'What Remains' 2025: Symphony of National Pride!

The fact that it falls on September 2nd, a special day for the country to enjoy a concert praising the Fatherland, honoring musical works that have stood the test of time and valuable works, is a very special detail.

And yet it has been happening for the past 16 years. But each year The Last Thing reveals more.

And this year, after fully enjoying the show at Ho Guom Theater, I also want to say a few things!

International orchestra and national spirit

One of the highlights that impressed me most right from the beginning of the program What Remains Forever 2025 was the collaboration with the Sun Symphony Orchestra under the direction of French conductor Olivier Ochanine.

The presence of French conductor Olivier Ochanine and the Sun Symphony Orchestra is a highlight of "What Remains" 2025.

The appearance of a professional symphony orchestra with many foreign artists shows that the integration picture of What remains forever in particular, and of Vietnamese music in general in the current period, is becoming more and more attractive and widespread.

A particularly touching moment was after the break, when the entire orchestra and the conductor wore scarves printed with the red flag with a yellow star on their shoulders.

In the solemn light of the Hoan Kiem Theater, the image of dozens of Vietnamese and international artists carrying the flag, the sacred symbol of the Vietnamese people, on their shoulders has become a very unique "patriotic trend" of this year.

It's not just an interesting detail, but also an affirmation that music can erase borders, connect hearts and spread national pride.

If the image of the orchestra creates a visual impression, it is the artistic hand of the music director - musician Tran Manh Hung that creates the soul of the program.

Over the years, he has continued to demonstrate his ability to harmonize the sophisticated academic qualities of the symphony with its closeness and accessibility to a wide audience.

The special thing about national concerts is that the way of handling always tends to be vocal, the work is melodic, easy to access, suitable for the public's musical taste.

The performances are delicately coordinated, balancing academic quality with closeness to the masses.

Even in the purely instrumental pieces used in the program, the music director skillfully exploited melodies rich in singing, making the listener feel as if the music were speaking.

This helps The Last Thing , even on a symphony stage, still retain the spirit of a concert, where the melody can touch the hearts of the majority.

Colorful musical picture

What Remains 2025 continues to affirm its strength in diversity, like a musical picture with many colors: From instrumental music to vocal music, from pre-war music, revolutionary music to folk music and modern music - all are present.

But that "enough", without the skillful handling of the "chef", can easily turn into a pot of chive soup.

Fortunately, this did not happen in What Remains Forever . The harmonious selection and arrangement of works, exploiting many musical colors and genres, but still unified in melody and easy-to-understand expressive style, has created a whole that is both diverse and cohesive.

In the instrumental music section, the audience experienced unique creations. Notably, there was a contemporary work written specifically for the monochord - Motherland (Tran Manh Hung) performed by Meritorious Artist Le Giang with a symphony orchestra.

The timbre of the Vietnamese monochord in dialogue with the Western symphonic language leaves a deep echo.

Artist Luong Khanh Nhi sublimates with the piano.

Musician Tran Manh Hung also chose two classic songs of new Vietnamese music: Song Lo (Van Cao), arranged for piano and symphony orchestra, and Huong ve Ha Noi (Hoang Duong), rich in musicality, now resounding through the sound of cello and orchestra.

However, the biggest surprise was Luu Thuy - Kim Tien - Xuan Phong - Long Ho , a medley of Hue Royal Court Music, performed by 8 artists of the Net Viet folk music group with a symphony orchestra.

The performance "Luu Thuy - Kim Tien - Xuan Phong - Long Ho" brought many surprises.

This clever combination opens up a musical space that is both solemn and vast - a very enjoyable experience.

In the vocal music section, the program has the richest repertoire of works and colors. Besides classic revolutionary songs such as: Singing in the Pac Bo forest (Nguyen Tai Tue), Battalion 307 (Nguyen Huu Tri, adapted from Nguyen Binh's poem), Hanoi song (Vu Thanh)... there are also familiar songs but unexpectedly appeared in concert such as Saigon is very beautiful (Y Van), Hue - Saigon - Hanoi (Trinh Cong Son), along with new works of the next generation such as Wind blowing in all directions (Tran Manh Hung), One lap of Vietnam (Dong Thien Duc)...

The 5 boys of the Soldiers' Shirt group bring a fresh, youthful spirit to "Battalion 307".

