This coming December, he will also be one of the four main characters of the music night “The Legend Live Concert - Come here, four birds of the sky” in Hanoi. Returning to his hometown this time, musician Tran Tien shared with Hanoi Moi Newspaper about music , his love for Hanoi and his happiness.
- How did the musician feel when receiving the Grand Prize - For the love of Hanoi?
- I am very happy, very happy. I only wrote a few small songs, about what I remember, what I love, but they were sung by many people, spread and I have the great happiness of returning to my homeland, in the love of everyone, receiving an award named after the person I admire, the famous painter Bui Xuan Phai.
Honestly, I learned to draw when I was 7 years old, so I have some knowledge about painting. Mr. Bui Xuan Phai with his street paintings and many other artists of the previous generation such as poet Phan Vu - author of "Em oi, Ha Noi pho" passed on to me the love of Hanoi. I brought it to the battlefield, brought it all over the world , to the places I wandered and all my achievements are learned from those who came before me.
- Can the musician share more about his nostalgia for Hanoi?
- I am a person who has been away from home, away from Hanoi for 45 years. But during that time, my soul as well as my friends, some living, some dead, still linger around the Turtle Tower, lingering in the streets of Hanoi. That is why I wrote: “There I still remember my old friends/ The blood of scholars, many of whom have never returned/ Turtle Tower, do you remember my friends/ The wandering soul still lingers around the streets” (“Poor Street”).
I am far from Hanoi, every time I hear someone on the street speaking with their hometown accent, their original Hanoi accent, I feel like crying. I don’t understand why Hanoi evokes such strong memories for those who are far from home. Not only in Hanoi, but wherever your hometown is, when you hear your hometown accent, you are moved like I was when I heard the Hanoi accent.
Sometimes I see an old Hanoi figure. I remember the Hanoi people have a very unique and strange figure! Their hair is still black, not dyed hair. I remember the black clogs clicking in the deserted alleys, turning into the sadness of the night in my songs. And I write, for myself. Luckily, the songs are loved by everyone, spread, and sung by many people.
- What is Hanoi in the heart of musician Tran Tien?
- My mother, my sister, my friends. Hanoi is the place where “in the rainy season, childhood friends wade through the river and play”. Hanoi is a day of “crying silently and running up the stairs, where is my mother’s shadow”. Hanoi “has something very painful, the person I love, leaves and never returns” (“Street Improvisation”). Hanoi is “Whom the second sister loves, she stands at the head of the communal house/ The second sister is poor, the second sister is sad, the second sister is lonely, the second sister cries” (“Red River Improvisation”). I always remember “Brown sad street, brown sad tiled roof”, “Foggy street, foggy tiled roof”, “In that place I still remember the old love/ The young woman who met me shyly” (“Poor Street”)...
Hanoi is both my joy and sadness, my childhood and my dreams. That is “Hanoi in the 2000s/ Children no longer beg/ Old men sit in the park watching old women remembering their youth” , peaceful Hanoi “The high sky of Thang Long flies up/ Tall houses reach into the blue clouds/ The streets are still small, the roads are still small/ Let me walk in the golden autumn” (“Hanoi in the 2000s”)...
All my nostalgia, I put into my songs.
- After more than four decades living away from Hanoi, do you think Hanoi has changed much today?
- Hanoi has changed a lot. As the world changes, Hanoi must change too. Tall buildings, wide doors. Many new streets I have never known. That is a good thing. Young people look at Hanoi with youthful eyes. As for me, I always look at Hanoi with the eyes of old age, of unforgettable memories, still the image of old Hanoi like Bui Xuan Phai's paintings. Everywhere I touch, I tremble with the beloved years, the happy and sad memories like negatives of a distant time.
- On December 28, you will be a character in the music night “The Legend Live Concert - Come here, four birds of the sky” at the National Convention Center (Hanoi), honoring four musicians Van Cao, Pham Duy, Trinh Cong Son and Tran Tien. How do you feel when standing with these famous musicians in the music night?
- This is a great honor for me. The three musicians Van Cao, Pham Duy, Trinh Cong Son are all people I deeply respect and love. There are very strange and very deep connections between us. I have been taught and supported by them.
I remember when I was 18, when I was a singer in a band, the band sent me to musician Van Cao’s house to ask for the song “Marching to Hanoi”. At that time, I was very scared but still timidly told him that I liked to compose. He listened to a few songs and said: “Stop singing, focus on composing, you have a lot of quality”. On my wedding day, musician Van Cao came late and brought a handwritten book about the musical experiences of a French musician. I have kept it until now.
Musician Trinh Cong Son is also a brother to whom I am extremely grateful. Brother Son said: “Tien, a bad symphony is not as good as a good folk song. Tien, write good songs, don’t go into instrumental music anymore, just write songs.”
Brothers like Van Cao, Trinh Cong Son, Pham Duy... gave me love, faith and musical direction. I am grateful to them and the upcoming concert is also an opportunity for me to express my gratitude, to sing again their songs - those who have flown to heaven. As for me, heaven has not called yet, but I also do not know if I will have enough strength to "fly" with their music that day. Anyway, to stand with their names on the same stage, for me, is a great happiness.
- Sincerely thank musician Tran Tien!
Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/nhac-si-tran-tien-ha-noi-la-ca-vui-buon-tuoi-tho-va-mo-uoc-cua-toi-721006.html
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