International and local string soloist performers of the Saigon International Guitar Festival (Source: hcmcpv.org.vn)Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – The“Italian Voices to Chaconnes by the Masters” concert kicked off the annualSaigon International Guitar Festival in Ho Chi Minh City on October 31.
The concert was staged by classicalguitarist Gérard Abiton of France, together with guitar duo Thu Le and LorenzoBernardi of Italy, the Saigon Guitar Ensemble and the Vietnam Guitar Ensemble.
The performance featured compositions byVivaldi, Rossini, Legnani and Bach, arranged by Abiton, who has been a soloistwith prestigious orchestras in France, the UK, the US and Mexico.
A total of five concerts by dozens ofinternational and local string soloists are scheduled for the five-day festival.
On November 1, there will be a “Serenade ofthe Festival” with guitarists Kim Chung of Vietnam, Leon Koudelak of the CzechRepublic and the duo Rene Izquierdo of the US and Carlos Aonzo of Italy, whowill play works by Schubert, Merlin and Paganini.
On November 2, a friendship concert willfeature young guitarists from Vietnam and Japan.
In the fourth concert “Romance in the Night”on November 3, guitarists Salvatore Foderà of Italy and Paul Cesarczyk of theUS will perform works by Regondi, Scarlatti and Amigo. Meanwhile, Cesarczyk andIzquierdo will perform The Beatles’ hits like “Fool on Hill”, “She’s LeavingHome” and “Penny Lane”.
Foderà received a master’s in music performanceand a master’s in music pedagogy at the City of Basel Music Academy inSwitzerland. He began performing at international music festivals when he wasyoung.
Polish-born Cesarczyk made his New Yorkdebut at the age of 17 at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. He has performedthroughout the US, Europe and Asia.
The final concert of the series, “The Magicof Guitar”, will be held on November 4 and include works by Brouwer, Mangoréand Bach performed by Tamonori Arai of Japan and Rene Izquierdo, a CubanAmerican artist.
Arai has held recitals in Germany, Austria,France, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Italy, Thailand, Nepal and thePhilippines. He teaches at Ueno Gakuen University and the Gendai Guitar Academyin Japan.
Izquierdo, who has won numerousinternational awards, is a professor of classical guitar at the Wisconsin StateUniversity in the US.
The festival includes master classes andguitar workshops hosted by international and local guest performers. A guitarcontest for Southeast Asia will also take place covering an open category forunder-18 candidates and a non-professional category for Vietnamese.
The venue is the HCM City Conservatory of Musicon 112 Nguyen Du Street in District 1. Tickets are available atwww.ticketbox.vn.-VNA
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