Elevating cultural diplomacy: Creativity beyond the 'safe zone'

Besides its already affirmed intrinsic strength, Vietnamese traditional music has shown another effectiveness in cultural diplomacy when combined with classical music.

That is the opinion of conductor Tran Nhat Minh - a member of the art troupe accompanying President Vo Van Thuong and his wife and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to visit Austria and Italy at the end of July.

The opinion was expressed when conductor Tran Nhat Minh, Head of the Opera Troupe, Ho Chi Minh City Ballet, Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO), answered Thanh Nien's interview about lessons in promoting cultural diplomacy after the above trip.

From the imprint of a tour

As a member of the art troupe - in the role of conductor, can you share more about the recent performance as well as the artists' feelings when creating this "mark" together?

For a long time, we have often seen folk music as a safe formula in cultural exchange performances. With this art troupe, there is a balanced combination between academic music and folk music, between Western instruments and traditional Vietnamese instruments (monochord, T'rung).

The troupe performed at the Italian Presidential Palace

We performed 3 shows, with 3 different stagings to serve overseas Vietnamese and international friends. Accordingly, the brief task set for the art troupe was to bring tears to our compatriots and gain the respect of international friends.

All 3 programs ended with the song Viet Nam que huong toi (composer Do Nhuan), with different forms: there was a piano accompaniment, there was a string orchestra playing together and all artists participated. The string orchestra almost played the main role, there were some songs where the string orchestra played independently.

With the first program in the capital Vienna (Austria), this was like a spiritual gift from President Vo Van Thuong to overseas Vietnamese, and everything took place properly and solemnly, and was warmly and affectionately received by everyone.

The next show in Austria, the group performed in a very famous hall - the Haydn Saal concert hall in Esterhazy Castle, Burgenland state. This castle is where the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn - known as "the father of the symphony" - once presided over concerts.

The show was supposed to last for 1 hour, but it lasted for almost 2 hours because the audience was so engrossed in the show and didn’t want it to end. Luckily, the group had prepared a lot of acts so they were able to take on the extra time.

President Vo Van Thuong shared with the art troupe that while enjoying the performance, Mr. Peter Doskozil, Prime Minister of Burgenland state, expressed his surprise and impression with the level and performance of the Vietnamese artists, especially he invited the conductor to come back to participate in the Haydn Festival (annual) of Burgenland state if he had the opportunity.

Next, the troupe performed at the Cappella Paolina Presidential Palace in Rome (Italy), with the participation of President Vo Van Thuong and his wife , Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter, and many high-ranking officials from the two countries. The guests invited to the Presidential Palace to watch the program were all elites of Rome and also some artists. Here, I met again conductor Paolo Olmi - who came to Vietnam to perform in the program with HBSO in 2022.

When Vietnam welcomes foreign diplomatic delegations, what is the music repertoire usually like?

In the performances that HBSO artists participate in, we see that the repertoire includes both Vietnamese music and music from partner countries, sometimes combined with solo artists from the partner country.

The recent trip, with 2 performances in front of international friends, showed the balance between the music of the 2 countries as well as between traditional Vietnamese music and Western classical music. I opened with a song from your country, then European classical music, and Vietnamese music…

For example, the performance at the Italian Presidential Palace included Vietnamese music including Tay Nguyen Dance (Hoang Dam) performed by the T'rung soloist with the accompaniment of the chamber orchestra, or My Southern Homeland (Huy Du) performed by the monochord soloist with the accompaniment of the chamber orchestra, and My Homeland Vietnam.

Image of performance at Haydn Hall (Esterhazy, Austria)

Be creative

After the performance, did you "think more" about your career - about your art form?

For me personally, this was the most effective trip. We felt the importance of our work, very specifically, like a highlight. As an artist, of course I will see my performances as important, but the overall image of this trip, the emotions left behind… can be said to be impressive.

I think that, besides traditional Vietnamese music , the boldness in bringing other art forms - specifically classical academic music - to the world, taking on such important national responsibilities... the team of artists is ready.

Previously, the "balance" was a bit reversed, when going abroad, it was usually traditional music. Of course, the power of traditional music in cultural diplomacy cannot be denied, the proof is when the sound of the monochord and the T'rung resounded in the auditorium - an ancient castle in the middle of Europe, we were very proud. But this time, the combination of academic music and traditional Vietnamese music showed a very different effect: I performed your song, then used Western instruments to accompany my traditional instruments, all of which were great.

I think this is what brought surprise and admiration to those present that day...

thanhnien.vn