Award-wining violinist Bùi Công Duy will perform Beethoven's Concerto in D major, Op. 61 on July 26. Photo vncmf.org

HÀ NỘI Award-winning violinist Bùi Công Duy will perform with Việt Nam National Symphony Orchestra at the Toyota Concert 2025 in Hà Nội on July 26.

Duy, one of the most popular Vietnamese violinists, will open the concert playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61.

Beethoven composed the concerto in 1806. It was first performed in 1845 by Austrian violinist Franz Clement, but the performance was unsuccessful. In 1844, the three-movement concerto was played by 12-year-old violinist Joseph Joachim with the London Philharmonic Society orchestra, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. Since then it has had innumerable recordings.

A graduate of the Tchaikovsky National Music College in Moscow, Duy has won top prizes at international competitions, including first prize and a gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1997.

He has performed at concerts throughout Europe and Asia, and at prestigious halls including the Berliner Symphoniker in Germany and the Capella Concert Hall in Russia.

After the intermission, Duy and the orchestra will play Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47. The four-movement symphony written in 1937 takes audiences on an emotional roller coaster, from a tense and gloomy march rhythm to a vibrant melody at the end of the piece.

The Toyota Concert 2025 will be held at the capital city's Hồ Gươm Opera House at 8pm, and will be conducted by the renowned Honna Tetsuji.

Tetsuji has worked as music director and chief conductor of the VNSO since 2009. He was appointed conductor of the Osaka Symphony Orchestra from 1995 to 2001 and was a frequent guest conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra from 1998 to 2001. Since 2021, he has been the Artistic Advisor to the Vietnam Young Music Academy.

The conductor has performed in the annual Toyota Concert since its first edition in 1998. The concert series has grown into a cultural icon, bringing classical music closer to the public in Việt Nam and promoting Vietnamese musicians.

This year marks three decades of Toyota's sustainable development work in Việt Nam. Alongside its business activities, Toyota has consistently contributed to social and cultural initiatives. Among them, the Toyota Concert stands out as the longest-running annual programme, reflecting the firm’s enduring commitment to nurturing sustainable values within the community. VNS