Tuan Hoang

All together now: Tran Dieu Linh and Tran Dieu An perform at the recent 2013 Festival of Autumn Melodies in HCM City. The two sisters have received support from the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation, which supports talented musicians. — VNS Photo Nguyen Nhan

HCM CITY (VNS)— Music lovers in HCM City cheered Vietnamese sisters Tran Dieu Linh and Tran Dieu An to the hilt after the pair's stunning piano performance at the recent 2013 Festival of Autumn Melodies in the city.

Their performance paid homage to legendary composer Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, playing several of his most famous pieces including March, Waltz Flowers and Adagio from the ballet The Nutcracker.

They were performing with five other talented Russian youngsters – who all receive support from the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation – to honour Russian music and culture.

It was the first ever performance of members of the foundation in Viet Nam.

The two Vietnamese sisters Linh and An were fortunate enough to become members of the Foundation at the beginning of the year.

Born and raised in Moscow, 16-year-old An and 11-year-old Linh first learned piano when they were five, having inherited their passion and talent for the instrument from their mother Tran Thanh Ha.

The two gained acceptance to the Moscow Musical College at the age of six and then the Moscow Gnessin School of Music, known as the best Russian music school for gifted children.

An had the opportunity to visit Viet Nam for the first time as part of a performance in June last year. She was among the 180 young Vietnamese people living abroad invited to take part in 2012 Viet Nam Summer Camp.

Linh proved her talent in the exchange programme between young Vietnamese piano talents organised by the Viet Nam Academy of Music and Poland's Road to Hope Foundation in Ha Noi and HCM City last December.

The performances of the two sisters impressed Tran Vuong Thach, major conductor of the Symphony Orchestra of the HCM City Music, Ballet and Drama Theatre. He invited them to take part in the 2013 Festival of Autumn Melodies. Other members of the Vladimir Spivakov Foundation were also impressed by the festival and wanted to take part in it.

"From now on, we will perform every year in Viet Nam", said Tatiana Sklovsakaya, head of the artistic troupe of the Foundation, after the successful show in Viet Nam.

"And from this, the fund will certainly discover and help young talents in Viet Nam."

More than 10,000 get support

Believing the only way to save humanity is through culture, 69-year-old violinist Vladimir Spivakov, conductor and music director of the Russian National Orchestra and artistic director of France's Colmar International Festival, founded a charity fund under his name in May 1994.

Spivakov is one of the world's best-known violinists and a highly regarded conductor.

"I'm sure the feeling of happiness is given to a person just through the opportunity to share, to stretch our spiritual limits and feel you can make somebody happy. I want children to believe in miracles," he said.

The foundation was set up in May 1994 as a non-commercial organisation. Its Board of Trustees, performing advisory and representative activities, is made up of famous artists, renowned medical specialists, well-known politicians, media leaders, economists and businessmen.

The principal goals of the Spivakov Foundation are to assist young people gifted in music and arts in the development of their talents and in the organisation of their creative process in Russia and abroad; and to preserve plus develop cultural values and traditions while providing comprehensive charity support.

Permanent support is given to specialised music schools in Moscow, St Petersburg, Siberia, Ural, the Volga region, Ukraine and Belarus, as well as a number of art schools and art studios to provide them with necessary materials and school supplies.

An and Linh received funding after their talents won the heart of Tatiana Sklovskaya, one of the five people who manage the Foundation.

Sklovskaya recalls how in early 2013, she heard from the parents of a student about two Vietnamese sisters who played piano superbly. She asked for their email address and came to see them. After having given them some test pieces, she was very impressed with their talents and immediately decided to offer the Foundation's backing.

In June 2013, An, Linh and other children performed in several countries across Europe - they have also performed in Russia every week.

Since its establishment, the Foundation has organised over 4,000 concerts from its grant-aided children in Russia and other countries around the world. It has attracted over 1,000 children to the foundation's programmes and projects, with 350 of them becoming award-winners at international competitions and festivals.

It has given 262 musical instruments as presents and sponsored over 90 complicated surgical operations, while arranging comprehensive medical examinations and care for over 150 children.

"To date, more than 10,000 children from different regions in the world have received material and spiritual support. It is without doubt the greatest avhievement of my life," said Vladimir Spivakov. — VNS