Cellist Đinh Hoài Xuân will perform with Mischa Maisky. one of the world's greatest living cellists. — Photo courtesy of the artist

HÀ NỘI — Cellist Đinh Hoài Xuân will become the first female Asian artist to share the stage with world-renowned musician Mischa Maisky at the 13th Cello Fundamento (CF) concert, to be held at at Hồ Gươm Opera in Hà Nội on November 2.

Maisky, widely regarded as one of the world's greatest living cellists, will be the central figure of the concert. The 78-year-old artist is among the 10 most celebrated cellists of all time, a list in which only he and Yo-Yo Ma are still alive and actively performing.

The international star will be joined on stage by his daughter, pianist Lily Maisky, and French violinist Nicolas Dautricourt, a familiar face at international classical music competitions.

Dautricourt has appeared at CF twice before, performing with a Stradivarius violin valued at US$20 million. His established relationship with the concert series also helped persuade Maisky to accept the invitation to perform in Việt Nam.

In an unprecedented move for CF, the concert series she founded, Xuân will not be responsible for selecting the programme for this edition. Instead, Maisky has personally chosen the repertoire, as he will appear in every performance throughout the concert.

The Vietnamese cellist revealed that she was nevertheless able to offer some suggestions to make the programme more accessible to Vietnamese audiences. Initially, Maisky had planned to devote the entire first half to Schubert. Following Xuân's advice, he added works by Brahms and Schumann.

In the first half, Maisky will perform alongside his daughter, with Dautricourt joining them for the closing trio.

Xuân will appear in the second half, performing a four-movement sonata by G. Handel with Maisky. The performance will last about 15 minutes.

She said she was surprised when she learnt about the length and complexity of the piece selected for their duet.

"I thought he might choose something lasting just five to seven minutes. I did not expect him to give me such a special opportunity. Although this work is not particularly within my usual repertoire, it is a valuable chance to challenge myself and broaden my musical horizons," she said.

The concert will conclude with a sonata by Shostakovich, performed by Maisky with piano accompaniment.

The poster of the 13th Cello Fundamento concert in Hà Nội on November 2.

Xuân first met Maisky while pursuing her doctoral studies in Romania. She told him then that she hoped to invite him to Việt Nam one day. The two remained in contact, and she subsequently invited him to the country twice before he was finally able to arrange his schedule last year.

Xuân said securing Maisky’s participation in CF had not been easy.

"His fee, in line with his stature, is extremely high. I could not afford it without the special favour he has shown me and Việt Nam," she said.

Musical milestone

For Xuân, the opportunity to perform with Maisky is both an honour and a challenge.

She admitted feeling nervous and even turned to artificial intelligence for advice on how best to prepare for the encounter. However, she eventually came to her own conclusion.

For Xuân, the opportunity to perform with Maisky is both an honour and a challenge. — Photo courtesy of the artist

"Coming from a younger generation, both in age and professional experience, I naturally have the utmost respect for him. I cannot compare myself with him, but I have my own musical identity, which I intend to preserve.

"I would not feel comfortable trying to change myself to sound like him, nor could I do so. Once you immerse yourself in the music, however, you stop thinking about everything else and simply become one with it," she said.

Xuân has spent several months intensively preparing for the performance and has memorised all four movements. She has also practised several versions at different tempos so she can adapt to Maisky's interpretation.

The 13th CF concert is the most technically demanding programme in the series’ history. It also marks the fulfilment of a long-held dream for the Vietnamese cellist: to perform a cello duet with living legend Mischa Maisky.

“I used to dream of performing with world-renowned symphony orchestras. Of course, an orchestra has its own grandeur, but in practice, the fewer instruments and musicians there are on stage, the greater the challenge,” Xuân said.

She continues to hone her skills as she awaits an opportunity to perform as a soloist with leading orchestras. As she puts it: “The ocean is vast, and I just have to keep swimming. I do not know how far I will go, but my task is to keep striving.”

Xuân, 39, was born in Quảng Bình and grew up in Huế. She began studying classical music at the age of 10 and graduated with distinction with a master’s degree in cello performance from the Việt Nam National Academy of Music in 2012. After completing her doctoral studies in cello performance at the National University of Music Bucharest in Romania in 2019, she became the first person in Việt Nam to earn a doctorate in cello performance.

She was the founder of the CF concert series, all the proceeds from which are donated to social music projects, including One Million Hands Touching the Cello, an initiative aimed at introducing the instrument to schools across the country.

Xuân has also recently been appointed director of the Institute of Music at HCM City University of Technology. She additionally serves as the representative of the Bucharest Symphony Orchestra (BSO) across Asia. — VNS