LOCAL PRODIGY - Critically acclaimed pianist Nguyễn Bích Trà, who is visiting from the UK, will perform Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece Piano No 1 at the HCM City Opera House on October 26 and 27. Photo courtesy of HBSO

HCM CITY — The HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera will host a concert highlighting two masterpieces by the great composers Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, which will be held at the Opera House on October 26 and 27.

The concert will open with Piano Concerto No 1 in B-flat Minor, Op 23, composed by Tchaikovsky between November 1874 and February 1875.

The three-movement composition premiered in 1875 in Boston, USA. It attracts pianists and audiences with a sequence of pounding chords as the soloist’s part launches the first movement.

Critically acclaimed pianist Nguyễn Bích Trà, who is visiting from the UK, will play the concerto along with the HBSO Symphony Orchestra.

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, and 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 second part of the concert will feature Symphony No 9 in D minor, Op 125, a choral symphony composed by Beethoven between 1822 and 1824.

The symphony consists of four movements. Its final movement includes text from German poet Friedrich Schiller’s poem An Die Freude (Ode to Joy).

The work was first performed in Vienna in 1924.

The performance will present soprano Phạm Khánh Ngọc, alto Phan Hồng Dịu, tenor Phạm Trang and baritone Đào Mác, along with HBSO Choir and Symphony Orchestra.

HIGH NOTES - Soprano Phạm Khánh Ngọc will be featured in the concert. Photo courtesy of HBSO

Conductor Lê Ha My, HBSO’s director, will lead the concert.

My graduated in piano from the Việt Nam National Academy of Music in 1999, and then went to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia for conducting.

He has worked with orchestras in Russia and Việt Nam.

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