HCM CITY — Vietnamese-French pianist Trí Nguyễn will perform during the Chuyện Lãng Du (Wandering Stories) concert at the Voice of HCM City’s Music Hall this week.

Two music groups, Stay The Time and Nét Việt (Beauty of Việt Nam), will accompany Tri. They will play Vietnamese traditional music from various European countries.

The artists will perform Lý Ngựa Ô (Singing about Black Horses), a folk song popular in the central and southern regions.

Lý, a genre of Vietnamese folk songs, developed from children’s songs. It is used in the traditional music of the central royal city of Huế, chèo (traditional opera) in the north, and cải lương (reformed theatre) in the south.

Trí will also play pieces from his first album, Consonnances, released in Paris in 2015. 

Consonnances features the Vietnamese instrument đàn tranh or đàn tam thập lục (16-chord zither) and a string quartet including a viola, cello and two violins. 

The album won a Gold Medal at the 2015 Global Music Awards, an international awards event founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, based in Monte Carlo.

Trí began studying music when he was a child. After graduating from the Sài Gòn National Music and Drama School (now HCM City Music Conservatory), he moved to France to study at the Ecole Normale de Musicque de Paris.

He is a master of the piano and the Vietnamese zither. He has performed for leading orchestras, theatres and radio stations in the US and Europe. He has also toured around the US and Europe.

He has won prestigious music prizes, including the Global Music Awards Fan Favourite USA and Akademia USA awards. His third album, Beyond Borders, was released in Paris early February.  

Beyond Borders features Vietnamese folk songs, Lý, performed by Corsican artists accompanied by piano and đàn tranh. 

“My music reflects the sounds of my heart and mind and my desire to show the value of Vietnamese music to the world,” said Trí, who has lived in France for 29 years. 

His show at the VOH Hall will begin at 8pm today, at  3 Nguyễn Đình Chiểu Street, District 1. — VNS