French cellist Emma Savouret will perform in “A Night of Beethoven” concert at the HCM City Opera House on Saturday to mark the 58th anniversary of the Day for AO/Dioxin Victims, August 10. – Photo courtesy of HBSO

HCM CITY – International and Vietnamese artists will perform in “A Night of Beethoven” concert at the HCM City Opera House on Saturday to mark the 58th anniversary of the Day for AO/Dioxin Victims on August 10.

The concert is co-organised by the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) and the Việt Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA).

The highlight of the concert will be Beethoven’s Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano.

The three-movement composition was written in 1803 and first performed in Vienna in 1808.

The performance will feature cellist Emma Savouret and violinist Nguyễn Hữu Nguyên from the Orchestre National de France (French National Symphony Orchestra), and pianist Hồ Đắc Thủy Hoằng from HBSO.

The soloists will perform with the HBSO Chamber Orchestra.

The concert will include traditional Japanese works performed by the four-member Ryuko Mirai Drum Ensemble and vocalist Tetsu Kitagawa.

The night will end with the symphonic poem Thành Đồng Tổ Quốc written by late composer Hoàng Vân in 1960 when he graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. The work will be performed by the HBSO Chamber Orchestra.

Vân was known for his epic war song Hò Kéo Pháo (Artillery Pulling Chant), which was popular in North Việt Nam in 1954. He also composed songs for movies and theatrical works.

Most of his songs were about the two Indochina wars and patriotism, such as Tôi Là Người Thợ Lò (I’m A Miner), Bài Ca Xây Dựng (The Song of Nation Building), Quảng Bình Quê Ta Ơi (My Homeland Quảng Bình) and Người Chiến Sĩ Ấy (The Soldier).

He was awarded the Hồ Chí Minh Award in Literature and Arts in 2000.

Conductor Lê Phi Phi, who has returned from Macedonia, will lead the concert.

Phi, who graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 1993, was the principal conductor of the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra until 2000.

He was the resident conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the city of Nis, Serbia from 2007 to 2012. He has toured in Macedonia, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Sweden, Albania and Bulgaria, and is currently teaching at the Macedonian Centre of Opera and Ballet.

The concert begins at 8pm at 7 Lam Sơn Square in District 1. Tickets are available at the venue’s box office. — VNS