People's Artist Dang Thai Son performs with his students for the first time in Vietnam

On the afternoon of May 22, People's Artist Dang Thai Son held a press conference to announce his two piano concerts in Vietnam under the name Dang Thai Son & His Students . The two concerts are part of the annual program series Timeless Resonance - Endless Sound initiated by musician Quoc Trung, opening on June 2 in Hanoi and June 3 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Artist Dang Thai Son shared at the press conference of the music night series on the afternoon of May 22 in Hanoi (Photo: Organizing Committee).

As Music Director, the official representative of People's Artist Dang Thai Son in Vietnam from 2024, musician Quoc Trung said that the Timeless Resonance program series - endless sound is carried out with the desire to inspire young, talented people with the ability to step out into the world . Besides, it is a contribution to the increasingly developing musical life, not only in the classical field.

"In addition to the program's messages, I hope the audience will have musical experiences with talented performers, not just from People's Artist Dang Thai Son," said musician Quoc Trung.

This is the first time People's Artist Dang Thai Son has performed with his students in Vietnam. It is known that most of People's Artist Dang Thai Son's students in the past and present are of Asian origin. Therefore, he chose his homeland Vietnam as the starting point to contribute to inspiring those who are passionate and want to do more for the field of classical music in the country.

The three students who will perform with People's Artist Dang Thai Son this time have all won many high awards at prestigious music competitions around the world.

Sophia Shuya Liu won the First Prize at the 18th Ettlingen International Piano Competition, Grade A, in Germany, and the First Prize at the Thomas & Evon Cooper International Competition in 2023. Kai-Min Chang was a quarter-finalist at the 18th Chopin Competition in 2021. Zitong Wang is pursuing a master's degree at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music, where Dang Thai Son teaches. She won the First Prize and the Best Performance Award for F. Chopin at the XXXIII Ferrol International Piano Competition in 2022.

Students of People's Artist Dang Thai Son, from left to right: Zitong Wang, Kai-Min Chang, Sophia Shuya Liu (Photo: Organizing Committee).

Sharing about his three students, People's Artist Dang Thai Son revealed: "Sophia Shuya Liu (born in 2008 in Shanghai, China) is one of the child prodigies in my eyes. With her precocious personality, Sophia learned to play the piano at the age of 4 and began participating in international competitions at the age of 5.

Kai-Min Chang (born 2001 in Taiwan, China) is also an artist with the strength of performing great works.

Finally, Zitong Wang (born in 1999 in Inner Mongolia, China), is currently pursuing a doctorate at the New England Conservatory of Music with me. To talk about Zitong Wang and his students, I would like to mention the image of pianist Martha Argerich - who is 80 years old but still plays the piano with the youthful spirit of an 18-year-old. My students in this program all have such a performing spirit."

Also at the press conference, sharing about his teaching job, People's Artist Dang Thai Son humorously compared it to "babysitting". He talked about his teaching method: "There are all kinds of methods, but I usually "teach softly and let go hard". I also evaluate students based on their learning spirit. There are students who are not very talented but have tried their best, so I teach them gently. As for talented but lazy students, I also gently talk about reason. If I can't even talk about reason from gentle to harsh, then I really can't accept it anymore".

Prof. People's Artist Dang Thai Son is the first Vietnamese to become a world-class artist in the most difficult and highest art field - classical music. Prof. People's Artist Dang Thai Son is a successful role model and a direct source of inspiration for Vietnamese artists, especially young artists with aspirations to reach out to the international market.

Professor, People's Artist Dang Thai Son was first known in 1980 as the first Asian to win first prize at the 10th Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland.

He was invited to perform at over 40 famous concert halls around the world (Kennedy Center, USA; Barbican Center, UK; Sydney Opera House, Australia) and collaborated with famous orchestras such as St-Petersburg Philharmonic, Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Royal Swedish Chamber Orchestra...

Since 2018, he has continued to inspire and teach students at Oberlin Conservatory of Music (USA), New England Conservatory of Music (USA), and Beijing Central Conservatory of Music (China).

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/van-hoa/nsnd-dang-thai-son-lan-dau-bieu-dien-cung-cac-hoc-tro-tai-viet-nam-20240523102333287.htm