String quartet to play romantic music in Hà Nội

HÀ NỘI – The Musica Amore string quartet will present a night of romantic music at the Heritage Space, Hà Nội, on Sunday.

Female musicians Đào Tuyết Trinh, Trịnh Minh Hiền, Thúy Hà and Trần Thị Ngọc Thủy will play music pieces by world renowned musicians Schubert, Mozart and Alexander Borodin.

In the first part, the musicians will play a four-movement masterpiece titled String Quartet No. 2 by Russian composer Borodin, who wrote the piece to dedicate to his wife on their twenty-fifth anniversary.

“It is a well-known work composed by Borodin in the late romantic period,” cellist Trinh said.

“It requires skillful technique to play this work. The third movement is an entire musical narrative of its own as the cello and violin explore the tale of a husband and wife. The movement is known for its beautiful melodies.”

It is the second time Musica Amore is playing the piece. The quartet earlier played the piece on its recent debut at the Goethe Institute in Hà Nội.

“Our first performance was well-received. It is a great achievement for the quartet to play this piece because playing in a quartet is more difficult than playing in an orchestra. Members have to understand each other well since they are playing music without a conductor,” Trinh said.

Established earlier this year, Musica Amore includes experienced musicians with impressive music resumes. Three of the members are important concert masters of the Việt Nam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO).

They are well-respected for their amazingly skillful performances and passionate love for classical music proven through hundreds of concerts with the orchestra in Việt Nam and other countries.

Cellist Trinh is cello leader of the VNSO. She has performed in many countries, such as Russia, China, Thailand and the US, and is also a member of the Red River chamber essemble, performing in the US, Thailand and China. She was honoured with the Meritorious Artist title in 2012.

Violinist Hiền is an official member of the VNSO. She is currently leader of second violins in the orchestra. Hiền also participated in master classes with international experts and a symphony performance course in Tokyo in 2006. Besides classical music, she has also studied other genres, such as flamenco, jazz, Latin and electronic music.

Musician Thúy Hà is the second violinist of the quartet. Besides working with the VNSO, she has also played first violinist in many chamber ensembles. She is also an experienced and dedicated violin teacher.

Trần Thị Ngọc Thủy is the youngest member of the quartet. She plays viola for the VNSO. She studied at Codarts University for the Arts in the Netherlands, majoring in viola performance. She also participated in the master classes of professor and artist Nobuko Imai in Japan.

She has performed with many orchestras, such as the Hanoi Philharmonic orchestra, the Việt Nam National Opera Ballet Orchestra, the Lauren Kantorij orchestra and the Amsterdam symphony orchestra.

The concert will kick off at 8pm on Sunday at the Heritage Space, Dolphin Plaza, 28 Trần Bình Street. -- VNS