A Journey of Love in Hanoi Opera

A spectacular show was given in the Hanoi Opera Friday 29 Oct. when the Norwegian trombonist Terje Grøndahl visited Vietnam to conduct an innovative concert named “The Journey of Love”, parts of which are composed by Grøndahl himself. On stage with him was the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet.


The concert was divided into two parts. First, the symphony orchestra played a selection of pieces with elements of violin solos and trombone solos. A dazzling russian ballet of N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade followed as the grand finale. The Norwegian conductor emphasized that “I try to make music the audience immediately like when hearing it for the first time.”


Some among the audience at the Opera might have recognized parts of the concert, as it was a mix of known and unknown musical elements. The show was kicked off with the Overture of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, followed by composers such as Launy Grøndahl, Johan Svendson and Camille Saint-Saens. The unknown, debut elements here in Vietnam, consisted of Terje Grøndahl’s own two compositions of Elegy from Concierto and Orchestral Suite.


The concert is evidence of the increasing cooperation between Norwegian and Vietnamese musicians. Terje Grøndahl traveled to Vietnam in 2008 with the Transposition project, which promotes musical interaction between Vietnamese and Norwegian music institutions. On this trip, Grøndahl made friends with professional Vietnamese musicians, whom he has remained in contact with, leading to a cooperation which made the concert on 29 Oct 2010 possible to carry out successfully.


The event was partially sponsored by a small contribution from the Norwegian Embassy.


 

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