Tuning up: Saxophonist Fabrice Alleman from Belgium will perform during the European Music Festival. — Photo www.eumusicfestival.com

HA NOI (VNS)— The annual European Music Festival will officially kick off on Friday in Ha Noi and on Sunday in HCM City, with a local band joining the lineup for the first time.

Vietnamese band Diva Club will join musicians from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Sweden performing classical music, jazz and pop at the event. Fourteen performances are being staged throughout the festival, 10 of which will showcase both European and Vietnamese musicians.

Bringing together musical talents from the European Union, the event aims to reach a diversified audience with a varied repertoire to celebrate the richness of European culture. This year, the festival once again welcomes artists and audiences to experience music in established settings, exploring the combination of classic and contemporary rhythms.

"The event is an annual celebration of music excellence that makes the joy of music accessible to all," the ambassador-head of the EU delegation to Viet Nam, Franz Jessen, said at the press conference yesterday.

"Whether your primary interest is in serious contemporary music, world music, jazz, international cultural development or just enjoying fantastic entertainment, the European Music Festival offers unforgettable concerts to connect with.

"The combination of improvisation by European and Vietnamese musicians on stage during the festival will guarantee great entertainment for audiences."

The festival kicks off with a performance by twin German guitarists Peter and Zoltan Katona. The Katona Twins will also present a performance of Astor Piazzolla together with musicians from the Ha Noi Philharmonic Orchestra in Ha Noi and the Conservatory of Music in HCM City.

The festival continues with performances by Austrian musician Harri Stojka and his band, saxophonist Fabrice Alleman from Wallonia Brussels and the Grzegorz Karnas Quartet from Poland, who will all offer a slice of sophisticated jazz melodies with great passion.

Alleman is a jazz musician who has received acclaim both in Belgium and internationally and he will perform with the Ha Noi Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vietnamese conductor Pham Ngoc Khoi.

Concerts by the Grzegorz Karnas Quartet are energy-filled, groovy, acoustic music-making with a hefty dose of improvisation, at times almost bordering on musical nonchalance. Vietnamese saxophonist Quyen Thien Dac and pianist Vu Trong Hieu will be improvising on stage with the Quartet in Ha Noi and HCM City respectively.

For fans of classical music, a piano concert by Hungarian pianist Gabor Eckhardt will no doubt captivate their musical souls. Eckhardt will perform some pieces for piano four hands with Vietnamese pianist Ta Quang Dong from the Viet Nam National Academy of Music.

The festival will close in Ha Noi on December 1 with Swedish singer and song writer Ludwig Bell who has made his name on the Swedish pop scene since 2007 with the band Dreamboy, with whom Bell was the lead singer and songwriter.

The band Diva Club wrap up the festival in HCM City a day earlier. They will present two famous opera singers Ngoc Tuyen and Trieu Yen who will sing operas on electronic music by well-known Vietnamese music DJ Hoang Anh.

Further information about the event can be found at http://eumusicfestival.com

Admission is free and tickets can be reserved and collection from today at Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ha Noi (04-3734 2251/52) and 18 Street No 1, Cu Xa Do Thanh, Ward 4, District 3, HCM City (08-36009587). — VNS