There are still many unknown things about musician Thanh Tung.

Ms. Bach Duong and her father, musician Thanh Tung - Photo: GĐCC

The project includes a concert on September 15 at the Ho Guom Theater (Hanoi); followed by a vinyl record, documentary film and book about musician Thanh Tung.

In this project, the family invited young singers such as Lan Nha, Uyen Linh, Nguyen Ngoc Anh. Ms. Duong said the family wants the younger generation to continue spreading Thanh Tung's musical values. Through their singing, Thanh Tung's music reaches more of the public of the same generation.

"...More than people think"

* Legacy of love - Legacy of love wants to introduce another aspect of musician Thanh Tung's musical legacy, what is it?

- In 2017, from a message from a fan of musician Thanh Tung, my family felt that what the public knew and understood about my father was not complete. That was the reason for the urge to start this project.

It took us years to meet with Dad's friends, to research and systematize his legacy.

* What did that audience say?

- He said he felt sad because some people did not understand anything about musician Thanh Tung. They said he loved a lot (love between boys and girls - PV) so he wrote so many love songs.

He was bigger than what people knew and talked about. I believe he was not only a talented musician, but also a person with a rich emotional and kind heart. He was not a person who loved a lot to write music.

* When you met and heard your father's friends talk about him, what was the thing that overwhelmed you the most?

- Audiences know him as the king of love songs, but what we find interesting and proud is that his legacy does not stop there.

He was one of the rare musicians who was trained in composition and conducting in Pyongyang and then worked at the Voice of Vietnam Radio and Ho Chi Minh City Television. He was a pioneer in converting light music into instrumental music in the 1970s. The family wanted to fully portray that portrait.

As a daughter and a fan of his music, I "searched" for my father, and then discovered many things for myself. There were things I knew, but there were also many things I didn't know, so I could see more clearly and more fully.

I heard my friends talk about him, and I respected and loved his character and dignity even more. For example, when I heard writer Nguyen Dong Thuc say "my father is a generous man", I was very touched. In addition to his talent and works, I think his life left something even greater than music: personality, kindness and humanity.

Ms. NGUYEN BACH DUONG

Listen to Cam Van sing the song "Hoang hon mau la" by musician Thanh Tung

"He is a soldier of the renovation period"

* Do you know the reason for musician Thanh Tung's transition from studying instrumental music and arranging to writing songs, all love songs?

- I don't know exactly why my father switched to writing songs in the 1980s. But I remember that at that time he was very close to Uncle Trinh Cong Son. Once he told me that after he finished writing his first songs, he gave them to Uncle Son to listen to. Uncle Son praised, "Tung writes so well, write more."

We also heard some people say that Mr. Thanh Tung loved so much that he wrote music. Meaning love between a man and a woman. That's not true. He only had my mother.

The word "love" in his music is much broader, not only love between men and women but also love for the homeland. For example, the song Spring Confession .

Musician Trinh Cong Son and musician Thanh Tung (right) - Photo: DUONG MINH LONG

I think that in the transitional period, when the country opened up and renewed, each artist was like a soldier on the cultural and ideological front. My father was no exception. He contributed to the success of art troupes in the provinces.

For example, with the Lam Dong troupe, he once composed a very good song called " Hoang hon mau la" - I heard it since I was little and really liked it, a very emotional song about youth volunteers.

Or like the Cat Tien Sa troupe (in Quang Nam), my father composed the Quang Nam Rice Plant based on a folk song from Quang Nam, sung by Thanh Tra, which won a gold medal at the National Professional Music and Dance Festival in 1985 in Hai Phong.

At that time, he was considered the "goose that lays the golden eggs". Whoever and whatever unit he directed, that person and place would win gold medals at national dance and music festivals.

* When you were little, he often took you to music shows. You two must have had many memorable experiences?

- Because he had to look after the children, when I was little, my father often took me to nightly shows and then to the provinces. I listened to him practice and rehearse with the singers. Around 2000, I had just returned to Vietnam from the US, and I really wanted to be a singer even though I studied finance and accounting. My father said, "I will give my daughter a new hit song that I just wrote, Counting Leaves Outside the Yard ."

I was the first singer to sing this song for that reason. However, after listening to the recording of this song again, I decided not to be a singer anymore (laughs).

There is another story that I just told. My family actually has the last name Ha, not Nguyen. My father once said that if he had followed the family tree, my name would have been Ha Minh Tam. He wanted to name me that because he wanted me to have a pure heart.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/con-nhieu-dieu-chua-biet-ve-nhac-si-thanh-tung-20240905101543047.htm