“Ha Noi – Dien Bien Phu in the Air” is a memory that will be remembered as a brilliant epic about the bravery and resilience of the people of Hanoi. That victory has left its mark on the history of Vietnam as one of the most glorious chapters. It ignited a passionate patriotic spirit, national pride, and became one of the most heroic victories of the spirit of national unity.
“Ha Noi – Dien Bien Phu in the Air” remains an unforgettable memory for those who lived through it. The battle serves as a reminder to young generations that today’s peace and independence were earned through blood and the great sacrifices of our ancestors. Therefore, the Vietnamese youth must bear the full responsibility to safeguard national peace and build and strengthen it with a deep sense of duty.
With a deep passion for connecting Vietnamese youth with history, pianist Lưu Hồng Quang will convey a historical message of national pride to music lovers – especially the young generation in Vietnam – through 12 Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Études. The shimmering beauty of classical music will guide the audiences through the full range of emotions, from the heroism of sacrifices to the great-hearted quality, romance, and elegance, which reflect the spirit of Hanoians. National’s historical story will be portrayed in a captivating and mesmerizing way through the layered meanings of classical music.
Franz Liszt – a famous Hungarian composer – is recognized as an artist with a rare talent. In addition to their high academic values, Liszt’s works in general and études in particular pose serious challenges in sight-reading and performing skills. With intense pace and dense sound, these works are often composed of clusters of notes in octaves. This requires the supreme attention and absolute stamina that the pianists pour into their performances. Liszt’s compositions are filled with contrasting emotional ranges, from the passionate and explosive upper registers to the pure, clear low registers. That is why many people consider his music a challenge for his contemporaries, such as Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms.
Pianist Luu Hong Quang will immerse himself in Liszt’s spirit to perform like a grand tempest of virtuosity, which carries the audiences into a wide range of emotions. The Preludio and Transcendental Étude No.2 with acoustic waves in octaves, which are driven by fast, powerful, and resolute rhythm, has illustrated a dazzlingly bright sky in front of audiences. Moreover, a four-note motif resolutely weaves through the harmony lines, evoking intense emotions in extreme tension. Light flickers arouses the mysterious sense of doubt and challenges in the darkness. However, this uncertainty soon disappeared as Paysages, with the melody and accompaniment intertwined seamlessly, guided audiences to a tranquil and nostalgic atmosphere. The notes lightly fall, as if painting a poetic scene with dedicated clouds drifting slowly, sometimes dispersing, something coming together. Everything suddenly becomes ethereal, and memories of mossy, ancient Hanoi only linger in nostalgia. The streets of Kham Thien, Quan Su, and the beloved houses were all buried under the ruthless rain of bombs.
However, the heroic Mazeppa, which is expressed through layers of third interval, sixth interval, and octaves rapidly played, has brought the extreme struggle back. A 17th-century general called Mazeppa was captured, bound, and dragged across a stony path by a wild horse. Despite his torn and bloodied flesh from harsh gravel, he was never defeated and held a sacred love in his heart. At the most tumultuous moment, the people’s uprising brought an overwhelming, triumphant, and complete victory. It evoked in the audience’s mind the image of Hanoi’s brave soldiers who fought with courage, resilience, and their unshaken spirit even in the harshest of trials.
However, the hardship had not passed. Those rare moments of silence allowed each warrior to confront their inner world. The blink notes with the intricate intervals of Feux follets flickered like a mysterious flame, guiding the audiences into a forest of illusions filled with wondrous shades of sound. It was a musical vision of a magical, transcendent realm. In rarely calm moments, a soldier may ask himself where he was and what ideals he was fighting and sacrificing for. Not only does his patriotism still burn in his veins, but his national pride and consistent belief in Uncle Ho and the Communist Party remain. This empowers our soldiers to fight for the triumph of the nation. In the middle of countless trials, Vision becomes a lighthouse guiding people through the veil of mist, opening the gateway to freedom and happiness.
