“Carnival of the Animals” will be led by Vietnameseconductor Le Phi Phi who is returning to Vietnam for the first time since theoutset of COVID-19.
Born in Hanoi, Phi graduated from the Vietnam NationalAcademy of Music and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with degrees in pianoand orchestra conducting. After his graduation, Phi became the assistant-conductorand the permanent conductor of Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra in 2000.
He has taken tour concerts around the world to Russia,Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, Germany, France, Italy, and many others. He oftencomes back to Vietnam to conduct.
The event will also feature two solo pianists Nguyen ThuyYen and Pham Nguyen Anh Vu.
Georges Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite Number 1 will open thenight. The suite consists of 22 items, some extremely short. Bizet himselfplayed the harmonium backstage in the premier.
Next comes Saint-Saens' Carnival of Animals, probably hisbest-known work. It is written for chamber orchestra and two pianos and has 14movements, often performed in a version for full orchestra. Its mostfamous movement features a solo cello and is called "the Swan". Eachmovement represents a different animal, such as a tortoise, an elephant, akangaroo and a cuckoo.
After the interval, there will be three more compositions,Faure's Pavane in F Sharp Minor, Saint-Saens' Dance Macabre and Ravel's Bolero./.