KVT’s Excellent Weekend Adventure Part 1

The AUSTRO/HUNGARIAN PIANO RECITAL

The Austrians completed their outstanding Autumn Concert Series by combining with the Hungarians to present a selection of piano music by Franz Listz (of whom both countries are naturally proud)….Better still, to play Listz to perfection they got hold of Dutch-cum-Austrian maestro of the keyboards, Martyn van den Hoek, just as he was beginning an East Asian tour.

Of course it all sounds such a holiday for the pianist. One recital and then laze around enjoying Hanoi. But this wasn’t the case!
Martyn was busy, busy, busy with master classes with promising young local musicians at the Hanoi Academy of Music, so he well and truly earned his keep (as do so other similarly brilliant musicians who give concerts in Vietnam after often exhausting schedules).

The first half at the delightful and intimate Hanoi Cultural Space was taken up with 5 of the 12 etudes in Listz’ ‘Etudes Trancendentales’ and then the fire and ice that is the intense drama of ‘After a Lecture on Dante’, which is one of the most difficult piano compositions to get just right. And van den Hoek did just that….got it perfectly right.

After that, and a well deserved interval full of Hungarian treats and wine, the pianist gave us some of the well known Listz pieces that are so often murdered…or at least tortured… under the fingers of too many well known soloists determined to show their brilliance. But our marvelous man gave us perfect interpretations that breathed delicacy into ‘Liebestraume’, bells and trills and sunshine into ‘Campanella’ and ‘Hungarian Rhapsody No 2’ which is one of the most technically demanding works in the solo piano repertoire. And Martyn played it in a ‘jump to your feet and yell for an encore’ way….and a lot of us did and were rewarded with 5 delicate dances by Bela Bartok.

One of those concerts that make you feel glad to be alive! Some pianists are like rare vintage wine and don’t lose their taste and body. Mr van den Hoek is definitely such a one.
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A BIG HELLO TO MR TUAN at VIET ARTS CENTER

Bui Thanh Tan (32) and Vu Dinh Tuan (38) have teamed up to mount a joint show that balances nicely.

In the large gallery space there are quite powerful oils by Bui Thanh Tan. I met some tourists the other day who said that Vietnamese are so forgiving and are always smiling ….for me that’s what some canvasses are all about. The smiles may be wide and beaming but just what emotions, pain and resentment are they masking?

The couch series (my name for these delightful canavasses that show cariacatured people on rather gloriously fabric-ed settees) sets us either firmly in a pretentious upper class section of society or in a very upper class bordello.

Lots to think about and lots to enjoy.

Behind partitions are Vu Dinh Tuan’s very beautiful colored woodcut prints and equally beautiful paintings on silk. All have a sensuous and sexy feel to them and the alluring, bewitching tone that permeates their space is profound.

The detailed and richly tattoo-ed woodcut prints, like all of the artist’s work I’ve seen in this vein over the past couple of years are nicely decorative statements and every time I see Tuan’s prints that, to me, are evocative of Aubrey Beardsly’s wonderful prints, I want to buy a set. They’re very collectable.

The silk paintings are seductively peaceful yet have premonitions of disquiet about them. They will be extremely popular.

To be continued tomorrow with part 2.