HÀ NỘI — Pianists Trần Thị Tâm Ngọc and Phạm Quỳnh Trang of the Mây Piano Duo will perform a special concert next month at the French Cultural Centre, L’Espace, in central Hà Nội.

Known as one of the most talented chamber music groups in Việt Nam today, the duo’s performances are always welcomed by audiences of classical music. The pianists will perform on March 9 in a set that includes both two-piano pieces and four-handed piano playing – a form of performance popular in Europe in the late 18th century.

Formed in 2012, the duo has already had many successful performances in different concert halls in Hà Nội and HCM City.

Ngọc and Trang are both concert pianists and are faculty members at the Việt Nam Academy of Music. The duo performs a wide repertoire from classic to contemporary music.

Ngọc started playing piano at the age of four and enrolled in the Hà Nội Conservatory of Music. She has won many international competitions such as the Asian Chopin Piano Competition in Kuala Lumpur (2004) and the Boston Conservatory Piano solo and Chamber Music Honors Competition (2007, 2008 and 2009).

Ngọc has performed in public concerts and recitals in Việt Nam, Singapore, and the United States and has played with the Việt Nam National Symphony Orchestra, the Việt Nam National Opera Ballet Orchestra, the Hồ Chí Minh Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera, the Korea New Prime Orchestra and the Munich Chamber Choir. She has performed under the baton of Yasuo Shinozaki (Japan), Philipp Amelung (German), Lim Jun Oh (South Korea), Olga Gabi, Chan Tze Law and Adrian Tan (Singapore), Graham Sutcliffe (England) and Nguyễn Thiếu Hoa (Việt Nam).

Trang started piano at six years old and has also worked as a piano teacher at Hà Nội Conservatory of Music. She has performed Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin with the Hà Nội Opera and Ballet Theatre and chamber music programmes with the Việt Nam Symphony Orchestra.

Trang was the accompanist for contenders who won the first, second and third place prizes at Concour for Violin in Jakarta, Indonesia. Trang is a touring member of the Sông Hồng Chamber Group.

She has performed in exchange culture events with viola player Nobuko Imai and violinist Ryu Goto. She just finished an advanced certificate programme at Franz Liszt Hochschule fur Musik in Weimar, Germany. While there, Trang performed with European artists at many concert halls. — VNS