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KVT – The VNSO and Mozart

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Another evening to savor in Le Thai To

As our New Zealand guest said… ‘it sounds so fresh’ ….and I had to wholeheartedly agree!

Conductor Honna and the musicians from the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra were in fine fettle as they helped us celebrate Re-unification Day with an ultra fine Mozart Cycle 2 at that very fine little concert hall at 16 Le Thai To.

Mozart was 27 and in Paris when he composed his Concertante Sinfonia for solo flute, bassoon, oboe and horn with an orchestra of 2 oboes, 2 horns and strings. It was lost and re-discovered a century later with the flute part substituted with a clarinet and on Saturday evening 21 year old clarinetist Ta Trung Duc made you feel glad that the change had been made. The other soloists, whose faces I’m very familiar with, are all on the best side of 30 and also were a delight to watch and hear. Perhaps it was their relative youth that made the piece so fresh… like a warm yet crisp spring evening (the likes of which we said goodbye to a couple of weeks ago).

Nguyen Hoang Tung on the oboe, Van Thanh Ha on bassoon and Ta Tien Dat on the glimmering horn and not forgetting Duc, the youngest of the four on the clarinet, deserved their applause.

Then it was straight onto Mozart’s Symphony No 33. Composed not too long after the previous Concertante after an abortive Paris journey that resulted in the death of his mother and a spurned love affair. The practically bankrupt composer was back in Salzburg (not his favorite place) and had to get works out pretty quickly. But you can’t keep genius creatively bankrupt and the 33rd is proof of that! The orchestra was again on top of their form and their enjoyment in playing came across beautifully. Although I’m crazy about Mozart, I sometimes find him getting a bit boompy boompy …but Honnna avoided 99.9% of that and the final movement was gorgeous and sent us out into the celebratory night feeling on top of the world.

In recognition of the Japanese support of the orchestra we went down the street to Fanny’s ice-cream parlour and ordered some of their delicious ice cream sushi.

How I love my evenings with the VNSO at this intimate space and the next should be on May 15, with a pretty sensational looking program of Mozart, Brahms and Britten. Unmissable!

Not a reviewer, not a critic, “Kiếm Văn Tìm” is an interested, impartial and informed observer and connoisseur of the Hanoi art scene who offers highly opinionated remarks and is part of the long and venerable tradition of anonymous correspondents. Please add your thoughts in the comment field below.

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