Together with three musicians from Germany, the bugler Premysl Vojta, the trombonist Michael Massong and the trumpeter Martin Griebl, the VNSO will perform one of the most famous and political pieces of Shostakovitch on April 14. The concert will be conducted by Honna Tetsuji.
“With the seventh I began to live again. …We had a rough ride, however we breathed easier.” These are Dmitry Shostakovitch’s words about his most popular work: The 7th Symphony, also called „Leningrad Symphony”. It is composed of four movements that Shostakovitch (1906-1975) originally provided with the titles “War”, “Memories”, “Homeland Steppes” and “Victory”. The Stalin bureaucracy, however, didn’t like it, so the titles were withdrawn. But even without these titles, it’s possible to pick out the topics: the piece is about war and especially about Stalin’s terror, which started already before the Second World War. The Symphony was first performed in Leningrad on August 9 in 1942 under violent bomb attacks. Instead of seeking safety, the audience remained seated – enchanted by the spectacular and captivating music. Our audience can also look forward to being enchanted: Great music by the unique composer Shostakovich, who retells the history of Russia between 1930 and 1970 with his symphonies.
Program
Do Hong Quan
“Tieng vong” (The Echo)
Interval
Dmitri Shostakovich
Symphony No.7 C major, op.60 “LENINGRAD”
Martin Griebl began his first trumpet lessons at the age of 7 and now plays with many different ensembles. He has also worked as a solo trumpeter with some prestigious orchestras including Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsche Oper Berlin, BBC Symphony Orchestra London, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Radio Symphonieorchester Wien. Since 2015 he has been solo trumpeter at the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln.
Since 2014, the trombonist Michael Massong, born in Germany in 1969, has devoted himself to activities as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher. As a guest he played in numerous of international orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin. He now works worldwide as a soloist and teacher. In cooperation with Thein, a brass instrument brand, he has developed his own tenor and alto trombone series.
As a Solo hornist Premysl Vojta works at the Prague Philharmonics, Staatskapelle Berlin and Konzerthausorchester Berlin. The musician, born in Czech Republic in 1983, is the winner of the International Competition in Brno, Bratislava and Vidnava. In 2010 he won the first prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. Since 2015 he has held the position of a soloist in the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, and since 2016 he has been teaching at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne.
The Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1959 and plays around 60 concerts worldwide every year.
Subscription Concert Vol. 100 will be performed on Fri 14 Apr 2017, 8 pm at The Grand Concert Hall, Vietnam National Academy of Music, 77 Hao Nam Str., Dong Da Distr., Ha Noi.