Back again: Pianist Đặng Thái Sơn, one of the world’s leading pianists, has returned to Việt Nam to perform in two concerts on Wednesday and Thursday at the Hà Nội Opera House. - Photo dangthaison.info

HÀ NỘI – Đặng Thái Sơn, one of the world's leading pianists, has returned to Việt Nam to perform in two concerts on Wednesday and Thursday at the Hà Nội Opera House.

He will join the Việt Nam National Symphony Orchestra in a concert of French music on Wednesday. He will perform Symphony No. 8 in G-Major, Op. 88 by A Dvorak, Ballade, Op. 19 by Gabriel Faure, and Piano Concerto for the Left Hand by Maurice Ravel.       

On Thursday, Sơn will perform a special concert of Frederic Chopin’s music. He will play Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, with which he won the Gold Medal of the International Chopin Piano Competition 35 years ago in Warsaw.

“I’m under pressure in performing this piece because people expect much from me,” he said.“They wait expectantly to see how I will play it after 35 years. Time passes, many things change. Audiences want to see how I have changed. I can perform a piece hundreds of times. But each time, I bring different feelings to the audience. For me, it's a one-way itinerary, no cliché.”

Sơn selected Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 by A Dvorak to open the Wednesday programme because of its cheerful melody.

“The concerts will take place on International Women’s Day (March 8). So I want to bring a gift for all women, something cheerful, romantic and inspirational about love,” he said.

Sơn was born in Việt Nam in 1958. Thirty-five years ago, he was the first Asian pianist to win the International Chopin Competition, one of the rare competitions dedicated exclusively to the works of a single composer. Since then, his international career has taken him to over forty countries, to play such world renowned halls as LincolnCenter (New York), Barbican Center (London), Salle Pleyel (Paris), Herculessaal (Munich), Musikverein (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Opera House (Sydney), and Suntory Hall (Tokyo). Now he’s based in Canada but Sơn comes home annually to perform in Việt Nam. – VNS