HAPPY BIRTHDAY SERGEI: Pianist Nguyễn Việt Trung will perform in a concert to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov at the Opera House on March 26. Photo courtesy of HBSO

HCM CITY — The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will host a concert celebrating the 150th birthday of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov (April 1) at the city's Opera House on March 26.

Rachmaninov is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music.

The concert will feature Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, a composition for piano and orchestra that premiered in 1934.

The work will be performed by pianist Nguyễn Việt Trung and HBSO’s symphony orchestra.

Hà Nội-born Trung has lived in Poland since childhood.

He was trained at the Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz. He also participated in a master class by Việt Nam’s well-known pianist Đặng Thái Sơn.

Trung achieved remarkable awards at international piano competitions such as the National Piano Festival “Chopin Interpretations of the Young” in Konin-Żychlin, the Polish National Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, and the Karlovac International Piano Competition in Croatia.

STAR CONDUCTOR: Meritorious Artist Trần Vương Thạch will conduct the concert. — Photo courtesy of HBSO

The concert’s second part will present Symphony No 2 in E Minor, op 27, one of Rachmaninov’s most popular compositions, which will be played by HBSO’s symphony orchestra.

The four-movement composition was composed between 1906 and 1907, and premiered in 1908.

The work appeared in the trailer of the 2015 Oscar best movie winner, Birdman, by Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu.

The concert will be conducted by Meritorious Artist Trần Vương Thạch, former director of the HBSO.

Thạch studied at leading music schools and conservatories in Belgium and the Netherlands.

He has performed in many countries, such as Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain, France, Japan, and South Korea.

In 2020, he was granted the title "Knight of Arts and Letters" (Chevaliers des Lettres et des Arts) from the French government for his efforts to promote arts exchange between Việt Nam and France.

The concert will begin at 8pm at 7 Lam Sơn Square in District 1. Tickets are available at the venue. — VNS