, in the final movement, Rondo: Allegro non troppo, the energy builds once more through powerful movements, bringing the work to a vibrant conclusion.
