In memory of Associate Professor, musician Chu Minh

Having devoted his whole life to and made great contributions to the Vietnamese music career, Associate Professor and musician Chu Minh (who was honored to receive the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Arts in 2017) passed away on October 17, 2023.

Musician Chu Minh. (Family photo)

Musician Chu Minh was born in 1931 into a family of civil servants in Hanoi. Few people know that his birth name is Trieu Dat Hien. Even I, 20 years ago, only learned his real name. I remember, during the years I worked at Vietnam Airlines, the Corporation once invited a number of musicians and artists from the Central Music and Dance Theater to inaugurate a flight route in the Federal Republic of Germany, including musician Chu Minh.

Assigned to be the head of the art group, having to do procedures related to plane tickets, I went to Giang Vo residential area (Ba Dinh, Hanoi ) to meet him to borrow a passport and only then did I know that Chu Minh was just a pen name. A week later, the whole group went to Germany and we visited some famous historical sites there. When we arrived at the Music Museum of the two composers of the German National Anthem, Heinrich Hoffmann Von Fallersleben (the lyrics of the third verse of the song German Song) and Joseph Haydn (the music), musician Chu Minh was fascinated by the sounds of the place... I know that trip left a lot of emotions for him. Later, musician Chu Minh continued to be invited by Vietnam Airlines to travel to England and Japan on the occasion of opening new routes.

Mentioning musician Chu Minh is mentioning a person who is both talented and gentle and virtuous. His passion for music was revealed early on. When he was only 11 years old, Chu Minh learned to play the violin. After that, he volunteered to join the revolution. From 1947 to 1950, he worked in the Armed Propaganda Team of the Central Propaganda Department.

The pen name Chu Minh has been used since 1950, when he composed the songs Vietnam-China-Soviet Union and Border Victory. In the 1950s, musician Chu Minh was one of the first people to establish the Central People's Art Troupe. In the late 1950s, when he was in charge of the Central Song and Dance Troupe, he had many opportunities to perform at the Presidential Palace. From 1961 to 1965, musician Chu Minh studied undergraduate composition at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (China).

After graduating and returning to Vietnam, he returned to the Vietnam Music School (now the Vietnam National Academy of Music) to teach composition. He was once the Head of the School's Theory-Composition-Conducting Department.

Musician Chu Minh is considered a giant of Vietnamese music. With success in both vocal and instrumental music, he has made many contributions to the cause of building and developing revolutionary music, new Vietnamese music in the second half of the 20th century and the first decades of the 21st century.

In particular, he was the musician who had the honor of meeting Uncle Ho five times. Musician Chu Minh also left his mark with many compositions about President Ho Chi Minh, including the song "You are the belief in certain victory" published in 1969. I think that musician Chu Minh is one of the authors with the best musical compositions about President Ho Chi Minh. Along with "You are the belief in certain victory", he also composed songs such as: "The country is in your name", "That day you walked a long mile the century", "Missing Uncle at night", "Your name is beautiful forever in Ben Tre"...

When the country was unified, he had the heroic melodies of Ta tu huong di len, oi Viet Nam, arousing pride and honor, touching millions of hearts. At the end of 2019, in the music night "Ta tu huong di len, oi Viet Nam" held in Hanoi, music lovers had the opportunity to enjoy many of his political songs and instrumental works, such as: Youth Concerto; Symphony Suite Southern Frontline..., along with romantic love songs such as Em xa co nho, Ha Noi chieu may...

Musician Chu Minh is also a devoted teacher to many classes of students at the Vietnam National Academy of Music and cultural and artistic schools across the country. Many of his students have become famous, such as musicians Pho Duc Phuong, Truong Ngoc Ninh, Duc Trinh, Ton That Lap... Associate Professor-PhD, musician Do Hong Quan (Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations) once said that Associate Professor, musician Chu Minh is "a complete creator".

With many contributions in the field of music composition and training, Associate Professor, musician Chu Minh was awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts, Phase I (2001), the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Arts (2017), along with many other noble medals, orders and awards...

Associate Professor, musician Chu Minh is the author of many immortal songs: The country bows; You are the belief in certain victory; We are proud to go up, oh Vietnam; The Truong Son road, the victory calls the victory,... In addition to vocal music, he also composed instrumental music, such as: Symphony Suite Sao Bac Dau; Sonata No. 1, 2, 3; Suite Khan scarf dot for piano; Symphony Vietnam Frontline; Symphony poetry Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam's posture; 4-act musical Lullaby...

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