Pianist Phó Vũ Thư, daughter of Phó Đức Phương, shared about the concert at the press briefing in Hà Nội yesterday. — VNS Photo Minh Thu

HÀ NỘI  Some of the leading lights of Vietnamese contemporary music will perform at a live concert on July 10 featuring composer Phó Đức Phương.

The show will be held at the Hà Nội Opera House by his family and friends to honour his career and encourage the composer, who is in hospital for cancer treatment.

The Khúc Hát Phiêu Ly (Song of Drifting) concert is named after one of the composer's famous songs.

Phương is one of the most important composers of Vietnamese music in the last 50 years.

Phương was born in 1944 in the northern province of Hưng Yên.

A concert celebrating his 50-year career took place in 2016 with gathering leading singers. Audiences enjoyed popular songs written since the 1960s such as Trên Đỉnh Phù Vân (On the Top of ‘Cloud Summit’), Không Thể và Có Thể (Can’t and Can), Về Quê (Back to Homeland), Một Thoáng Tây Hồ (A Glimpse of West Lake), Chảy Đi Sông Ơi (Let’s Flow, River) and Hồ Trên Núi (Lake on Mountain).

The upcoming show will feature director Nguyễn Việt Thanh, choreographer Trần Ly Ly, musician Trần Đức Minh, producer Hoài Oanh and music editor Tùng Dương.

Dương will also perform at the show with singers Thanh Lam and Mỹ Linh, Oplus and M4U bands, singer Minh Thu and chèo (traditional operetta) singer Thu Huyền.

Composer Phó Đức Phương (centre) at one of his concerts in 2016. — Photo courtesy of his family

Musicians Nguyễn Vĩnh Tiến and Nguyễn Cường, two close friends of Phương, will narrate the concert with stories about the veteran composer.

The concert will also star members of his family including screenwriter Phó Khánh Chi (daughter), pianists Phó Vũ Thư (daughter) and Phó An My (niece) and composer Phó Đức Hoàng (son).

Singer Mỹ Linh said the concert will once again honour his songs and his devotion to the national musical scene and encourage him to overcome his health problems.

“We visited him 10 days ago and were surprised that he was very optimistic and energetic,” Linh said.

“We know that he was in pain and struggled to eat, but he rarely talked about the disease, he just talked about music and the upcoming concert. He stressed that he would overcome the disease and come back to us.”

Linh added: “He has faced trouble with bravery and optimism. Unexpectedly, he inspired and encouraged us.”

Director Thanh said the concert will be live-streamed to the composer at the hospital. He will send some words to the audiences and artists. — VNS