Dozens of international and local string soloists will give four concerts during the annual Saigon International Guitar Festival in Ho Chi Minh City from October 31 to November 4.
Tamonori Arai
of Japan will perform at the
concert "The Magic of Guitar” during the Saigon
International Guitar Festival at the HCM City Conservatory of Music from
October 31 to November 4 (Photo courtesy of the organisers)
The opening concert "Italian Voices to
Chaconnes by the Masters” on October 31 will feature classical guitarist Gérard
Abiton of France, together
with guitar duo Thu Le and Lorenzo Bernardi of Italy, the Saigon Guitar Ensemble,
and the Vietnam Guitar Ensemble.
Featured compositions include those by Vivaldi, Rossini, Legnani and Bach, arranged
by Abiton, who has been a soloist with many prestigious orchestras in France, the UK,
the US and Mexico.
On November 1, there will be a "Serenade of the Festival” with guitarists Kim
Chung of Vietnam, Leon
Koudelak of the Czech Republic,
and the duoRene Izquierdo of the US
and Carlos Aonzo of Italy,
whowill play works by Schubert, Merlin and Paganini.
The festival will include a friendship concert on November 2, featuring young
guitarists from Vietnam and Japan, and the
Saigon Guitar Quartet.
In the third concert "Romance in the Night” on November 3, guitarists Salvatore
Foderà of New Zealand and
Paul Cesarczyk of the US
will perform works by Regondi,Scarlatti, and Amigo, while Cesarczyk
andIzquierdo will perform songs by The Beatles.
Foderà received a Master’s in Music Performance and a Master’s in Music
Pedagogy at the City of Basel Music Academy in Switzerland.
He began performing at many international music festivals when he was very
young.
Cesarczyk made his New York City
debut at the age of 17 at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. He has been
performed throughout the US,
Europe, and Asia.
The final concert of the series, "The Magic of Guitar”, will be held on
November 4 and include works by Brouwer, Mangoré and Bach performed by Tamonori
Arai of Japan,
and Izquierdo.
Arai has held recitals in Germany,
Austria, France, the Czech
Republic, Belgium,
Italy, Thailand, Nepal,
and the Philippines.
He teaches at Ueno Gakuen University
and the Gendai Guitar
Academy in Japan.
Izquierdo, who has won numerous international awards, is a professor of
classical guitar at the Wisconsin State University
in Milwaukee in the US.
The festival will include master classes and guitar workshops hosted by
international and local guest performers.
The event will be held at the HCM City Conservatory of Music on 112 Nguyen Du Street
in District 1. Tickets are available atwww.ticketbox.vn.-VNS/VNA
Source: VNA
The People’s Committee of Lac Son district held a ceremony on April 28 to receive the provincial relic certificate for the ancient rock carving site at Suoi Co stream, located in My Thanh commune.
A special music show titled "The country is in the fullness of joy” has been held at Hoa Binh Square in Hoa Binh city in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30, 1975–2025).
The People's Committee of Lo Son commune, Tan Lac district, has organised the local annual traditional stream fishing festival on April 19 - 20.
As a land deeply intertwined with human history and Vietnam’s millennia-long journey of nation-building and defence, Hoa Binh is often revered for its epic tales and legends.
Residents of Hoa Binh boast a rich cultural identity, reflected in their unique language, traditional attire, customs, and folk melodies – described as "sweet as honey, clear as a mountain stream.”
Lac Son district’s Vu ban town held the 2025 Truong Kha temple festival on April 12–13 (the 15th–16th days of the third lunar month). Since its revival in 2019, the festival has been organised every three years, preserving valuable intangible heritage while meeting the community’s cultural and spiritual needs.
