An emotional meeting between cultures of Vietnam and Slovakia
WVR - In late February, at Zichy Palace in the capital city of Bratislava (Slovakia), the concert titled Hudobná FantÁzia – Musical Fantasy became an emotional meeting between two cultures.
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| An emotional meeting between cultures of Vietnam and Slovakia. Artist Hoang Thị Kieu Anh (second from left) takes a commemorative photo with Ambassador Pham Truong Giang (far right) and guests. (Source: VNA) |
More than just an ordinary concert, the event was a gentle dialogue where Vietnamese melodies resonated in the heart of Europe.
In the cozy hall of Zichy Palace, students from Jozef Kresánek Elementary Art School took to the stage. With delicate fingers on the piano keys, they narrated Vietnamese fairy tales through the compositions of female composer and pianist Hoang Thi Kieu Anh.
Each melody was like a soft, clear brushstroke, guiding listeners through childhood memories and the poetic hues of the East.
In each piece, there was a hint of Vietnamese folk music, rhythms reminiscent of festival drums, and melodic lines echoing the spirit of Ca tru – an art form recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This fusion created a soundscape both familiar to Vietnamese and novel to European audiences.
The concert was attended by Vietnamese Ambassador to Slovakia Pham Truong Giang, along with representatives from the Vietnamese community in Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary.
In his opening remarks, the Ambassador emphasized the role of artists as “cultural ambassadors”, using music to bridge friendship between the two nations, deepening Vietnam-Slovakia relations through enduring spiritual values.
Born in 1966 in Thanh Hoa into a family with a rich musical tradition, Hoang Thi Kieu Anh graduated in piano from the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU) in 1995.
After years of teaching at the Bratislava Conservatory, she pursued composition alongside composer Víťazoslav Kubička. To date, she has over 300 instrumental and vocal works.
Her collections Images of Vietnam (2006) and Bronze Drums (2010), published by The Music Centre Bratislava and The Slovak Music Bridge, have helped spread her music among young Slovak pianists, leaving a mark at many national and international competitions.
Her works are performed not only in educational settings but also on professional stages, serving as a lasting bridge between the two musical cultures.
A significant milestone in her career was introducing the Vietnamese language to the international opera stage at the Forfest CH Czech Festival in 2017.
There, renowned Slovak-Japanese opera singer Nao Higano performed 12 pieces in Vietnamese, with the composer herself accompanying on piano. This event marked not only a personal achievement for Hoang Thi Kieu Anh but also opened a new space for the Vietnamese language in the European classical music scene.
