VŨ TÚ CẦU

Through the maturity of composers and music works
in many genres and topics, the author shows us
the maturity of Vietnamese symphonic music.

Keyword: Vũ Tú Cầu, New music, Vietnamese symphonies

Starting with some symphonies composed in the 1960s, the recent generations of Vietnamese musicians have made their own distinctive path to the symphony form. By combining Western traditional composition techniques with Vietnamese traditional music themes and instruments, musicians have given birth to thousands of works which contribute to the abundance of Vietnamese music.

Symphonies are written for orchestras to perform at huge concert halls. This Europe-originated music type is professional and scholarly. Symphonies normally explore important issues in the society, such as philosophic matters and serious conflicts.

It has taken many conditions to develop this symphonic path, and one of the requisites is the composer. The symphony composer needs to have soul, enthusiasm, good knowledge of professional music, instruments in the orchestra, and musical arrangement.

The orchestra is the means by which symphonies are performed. To be a member of the orchestra, the instrumentalist must possess good performing techniques. Thus, the quality of performers in the orchestra is also an important condition for developing a country’s symphonic music.

After the August Revolution, our country spent nine years fighting against French colonial power. Many composers in this period had started to write musical works before 1945, such as Nguyễn Xuân Khoát, Văn Cao, Đỗ Nhuận, Lưu Hữu Phước, Nguyễn Văn Thương, and Phan Huỳnh Điểu. Their love of this country brought them to join the resistance forces. During the resistance war, a young generation of musicians, made up of former soldiers, cadres and students, began to mature, and they supplemented the existing composers, such as Huy Du, Nguyễn Đức Toàn, Văn Ký, Nguyễn Văn Tý, Hồ Bắc, and Hoàng Vân. Most of the musicians in this period composed musical works expressing their revolutionary enthusiasm and showing their innate talents and self-studied musical knowledge. For that reason, Vietnamese music in the period from 1945 to 1954 mainly developed in the field of songwriting and performance, and there were some vocal music works of greater genres, such as epic, chorus, and opera. In this period, we have no conditions to make instrumental and symphonic works.

After the Điện Biên Phủ victory and the Geneva Accords in 1954, during ten years of peace in Northern Vietnam (1954-1964), Vietnamese music made progress toward maturity, balanced and harmonized in all branches: composition, performance, theoretical analysis, and training. Vietnamese music in this period was strongly influenced by Western music, mostly through Communist countries, namely the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, the former Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria.  It also exchanged music with communist countries in Asia, such as China and North Korea. This led to the formation of professional academic musical structures, consisting of genres, such as symphonic and chamber music, opera, dance music, and oratorio (Nguyễn Thị Nhung2001, 47).

To develop this musical form, the Government had to pay focused attention to the training of professional composers. Besides offering short music courses, the government officially established the Vietnamese School of Music in 1956. It was the first professional music training institution in Vietnam. Thanks to the support of foreign experts from the Soviet Union, China, North Korea, Poland, and other nations, the school annually provided the new music industry of Vietnam with many high quality musicians, who were excellent at composition, performance, research and theoretical analysis.

While developing domestic training, the government sent many potential staff to take long-term training courses at foreign music academies, mostly in communist countries.

To promote the development of a unique Vietnamese musical culture, the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra was established in 1959. Later, the Orchestra of the Voice of Vietnam, the Orchestra of the Filmmaking Workshop and the Ballet and Opera Symphony Orchestra were created. These agencies have successfully performed classical works of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and, lately, Vietnamese symphonies. Thanks to those conditions, in the 1960s, the very first symphonies of Vietnam were written and performed.

In regards to symphonies from this period, the Vietnamese new music – The development and achievement offers this assessment:

Music works of this genre were writtenwhen the  composers were studying at academies in Vietnam and abroad... However, Vietnamese composerss seriously learned the quintessence of music from the western world. They are creative to cleverly use the traditional folk music language to make music pieces which express thoughts and feelings of Vietnamese people in the contemporary period (Tú Ngọc et al. 2000, 560).

In the spring of 1975, after the liberation of Southern Vietnam and the unification of the entire country, Vietnam continued interacting with other communist countries and enlarged our exchanges with Western music from European countries, the United States and non-communist Japan and South Korea, and other Asian nations.

