PIANO STAR: Critically acclaimed pianist Nguyễn Bích Trà, who is visiting from the UK, will perform in a concert “A Night of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff” at the HCM City Opera House on July 13. — Photo courtesy of HBSO

HCM CITY — Critically acclaimed pianist Nguyễn Bích Trà, who is visiting from the UK, will perform in a concert “A Night of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff” at the HCM City Opera House on July 13.

Trà will open the concert with an overture from Ruslan and Lyudmila, an opera in five acts composed by Russian Mikhail Glinka between 1837 and 1842.

The opera premiered in Saint Peterburg in 1842, and became one of Russia’s classic operas.

The overture, which was its best-known music, consists of two main themes based on Russian, Finnish, Tartar and Persian music.

The pianist will continue with Piano Concerto No. 2 in C major by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The three-movement concerto was written between 1900 and 1901, and was first performed by Rachmaninoff and Russian pianist and composer Alexander Ilyich Siloti in late 1901.

Trà started her musical education at the Hà Nội Conservatory of Music before continuing her studies at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia and the Royal Academy of Music in the UK.

She made her debut appearance with the Hà Nội Conservatory Orchestra. She has performed at prestigious concert halls worldwide, such as Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall in the UK, and Tokyo Opera City in Japan.

Trà’s discography includes many world premiere recordings of neglected pieces. Her series of recordings of German-Swiss composer Joachim Raff’s piano music, released on Grand Piano, has garnered wide critical acclaim, and was named ‘Album of the Week’ by The Independent.

The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO)'s Symphony Orchestra will end the concert with Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 in B flat major.

The four-movement symphony was composed in the summer of 1806 and premiered in 1807 in Vienna, Austria.

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

Meritorious Artist Trần Vương Thạch, former director of HBSO, will conduct the concert.

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