Dang Thai Son During The Vietnam War
Dang Thai Son learned the fundamentals of playing the piano in Vietnam and Russia, but he credits life in Canada with bringing out his creative side. A gentle man who deplores violence, Son, 45, was born in Hanoi, and grew up during the most intense combat of the Vietnam war. As the youngest child in an artistic family whose three other siblings all play the piano (his sister is the director of the Hanoi National Conservatory), Son was anxious to begin lessons with his mother, a piano teacher. “The piano was like a toy for me”, he said. His passion for the instrument would be tested by forces far greater than sibling rivalry. In 1965 the family was forced to evacuate their home and move to a rural area to escape American bombings during the
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“It looked like a holy day. Everything was lit up”, he said. “we could listen to music again”. At the time, there were few routes to professional fame and fortune for teenage Vietnamese pianists. The only way was to win a gorvernment scholarship to study in Russia. But talent wasn’t the only requirement. “They sent only someone with a “clean” family background”, said Son, alluding to the importance of strong communist ties. However his father was a poet, considered a dissident by government officials. Fortunately a Russian pianist discovered him and in 1977 urged the Vietnamese government to let Son study at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia. “I was very lucky”, he said. At this point, Son appologized for his heavily accented English. “I learned English in Russia”, he explained, adding that taking English lessons had to be a clandestine act, since it was viewed as a desire to leave for the West. Now he speaks five languages – Russian, French, English and Japanese – in addition to his mother tongue.
Son’s next break came in October 1980. Then 22 years old, Son was awarded the first prize and gold medal at the 10th International Chopin Piano Competition In Warsaw. “This prize opened my future”, he said. “ I could go to the West to give the concerts” On concert stage, Son has three performing styles. He is a solo recitalist; he appear as a soloist with orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestras, BBC Philharmonic. Prague Symphony, and the Moscow Phiharmonic; and he plays in chamber groups such as Quatuor Arthur – Le Blanc, which was featured in Musica Victoria’s Nov. 23
“It looked like a holy day. Everything was lit up”, he said. “we could listen to music again”. At the time, there were few routes to professional fame and fortune for teenage Vietnamese pianists. The only way was to win a gorvernment scholarship to study in Russia. But talent wasn’t the only requirement. “They sent only someone with a “clean” family background”, said Son, alluding to the importance of strong communist ties. However his father was a poet, considered a dissident by government officials. Fortunately a Russian pianist discovered him and in 1977 urged the Vietnamese government to let Son study at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia. “I was very lucky”, he said. At this point, Son appologized for his heavily accented English. “I learned English in Russia”, he explained, adding that taking English lessons had to be a clandestine act, since it was viewed as a desire to leave for the West. Now he speaks five languages – Russian, French, English and Japanese – in addition to his mother tongue.
Son’s next break came in October 1980. Then 22 years old, Son was awarded the first prize and gold medal at the 10th International Chopin Piano Competition In Warsaw. “This prize opened my future”, he said. “ I could go to the West to give the concerts” On concert stage, Son has three performing styles. He is a solo recitalist; he appear as a soloist with orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestras, BBC Philharmonic. Prague Symphony, and the Moscow Phiharmonic; and he plays in chamber groups such as Quatuor Arthur – Le Blanc, which was featured in Musica Victoria’s Nov. 23