German President and his wife enjoy Vietnamese jazz

HANOI - German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbender praised the Vietnamese artists' jazz program as good and impressive.

Saxophonist Quyen Van Minh and other artists performed the piece "Match Festival" composed by him. Video: Ha Thu

President Vo Van Thuong and his wife - Mrs. Phan Thi Thanh Tam, along with the German head of state and his wife enjoyed a jazz program at the Hanoi Opera House on the evening of January 23.

Throughout the hour-long concert, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife showed their excitement and enthusiastically cheered on the artists after each performance. At the end of the show, the President and his wife presented flowers to congratulate the artists, praising the program as "good and interesting". First Lady Elke Budenbender asked artist Nguyen Manh privately about the instrument he played and why it sounded like an accordion.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (left) and President Vo Van Thuong (right) and President Vo Van Thuong's wife - Mrs. Phan Thi Thanh Tam enjoy the program. Photo: Giang Huy

"In some parts, I played the melodion, which sounds quite similar to the accordion. Germans love to play the accordion, but in Vietnam, artists who play this instrument mainly follow the classical genre, not jazz. Therefore, I chose the melodion to evoke a sound familiar to Germans," said artist Nguyen Manh.

He said he was proud to have contributed to the construction and performance of the concert to welcome Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife. This was the first time a diplomatic art program with jazz as the main theme to welcome the head of state of a foreign country was held, the artists practiced hard even on their days off to bring a quality performance.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier shook hands with each artist at the end of the program. Photo: Giang Huy

The musicians took the audience through a range of emotions, from gentle and deep to joyful and lively. They opened with Glenn Miller's In the Mood , an 85-year-old jazz classic.

Paint It, Black by the famous rock band Rolling Stones or Air on a G String by Bach - a piece of music considered a treasure in the classical music treasure - are arranged in a jazz spirit, rhythmic, spontaneous and full of surprises. Salsa No. V by Beethoven is often performed in a cross between classical and Latin American street music, now more innovative and free.

The highlight of the program was the performance of the song Du am by musician Nguyen Van Ty, performed by singer Nguyen Thuy Linh. The artists brought a romantic, dreamy musical space, with lyrical melodies that touched the hearts of listeners. The song is one of the pre-war songs loved by many generations of Vietnamese people. At the end of the song, Thuy Linh sang a part of the lyrics translated into English.

Inh la oi (Thai folk song, arranged by Tran Luu Hoang) and Ngay hoi mua (arranged by Quyen Van Minh from a cheo tune), demonstrate the cultural exchange between Vietnam and international countries.

The artists performing at the event were all top names, most of them lecturers at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, including Mr. Quyen Van Minh - who is considered the "captain" of Vietnamese jazz.

According to the German website DW , President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is a jazz lover. He organized the 2019 Bonn Jazz Festival at Villa Hammerschmidt, his residence in Bonn. At a jazz event in Berlin in 2020, he spoke emphasizing the importance of the genre to Germans: "Jazz is like a soundtrack to the new life of Germans after the war. It is the melody of liberation, and perhaps even of freedom." According to him, jazz blends structure and freedom, rigor and improvisation.

President Vo Van Thuong (fourth from left) and his wife Phan Thi Thanh Tam with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbender take a souvenir photo with the artists. Photo: Giang Huy

The German President and his wife are on a state visit to Vietnam on January 23-24 at the invitation of President Vo Van Thuong and his wife. On the first day, Mr. Steinmeier and his wife visited the Temple of Literature, enjoyed Vietnamese coffee and went to the German Cultural Center (Goethe Institute).

Vietnam and Germany established diplomatic relations on September 23, 1975 and established a Strategic Partnership in 2011.

In 1990, Vietnam and Germany signed an agreement to promote cultural cooperation and exchange between the two countries. In 1997, Germany established the Goethe Institute in Hanoi to introduce German culture and teach German in Vietnam. Germany supported Vietnam in implementing a number of projects to preserve and restore cultural heritages in the ancient capital of Hue.

Ha Thu - Vnexpress.net