After the undaunted attempts, Eroica is an epic that celebrates the victorious return of soldiers from the battlefield. The piece echoes the rhythm of proud marches, rendered with octaves intertwined by majestic and anthemic melody. It is the image of the Vietnamese army that “rose from the mud, shining bright” in the glorious victory over a fierce enemy. Nothing is prouder and happier than that. Moreover, Wilde Jagd, with its explosive, razor-sharp chords chasing one another like ecstatic leaps, captures the spirit of triumph when hardship, danger, and adversity have all been conquered in a battle of epic proportions.
When the battle ended with triumph, and the cheers began to quiet down, people inevitably thought of memories that no longer existed. Those are about comrades who once fought side by side, the loved ones, and the familiar scenes now left only in memory. Ricordanza is a recollection of those sweet memories, tinged with wistfulness and attachment.
When the memory comes flooding back, they awaken deep emotions that seem to breathe life into the flowing, fragmented lines of Etude No. 10. The piece speaks through its aching silences and shifting rhymes. Its harmonies tremble and twist, like quiet sobs rising from a place of sorrow too fresh to be forgotten. Yet that sorrow does not weigh the heart down; it stays quietly within, becoming a hidden source of strength when life again calls for courage and endurance.
Harmonies du soir – Evening harmonies ring like distant bells, echoing softly beneath a dreamy, moonlit sky. Warm melodies rise in the middle to the end, glowing like the first light of dawn through the darkness and igniting moments of boundless joy. The river returns to its gentle flow when the storm has passed, whispering softly in tune with the night’s tenderness. This landscape is a quiet, comforting happiness that wraps around the soul.
“Chasse-neige” with soft and fluttering notes drifting across the piano ends the program like falling snow-light, scattered, and slowly vanishing into the distance. Gentle waves of chromatic sounds whisper like a cold wind coming, wrapping a frozen hush and marking the arrival of winter. Yet, people understand and keep in mind a quiet faith that even after nature’s harshest storms, there will always be a better way – this is a rule in life.
With 12 Liszt’s Transcendental studies, audiences will be immersing themself into a stormy adventure of speed and emotional color. The dazzling piano technique, marked by bold leaps across the keys and relentless challenges in the upper octaves, makes the audience feel exhilarated. The spirit of triumph in Liszt’s music strikes deep in the mind a sense of unyielding struggle that is never retreating and surrendering. There is no room for sorrow in his soundscape as it continuously rises, ascends, and conquers more and more peaks. Under this circumstance, humans overcome reality’s hardship to fight and win. Music – through its prettiest expression – lifts the human soul to greater heights and toward a new level of evolution.
Under the guidance of music, Liszt’s 12 Transcendental Studies performed by pianist Luu Hong Quang will take audiences on a journey back to a glorious chapter of our country’s past. The pure beauty of sound will stir the heart and evoke deep emotions and memories of a golden era in Vietnamese history. Through this performance, pianist Luu Hong Quang hopes to deliver a heartfelt message to the younger generation of Vietnam: to help them understand the actual value of peace and independence. Our forebears gave everything to build the peace we enjoy today. That is why the future stewards of this nation must know their history well – to strive, to serve, and to build a brighter future for their homeland.
The program “Eternal Resonance: When Music tells History” with Franz Liszt’s masterpiece Transcendence Études performed by pianist Luu Hong Quang spread those profound meanings. This will evoke the undaunted spirit of the Vietnamese soldiers and people during the 12 fierce days and nights that led to the resounding “Ha Noi – Dien Bien Phu in the Air” victory 50 years ago. The live concert is at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 17th, 2022, at Studio S1, Army Broadcasting Center, 165 Xa Dan Street, Nam Dong, Dong Da District, Ha Noi City. The program will be broadcast on Vietnam National Defence Television Channel at 8:40 p.m., Wednesday, December 21st, 2022, http://qpvn.vn and other platforms. It will be the flame spreading the national pride to all the generations of Vietnamese.
Editor Chau Anh.
