SOLO PIANO MUSIC BY VIETNAMESE COMPOSERS: A PERFORMATIVE AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Western art music is relatively new in Vietnam, with a colonial history that started in the late nineteenth century. Early European music exposure in Vietnam was part of French mission civilisatrice and was later taken over by the Vietnamese with the establishment of the Vietnam Academy of Music in 1956. The development and progress of classical music, however, was hindered by the Vietnam war and facility limitations throughout most of the country’s modern history. Despite the obstacles, Vietnamese musicians continued to operate the school and to train generations of musicians. Vietnamese composers also managed to produce a substantial amount of repertoire in various genres: orchestra, chamber, solo instrument, songs, and more. Within the relatively small solo instrumental output, piano music occupies a major part. These works, however, remain unknown due to lack of performance and information. Given the author’s main interest and focus as a pianist, the first chapter of this paper offers an overview of the development and dissemination of European classical music in Vietnam as context for the subsequent chapters, which focuses on compositions for piano. The next chapter provides some discussion about the general development of style and aesthetics of Vietnamese classical music. The final chapter provides a closer look at some representative composers and their piano works, with historical background, musical analysis, and performance commentary.