HCM CITY — Vietnamese pianists Nguyễn Đăng Quang and Trần Yến Nhi will perform two lifetime compositions by great composers Camille Saint-Saens and Sergei Rachmaninov at the HCM City Opera House on June 28.

Quang will present Piano Concerto No 2 in G minor, composed by Saint-Saens in 1868.

The three-movement composition, known as one of the most famous piano concertos of all time, opens with a wonderful solo piano passage and ends with a quirky saltarello, leading Polish pianist and composer Zygmunt Stojowski to joke that the concerto "begins with Bach and ends with Offenbach".

Quang is notable for starting his piano studies at the age of nine at the Việt Nam National Academy of Music.

In 2020, he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Classical Piano Performance from the University of Montreal, Canada, having been awarded a full scholarship from the Vietnamese Government under the guidance of Professor Đặng Thái Sơn.

Two years later, he completed his master's degree programme and is now pursuing a doctorate at the University of Montreal under the guidance of chamber musician Jean Saulnier, a sought-after collaborator by the best musicians from Canada and abroad.

Pianist Nhi will continue with Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor, composed by Rachmaninov between 1900 and 1901.

This three-movement concerto is an extremely intense and melodious piece. It requires the technical virtuosity of a soloist.

Born into a family with an arts tradition, Nhi began piano studies at the HCM City Conservatory of Music when she was seven.

She was accepted into the prestigious Moscow Central Music School, affiliated with the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, in Russia at the age of 14 under the guidance of Nina Makarova, Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation.

She continued her studies at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she earned her undergraduate degree with honours in 2022 and completed a postgraduate programme in 2024.

Nhi has served as a juror for several prominent competitions in Russia, such as the International Competition for Young Artists “Allegro” and the E.M. Timakin International Competition for Young Pianists in Moscow.

She is currently a teacher in the Piano Department of the city's Conservatory of Music.

The two pianists will play along with the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera's (HBSO) symphony orchestra.

The orchestra will also introduce the 1982 Overture by Tchaikovsky.

The fifteen-minute overture is best known for its climactic volley of cannon fire, ringing chimes, and a brass fanfare finale.

Conductor Lê Ha My, HBSO’s director, will lead the concert.

My graduated in piano from the Việt Nam National Academy of Music in 1999, and then was sent to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory for conducting in Russia.

He has worked with orchestras in Russia and Việt Nam.

The concert will begin at 8pm at 7 Lam Sơn Square in District 1. Tickets are available at the box office and ticketbox.vn. — VNS