A poster for the 'Những Miền Âm Thanh' (Realms of Sound) concert which brings together five Vietnamese artists who have won prestigious international awards. — Photo arttimes.vn

HẢI PHÒNG — Những Miền Âm Thanh (Realms of Sound), a concert held by the Việt Nam Classical Music Association (VCMA) featuring performances by outstanding artists who have won numerous prestigious international awards, will take place this month in the northern coastal city of Hải Phòng.

Taking place on Saturday night at Hải Phòng's Hoa Phượng Theatre, the event marks the launch of a special programme of cultural and artistic activities aimed at promoting Hải Phòng as a "City of Music".

According to the VCMA, Realms of Sound is designed as a journey through diverse cultural spaces and emotional states, ranging from Slavic folk memories, summer scenery and the rhythms of urban American life to Polish dances and bells ringing in the distance.

The concert offers the public a high-quality artistic programme through a collaboration between the VCMA and the Hải Phòng City People's Committee. The city is carrying out its cultural development strategy through a project to develop Hải Phòng into a "City of Music" by 2030, according to the organiser.

The VCMA has pledged to work with Hải Phòng authorities on several long-term music activities, such as professional consultation, education, teacher training, identifying and supporting young talent, establishing scholarship programmes and connecting domestic and international artists, while contributing to the enrichment of the community's music scene.

Marking an initial step towards establishing a music ecosystem that reflects Hải Phòng's distinctive identity, the event is also expected to serve as a driving force for cultural development, enrich residents' spiritual lives and help raise the profile of Vietnamese music on regional and international stages, according to the organiser.

Five Vietnamese artists will perform at the concert: pianists Đỗ Hiền An, Ngô Phương Vi and Nguyễn Việt Trung, as well as oboist Hoàng Mạnh Lâm and clarinetist Trần Khánh Quang.

An won first prize (Category B) at the Val Tidone International Music Competition, second prize in the Chopin category at the Lansum International Music Competition and a gold award at the Asia International Piano Competition.

Meanwhile, Vi won first prize at the 3rd Hà Nội International Piano Competition, second prize at the San Jose International Piano Competition, and a gold medal and a special prize at the Asia International Piano Academy Festival.

Trung is a young pianist with a distinguished career in Poland, where he won fifth prize at the National Chopin Piano Competition and first prize at the 17th National Piano Festival in Konin–Zychlin. He also participated in the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2021 and 2025.

Lâm is an oboe lecturer at the Vietnam National Academy of Music (VNAM). He participated in advanced training programmes in Sweden, the US and Austria. He won second prize at the Autumn Music Competition in 2019 (with no first prize awarded) and first prize at the same event in 2024.

Meanwhile, Quang is a lecturer of clarinet performance at VNAM. He is Việt Nam's country chair for the International Clarinet Association. He won first prize at the Asian Wind Music Competition and at the 2018 Concerto Competition at the University of North Texas.

The programme opens with two works, Dumka in C minor, Op. 59 and June: Barcarolle, Op. 37a, No. 6 by P.I. Tchaikovsky, followed by George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, which adds a modern flair.

Next, three works will introduce the audience to various facets of 19th-century piano music: Chopin’s Mazurka in G minor, Op. 67, No. 2 and Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2; and Franz Liszt’s La Campanella, S. 141, No. 3.

The final part of the programme shifts from the individual voice of each soloist to a dialogue of between instruments. In Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda's Morceau de Salon, Op. 228, the oboe and piano create a space that is both lyrical and technically demanding.

Closing the night, Michael Webster's Carmen Rhapsody weaves melodies from Carmen into a lively interplay between piano, oboe and clarinet. — VNS