Vietnamese-Born Musician Shines at the Berlin International Guitar Competition 2022

In addition to receiving a certificate and an 8,000 euro Roge Yang guitar as a reward, the contest winner will also be given the opportunity to join the panel of judges for the following round of competitions.

Musician Dang Ngoc Long. Documentary photo: Manh Hung/VNA reporter in Germany

The German Foreign Ministry, the Goethe-Institute, and the Union of Composers of the Republic together host the Berlin International Guitar Competition, a biannual competition for classical guitarists from all around the globe that debuted in 2006. Sponsors include the German Federation, the company that makes the Roge Yang, and a number of German cultural organizations.

There were 15 competitors this year from 11 nations, including Italy, Germany, Spain, Paraguay, Poland, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Chile, Korea, and France. Three of the competitors from Italy, Spain, and Paraguay advanced to the final round.

Candidates must be enrolled in professional music schools and under the age of 32. Prior to this, the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the contenders in rounds 1 and 2, therefore they filmed their work and forwarded it to the jury. Faust - Sonata by Professor, Guitarist Dang Ngoc Long, Rector of Berlin School of Music - Gesundbrunne, Chairman of the Arts Council, Chairman of the Board of Directors, is a requirement for both qualifying rounds. composition judge for a contest. The only participants who can perform in Berlin are those who advance to the third round.

Professor and musician Dang Ngoc Long shared in an interview with the VNA reporter that after serving as the Chairman of the Art Council of the Berlin International Guitar Competition for nine times, where his duties included drafting, composing, and writing songs, he thought the level of this year's competitors was excellent when they successfully navigated the challenges of three chapters of his Faust-Sonata, which he wrote after being inspired by the tragedy of the same name.

Professor Dang Ngoc Long discussed his plans and said that he intended to bring the International Guitar Competition to Vietnam on its 20th anniversary. The Vietnamese folk songs he produced or collected were performed by foreign musicians who won the award in their own country, in addition to his objective to introduce the local candidates to the international competition. For worldwide friends, this is the source of the greatest joy and pride.

Professor and musician Dang Ngoc Long (left) awarded the first prize to the Italian contestant Luca Romanelli, the second prize to the Spanish contestant Samnuel Beluzan Rodriguez (red shirt) and the third prize contestant from Paraguay Raul Rolon. Photo: VNA

Jürgen Buch, a journalist and the chairman of the organizing committee for the competition, claimed that the contest's combination of European and Asian traditional music makes it not just distinctive but also unique. The fact that the candidates must think in terms of both schools and interpret them in some way in order to sound credible is a significant difficulty for them.

Speaking of next season, Jürgen Buch hopes the Vietnamese guitarist competes again.

“Professor and musician Dang Ngoc Long is the first person we want to call out because we want to send a musical caravan to his homeland of Vietnam along with the champions of past seasons so that there may be a legitimate competition..”

Musician Luca Romanelli from Italy, the contestant who won the first place. Photo: VNA

According to Jürgen Buch, “The artwork of Dang Ngoc Long is quite unique. They are an assortment of unexpected events from his life, which also shocked us. He combined traditional Vietnamese themes with subtleties from Europe. It is such an amazing mix, and just by thinking about the name, you can tell that it is inspired by Johann Wolfgang Goethe's dramatic masterpiece Faust.

Goethe was a renowned German poet, dramatist, novelist, physicist, and philosopher in addition to being a playwright and novelist. It may be a significant obstacle for competitors in addition to being customized with components from the Far East."

The auditorium hosted the contest. Photo: VNA

Niklas Johansen (Denmark), the contestant who won the first prize in the 2014 contest with the mandatory piece "Ru con Nam Bo" composed by Professor, Dang Ngoc Long for guitar, confided in works by the teacher. Master Dang Ngoc Long composing and composing for candidates always has very high technique and difficulty, especially Vietnamese folk songs are quite unique because they carry the typical melody of Vietnamese music.

Vietnamese folk songs have been brought closer to the German public in particular and Europe in general at this year's competition, where, in addition to the performances of the contestants, the performances of guest artists, such as Professor Dang Ngoc Long, and two winners of 2014 and 2020 (from Denmark and Belarus), have once again made Vietnam's music culture shine in the heart of Europe.

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