The director, who is still simple, is a person who inspires students of the Hanoi Conservatory of Music after Professor, Doctor, People's Artist Tran Thu Ha retired from management.
I mention this to say that I have known Ngo Van Thanh for a long time. It also means that my article about him, a project that took so long that for more than twenty years I still have not finished it. And he is not only a manager, a dedicated professor, but he is also a talented violinist among the best in Vietnam.
Violinist Ngo Van Thanh
The reason, first of all, is that both he and I are too busy. In short, he is not like those people who need to write another article to become more famous (although there are many articles written about him), and I am so careful and meticulous that I do not write if I have not actually heard his music. (The same goes for anyone, whether they are writers, musicians, painters, filmmakers, etc., I always have to read, watch, and listen to their works before writing an article...). He has many other achievements, but when talking about him, I really want to first talk about the violin art that he has mastered.
Now, I have attended his lectures, listened to him perform the best and most difficult pieces of authors such as: J. Massenet, CH Gluck. E. Elgar, C. Debussy. JS Bach, F. Kreisler, R. Schubert, S, Racmaninov... I am extremely regretful. I missed out, not writing about him sooner. He did not lose anything, but I lost and the public also lost, a person like Ngo Van Thanh should have been admired more, more true to what he has... In life, being thoroughly understood, being able to admire a talent is a blessing. Ngo Van Thanh's guitar playing is soulful, mellow, profound, delicate, smooth and still has personality... To put it simply: if singing ca tru or ca nuong has a resounding and bouncy voice, Ngo Van Thanh's guitar playing is very clear and has a core... The bow in his hand seems to have magic, his face is holy when performing... I was once hired by an international school to paint portraits of classical musicians around the world . When listening to Ngo Van Thanh's guitar playing, I suddenly see the images of those famous people appear before me and around me, they also admire Ngo Van Thanh like me...
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50 years. The country's history has gone a long way from poverty to prosperity, from war of liberation to peace , from the ruins of villages and towns to the splendor of cities and vast countryside. But in those 50 years, no one has passed the second round of the famous music competition like Ngo Van Thanh. His name, Ngo Van Thanh, has been known since the time of the country's leaders such as Nguyen Van Thuong, Hoang Minh Giam, Ta Quang Buu, Le Duan... with a long-term vision of culture, wishing for the future of a nation with many real talents... At a reception for two young students: Ngo Van Thanh and Ton Nu Nguyet Minh in Moscow (at that time Ngo Van Thanh was just over 20 years old), General Secretary Le Duan intimately said: "Our country has a unique traditional music (vong co, cai luong - NV), but it leans towards sad emotions, we must learn, must conquer both the world's classical authors and works, rich in positive energy, I rely a lot on talents like you...". At that time Ngo Van Thanh and Ton Nu Nguyet Minh (piano) were studying in Russia...
The reason he was kept to study in Russia began with the Russian professors. They saw that student Ngo Van Thanh's playing was very promising, and they wanted to train Ngo Van Thanh to be even better. In Vietnam, when Musician Nguyen Van Thuong, the principal, sent his students to the competition, he only hoped that the Vietnamese could plant the Vietnamese flag in the international arena of classical music. When the flag was not only planted, but the student was also kept, it was something they had not thought of. It forced Minister Hoang Minh Giam (Ministry of Culture), General Secretary of the Musicians' Association - Musician Do Nhuan, Professor Ta Quang Buu (Ministry of Universities) and Principal Nguyen Van Thuong to consult, discuss and ask for opinions from higher levels...
In the end, both students were allowed to stay and study. Not disappointing the leaders' expectations, Ngo Van Thanh studied hard for 8 years at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
Ngo Van Thanh at the Concour competition in Russia
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He was born in 1951 on Ly Quoc Su Street, Hanoi. Not a son of a traditional family, his father was a fabric dyer. Although he was called a craftsman, a fabric dyer was like an artist in terms of materials and colors, creating special fabrics. That fabric dyer loved music. He accepted: if he were not a musician, he would let his children study freely and pursue their musical dreams. His children studied the zither. Ngo Van Thanh's older sister is Master, Associate Professor, Ngo Bich Vuong, head of the Department of Traditional Musical Instruments at the Vietnam National Academy of Music. Ngo Van Thanh also studied the zither but then also learned the violin. By chance, Ngo Van Thanh met a good teacher, Chu Bao Khau. That Chinese artist also believed in his student's innate talent and intelligence, so he devoted himself to teaching him.
Engrossed in learning the zither, one day Mr. Dzoan Man passed by and heard the 7-year-old boy's zither playing. The musician told his father that if he wanted his talent to develop, he should send his grandson to the Music School. Ngo Van Thanh studied the zither at the Music School, but after studying with teacher Chu Bao Khau, he went to the intermediate level of the Vietnam Music School (now the Vietnam National Academy of Music). The more he studied, the more passionate he became.
When Ngo Van Thanh continued his studies at university, Professor-People's Artist Bich Ngoc (husband of People's Artist Tra Giang), a famous person with violin talent and teaching ability, discovered that the young student had potential and directly trained him. During the days in the Soviet Union to prepare for the competition, Ngo Van Thanh was also directly trained by Professor, Honored Artist of the Soviet Union Igor Bezrodny. At the Tchaikovsky International Music Competition held in June 1974, Vietnam sent two young artists to participate, Ngo Van Thanh and Ton Nu Nguyet Minh. The two won the Certificate of Merit in the second round of this competition.
He graduated from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 1979, then in 1982 graduated as a violin performance student in the class of artist Igor Bezrodny. In 1982, Ngo Van Thanh graduated as a violin performance student in the class of Professor - People's Artist Igor Bezrodny.
He also successfully defended his PhD thesis in Music Arts at the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts with the topic: "The formation and development of Violin art in Vietnam". This thesis was published in book form at Tri Thuc Publishing House.
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When he was young, Ngo Van Thanh participated in many performances. Sometimes in Hanoi, sometimes in Ho Chi Minh City, sometimes in famous theaters in Japan and France... but then he was busier with training. In every field, he was passionate, devoted himself wholeheartedly, and considered it a sacred mission that Heaven and Earth had given him. His students were also famous violinists such as Meritorious Artist Ngo Hoang Linh, Meritorious Artist Nguyen Cong Thang, Meritorious Artist Pham Truong Son, Meritorious Artist Phan Thi To Trinh Do Xuan Thang, and younger generations such as Tran Quang Duy, Nguyen Huyen Anh, Do Phuong Nhi...
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Visiting him at his apartment on the 20th floor of the 249A Thuy Khe apartment building (Hanoi), I met his wife, a lecturer at the University of Science and Technology, Associate Professor, Distinguished Teacher, Ms. Lam Xuan Thanh. They studied together in Moscow and became husband and wife... Their two daughters are currently working abroad and also admire their parents and are passionate about their father's music...
Ngo Van Thanh showed me the Certificate of Merit that he had received from the prestigious Competition. The Certificate of Merit was stained with time but still clearly showed the strokes of the 25 judges, world violin masters such as David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Igor Bezrodny…
Retired as manager in 2016, Ngo Van Thanh still continues to contribute to the country's music industry.
50 years of journey - a dream, Ngo Van Thanh has fulfilled his own wishes and those of those who expected of him with his tireless efforts. Wishing Professor, Doctor, People's Artist Ngo Van Thanh abundant energy to continue his pinnacle musical path and contribute to the career of training talents of the country.
Source: https://toquoc.vn/professor-student-scientist-ngo-van-thanh-50-nam-nhung-chang-duong-mot-giac-mo-lon-20240524143022174.htm
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