KVT – Great Music, Great Theater

Just what the doctor ordered!

A Friday evening of music from the Classical period, played beautifully by the VNSO Ensemble. It was like having your mind gently massaged and the stresses of the week smoothly soothed away.

Young conductor Tran Nhat Minh took to the podium and masterfully took us through Haydn’s Oboe Concerto,  a Mozart Divertimento for string orchestra in D major, and one of lesser known composer Franz Krommer’s Octet Partitas for winds.

The concert was really special because it was played in a wonderfully renovated little Arts Performing Center theater right where Le Thai To forms a sharp V with Hang Trong,  just a hop step and a jump from the limpid waters of Hoan Kiem.

Seated in balloon back chairs it was easy to imagine that you were atin a recital hall, circa early 1800’s, in a far away, European capital city. The acoustics are good and conductor Minh and his charges made mellow music.

It’s debatable whether Haydn did or didn’t compose that beautiful Oboe Concerto but who cares! When it is soloed by an oboe player like Nguyen Hoang Tung, its three movements make easy listening.

The VNSO’s strings rarely disappoint and a talented selection played Mozart’s three-movement Divertimento 136 – one of three Divertimenti he composed in his teens – like real pros….and that’s a hard thing to do when you’re bowing one of those best loved and most heard bits in the classical repertoire.

Krommer’s wind Octet Partita is really scored for 9 – paired oboes, clarinets, horns, and bassoons, and a bass- and the players did it proud.  Poor Krommer! He was popular in his day but was sort of overwhelmed by Beethoven and relegated to the bottom drawer and its good to hear his works taken out for an airing (particularly a nice, fresh airing as we were given on Friday).

It was one of those nights of intimate music in an intimate theater that just make you love Hanoi

and so, so cheap at only 200,000VND a comfortable seat.

Any classical music lover would be silly not to keep their eyes open for the next VNSO Ensemble outing.

Congratulations and thanks Mr Conductor for that soothing mind massage.