The surprise highlight was the performance of the Soldier's Shirt group with Battalion 307. Originally a marching song often used in a collective setting, with a propaganda character, it was now transformed into a well-crafted academic work of art: from the way the parts were divided for 5 male voices to the orchestra's delicate performance, sometimes restrained, sometimes explosive.

On the familiar marching rhythm, the work sometimes brings lyrical colors, sometimes intense, creating a strong impression.

The appearance of Saigon is beautiful in the program, moreover performed by a choir with a symphony orchestra, was a bold decision, but brought moments of comfort and intimacy rarely found in an academic program.

Besides, A Round of Vietnam - a familiar song, familiar singer (Tung Duong) - but performed in a new symphonic version, also created a highlight, making the audience continuously clap their hands, even keeping the singer on stage longer than usual.

The diversity of works, styles, and periods of composition combined with the performance of the symphony orchestra clearly affirms the inheritance and spirit of constant innovation.

Thanks to that, the program does not fall into the commemorative stereotype but truly becomes a lively musical stream, reflecting many levels of history and life.

The intersection of artist generations

The impressive return of diva Hong Nhung, divo Tung Duong and Meritorious Artist Lan Anh.

Another highlight of the program is the combination of many generations of artists. Big names such as diva Hong Nhung, divo Tung Duong, Meritorious Artist Lan Anh appeared alongside younger artists such as Meritorious Artist Pham Khanh Ngoc, Viet Danh, Bach Tra, Dinh Trang, the Ao Linh group and even the promising young face Ha An Huy.

Tung Duong with "One Round of Vietnam":

In the musical instrument section, the audience got to meet Meritorious Artist Le Giang again with the monochord, and also witnessed the brilliance of young artists such as Phan Phuc (Cello), Luong Khanh Nhi (Piano)...

This fusion is not only a continuation of tradition but also conveys a strong message that Vietnamese music is always passed down and spread from generation to generation.

Artist Phan Phuc performs cello "Towards Hanoi"

Looking at the participating artists, we can see the diversity from familiar faces of pop music such as Hong Nhung, Tung Duong, Ha An Huy, to the folk colors of Bach Tra, and then standard chamber music voices such as Lan Anh, Pham Khanh Ngoc, Viet Danh.

Hong Nhung surprised everyone by using many techniques to close the high notes in Hanoi Song . Although it may not be familiar to some audiences, this choice shows the creative efforts of the singer who is considered a diva of Vietnamese pop music.

Tung Duong also left an impression when he skillfully harmonized vocal technique and "real life" elements in Dak Rong River in Spring (To Hai).

Young singers make their mark on the stage for the first time at "What Will Last" 2025.

With an impressive arrangement, Ha An Huy brought a fresh breath to Hue - Saigon - Hanoi. Meanwhile, chamber singer Dinh Trang and drummer Hoang Ke surprised the audience with their performance of the Cham folk song Thei Mai, revealing their own unique style.

Lan Anh still maintains a stable performance in her forte of chamber music. Bach Tra continues to affirm her voice in folk music. Viet Danh attracts attention with his high-pitched, resolute voice, creating a spacious musical space when performing Wind Blows Four Directions .

Meritorious Artist Pham Khanh Ngoc demonstrates maturity in both emotion and technique in singing.

In particular, Meritorious Artist Pham Khanh Ngoc truly conquered the audience in Nha Trang in Autumn (arranged by Tran Manh Hung). The performance of this work with the orchestra required high technical skills, the entire piece had to use the legato technique, along with other techniques that required endurance in both talent and physical strength.

At the same time, the orchestra's volume control during almost the entire time the vocals were performed also put great pressure on the vocals - but it was in this challenge that Meritorious Artist Pham Khanh Ngoc shone.

Before closing, all the artists sang As if Uncle Ho were here on the great victory day (Pham Tuyen). The auditorium lit up, resounding with pride. It was a moment when music merged with history, artists merged with the audience, the past met the present.

The artists sang together "As if Uncle Ho was here on the great victory day" to close the concert.

Each work that resonates is a piece of memory and the important thing is that those memories do not remain in the past, but are renewed, retold in a modern, familiar artistic language, to continue to accompany today's audience.

Photo: Hoang Ha - Trong Tung

The remaining values of What Remains 2025: Excellence, innovation, openness and humility "The four values remaining after the program of the National Concert 'What Remains' can only be summarized in four words: excellence, innovation, openness and humility", Master of Cultural Management Nguyen Dinh Thanh affirmed.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/dieu-con-mai-2025-ban-giao-huong-cua-long-tu-hao-dan-toc-2438692.html