The Japanese world-renowned pianist, Hibiki Tamura, is seen at a performance. He will have free plays in Đà Nẵng and Huế on December 13-14, an event marking the 80th anniversary of Việt Nam's independence, and successful merger of Đà Nẵng City and Quảng Nam Province. — Photo courtesy of Hibiki Tamura

ĐÀ NẴNG — Japanese world-renowned pianist Hibiki Tamura, a winner of the 2007 Long-Thibaud Competition in France, will perform free concerts in Đà Nẵng and Huế on December 13–14, marking the 80th anniversary of Việt Nam's independence and the successful merger of Đà Nẵng City and Quảng Nam Province.

The Head of the Japanese General Consulate in Đà Nẵng City, Mori Takero, confirmed that the pianist agreed to support the purpose of the event and perform without charge.

“It also witnesses the successful merger of Đà Nẵng City and Quảng Nam Province, leading to the birth of a new Đà Nẵng City. We have been exploring many ways on what we, the Japanese community here, can do to celebrate them and express our gratitude to Đà Nẵng and Huế cities,” Mori said.

“Đà Nẵng and Huế cities are very supportive, including in the use of facilities. Toyota Okayama, Takatsu Engineering Vietnam, Aeon Mall, Yamaha, Đà Nẵng Mikazuki Japanese Resort & Spa, AZERAI, La Residence, Huế became sponsors with generous support. This illustrates how thankful the Japanese community is.”

Central Việt Nam and Japan have built a strong cooperative relationship, and Japan is proud to have contributed to the development of central Việt Nam through support for key infrastructure projects, while many Vietnamese people who have studied at top-level universities in Japan have succeeded in business and academia, making significant contributions to the development of their hometowns, he added.

Hibiki Tamura, 39, who was born in Aichi, Japan, began studying piano at the age of three. He studied at Mozarteum University Salzburg and now lectures at Kyoto University of the Arts, Japan.

The Japanese artist has performed several times in Hà Nội and HCM City in 2011, 2014 and 2018, but this will be his first solo show in central Việt Nam.

Đà Nẵng has hosted the annual Kanagawa Festival four times since 2015, while Kanagawa Prefecture plans to introduce the opera Princess Anio, inspired by the 400-year-old love story between Vietnamese princess Ngọc Hoa and Japanese merchant Araki Sotaro, in Kanagawa next September.

Đà Nẵng and Hội An ancient town have hosted the annual Việt Nam-Japan Cultural Festival since 2014.

Four prefectures from Japan, including Kisarazu, Kawasaki, Sakai and Yokohama, have inked friendship and cooperation agreements with Đà Nẵng.

Nine cities in Japan, including Fukuoka, Yokohama, Maebashi, Chiba, Shizuoka, Tokyo, Tottori and Nagasaki, and 120 Japanese businesses have inked cooperation deals with Đà Nẵng City’s Đông Á University for human resources training and employment from central Việt Nam. — VNS