Talking about successful artists ofVietnamese origin abroad, we cannot fail to mention Vietnamese-Germanclassical guitarist Dang Ngoc Long, who has made great contributions tobringing Vietnamese folk music to a world-wide audience.
After graduating from the Hanoi Conservatory of Music in 1979,Dang Ngoc Long worked as a lecturer for the Central HighlandsLiterature and Art School and then for the Hanoi Conservatory of Music.He went to Germany in 1984 to follow graduate and post-graduate studiesat the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler-Berlin. After graduating there, hewas invited to lecture at the academy.
During his time in Germany, he successfully reworked several famousVietnamese folk songs in modern European music styles, including“Morning𒉰-Mai”, “For Thay” and “Bamboo Ber”. In 1987, with the work “Nuirung Tay Nguyen” (Central Highlands Mountains and Forests), Long becamethe first Vietnamese to win a special prize at the international “VillaLobos” guitar competition in Hungary.
Thereafter, his name became well-known in guitar circles and since thenhe has been invited to perform in many countries across the globe,including Hungary, Italy and Spain Many books and recordings ofLong’s guitar solos, duets and quartets are on sale throughout Europe.
According to the “Berlin Morning Post” newspaper, hearing Long’sperformances of such songs as “Nui rung Tay Nguyen” and “Beo dat maytroi” (Floating water-fern and wandering clouds), people feel like theyare living in his homeland despite being tens of thousands of milesaway.
Artist Inde Wilcrok from the Berlin Conservatory of Music said thatDang Ngoc Long’s music exudes the breath of life. He lives in Europebut his soul is purely Vietnamese, he added.
Long’s prestige has been affirmed even further, as several of his workswhich mix modern and folk music have been selected as compulsory piecesfor some international competitions, including “Beo dat may troi” and“Morning-Mai,” which will be performed at a contest in October of thisyear.
Recognising his contributions to music training in Germany, the BernauMusic School held a guitar competition named after him, the“Long-Wettbewerb fuer Gitarre solo” in 1994.
In 2004, Long was the first foreigner to be elected as Headmaster ofthe Berlin-Gesundbrunnen Music School and Chairman of the art counciland the only foreigner on the jury of the international guitar festivalin Berlin. Last year, he was conferred with the title of professor andinvited to teach at the International University of Kyrgyzstan.
Long has confided that the lullabies and Vietnamese folk melodies heheard in childhood have been the inspiration for his compositions.
He lives and works overseas, but whenever he returns to Vietnam, heenthusiastically engages in activities to develop the local musicindustry. During his 2001 return to attend the first National GuitarFestival, he presented one of his own, precious guitars worth 500 USDto the first prize winner.
This yar Long performed at the Tet programme for overseas Vietnameseentitled “Homeland Spring” hosted by the National Committee on OverseasVietnamese Affairs in Hanoi on February 6.
He will continue to help train the Hanoi Conservatory of Music’s staffand also plans to discuss with several authorised Vietnamese agenciesthe organisation of an Asia-Pacific Guitar Festival in Vietnam inNovember./.
After graduating from the Hanoi Conservatory of Music in 1979,Dang Ngoc Long worked as a lecturer for the Central HighlandsLiterature and Art School and then for the Hanoi Conservatory of Music.He went to Germany in 1984 to follow graduate and post-graduate studiesat the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler-Berlin. After graduating there, hewas invited to lecture at the academy.
During his time in Germany, he successfully reworked several famousVietnamese folk songs in modern European music styles, including“Morning𒉰-Mai”, “For Thay” and “Bamboo Ber”. In 1987, with the work “Nuirung Tay Nguyen” (Central Highlands Mountains and Forests), Long becamethe first Vietnamese to win a special prize at the international “VillaLobos” guitar competition in Hungary.
Thereafter, his name became well-known in guitar circles and since thenhe has been invited to perform in many countries across the globe,including Hungary, Italy and Spain Many books and recordings ofLong’s guitar solos, duets and quartets are on sale throughout Europe.
According to the “Berlin Morning Post” newspaper, hearing Long’sperformances of such songs as “Nui rung Tay Nguyen” and “Beo dat maytroi” (Floating water-fern and wandering clouds), people feel like theyare living in his homeland despite being tens of thousands of milesaway.
Artist Inde Wilcrok from the Berlin Conservatory of Music said thatDang Ngoc Long’s music exudes the breath of life. He lives in Europebut his soul is purely Vietnamese, he added.
Long’s prestige has been affirmed even further, as several of his workswhich mix modern and folk music have been selected as compulsory piecesfor some international competitions, including “Beo dat may troi” and“Morning-Mai,” which will be performed at a contest in October of thisyear.
Recognising his contributions to music training in Germany, the BernauMusic School held a guitar competition named after him, the“Long-Wettbewerb fuer Gitarre solo” in 1994.
In 2004, Long was the first foreigner to be elected as Headmaster ofthe Berlin-Gesundbrunnen Music School and Chairman of the art counciland the only foreigner on the jury of the international guitar festivalin Berlin. Last year, he was conferred with the title of professor andinvited to teach at the International University of Kyrgyzstan.
Long has confided that the lullabies and Vietnamese folk melodies heheard in childhood have been the inspiration for his compositions.
He lives and works overseas, but whenever he returns to Vietnam, heenthusiastically engages in activities to develop the local musicindustry. During his 2001 return to attend the first National GuitarFestival, he presented one of his own, precious guitars worth 500 USDto the first prize winner.
This yar Long performed at the Tet programme for overseas Vietnameseentitled “Homeland Spring” hosted by the National Committee on OverseasVietnamese Affairs in Hanoi on February 6.
He will continue to help train the Hanoi Conservatory of Music’s staffand also plans to discuss with several authorised Vietnamese agenciesthe organisation of an Asia-Pacific Guitar Festival in Vietnam inNovember./.