In this period, instrumental music in general and symphony in particular inherited and promoted the achievements of the previous period and continued developing music along a common trend of culture and arts in the new era.

 Musicians and composers in this period gained knowledge and skills through contact and by learning through several means and from many factions. They developed a deep competence in expressing musical languages. They selectively acquired new methods of composition and used unique thinking and character to create musical works promoting a unified national identity.

 From 1990 to the present, to facilitate the composition of musical works in general and symphonies in particular, the government encouraged a deep investment in musical activities. Composers were encouraged to be creative through the commissioning of instrumental music compositions, creating popular interest by polling the listeners, and rewarding the best composers. Many good works were composed during this period.

Symphonic composers who had been active in the previous period continued their work in the new era.  Đỗ Nhuận, Nguyễn Văn Thương, Đàm Linh, Hoàng Vân, Nguyễn văn Nam, Vĩnh Cát, Nguyễn Thị Nhung, Ca Lê Thuần, Doãn Nho, Đinh Quang Hợp, Đỗ Dũng and others continued to create remarkable musical pieces. There were well-trained musicians who matured after 1975, committed to instrumental musical composition such as Phan Ngọc, Trần Trọng Hùng, Nguyễn Cường, Hoàng Cương, Đỗ Hồng Quân, Đặng Hữu Phúc, Trọng Đài, Trần Mạnh Hùng, Vũ Nhật Tânamong others.

The titles of symphonic pieces composed in this period mostly followed the style of titles of musical pieces composed in the previous time. The title normally related to the content and image of the work. The composers titled not only the whole work, but also each movement.

For instance, Vĩnh Cát’s concerto for violin and the ensemble, Here is Red River – Mother River was completed in 2009, on the occasion of one-thousandth anniversary of Thăng Long - Hanoi. This work consists of three movements, and each of them is titled:

Movement 1: Soi Bóng Kinh Thành (Reflecting the Imperial City)

Movement 2: Lấp Lánh Đỏ Sóng Phù Sa (The Sparkling Red Silt)

Movement 3: Mãi Dạt Dào, ơi! Dòng Sông (Forever Overflowing,
              Dear the River!)

The suite symphony Dáng Rồng Rên (Ascending Dragon) composed by Đỗ Hồng Quân in 2010 consisted of four movements:

Movement 1: Cội Nguồn (The Origin)

Movement 2: Dòng Sông Hát (The Singing River)

Movement 3: Thần Tốc (At Lightning Speed)

Movement 4: Rước (Procession)

Transitioning from war to peace, composers faced new and different requirements as the public’s social development and improved literacy levels affected people’s spiritual lives. Thus, the music industry in general and the symphony in particular needed to be changed to these new topics and themes.

Understanding the topic and content of an instrumental music in general and a symphony in particular is problematic. Unlike musical works with lyrics, instrumental works’ content was expressed through tones. However, the perception differed from person to person. Hence, thematic titles were used to classify the content of the works. However, there are few works with no title, such as Symphony No. 1 by Trần Trọng Hùng.

The topic of the national revolutionary struggle [L1] had been used popularly in musical works before 1975, and musicians still care about it much now. In the previous period, musical works had mostly praised the feats of armies and individual heroes in the wars and revolutions; after unification, the themes were about memory-remembrance of war and the victorious days of history - that echoed in people’s mind.

Some pieces of this topic are the symphonies Trở về Điện Biên (Come back to Điện Biên) (1992) by Trần Trọng Hùng, and Một thời để nhớ (A time to remember) (1996) by Phan Ngọc, Tượng đài vô danh (The nameless statue) (1999) by Đức Trịnh; the ballad Huyền tích Trường Sơn (The legend of Trường Sơn) (1995) by Ngô Quốc Tính; the nocturne Tiếng vọng (The echo) (1995) by Đỗ Hồng Quân; the symphonic poems Nhớ Trường Sơn (Missing Trường Sơn) (1998) by Huy Loan, Thung lũng đỏ (The red valley) (1999) by Phan Ngọc, the symphonic suite Ngọn lửa vĩnh cửu (The eternal flame) (2010) and Đường Hồ Chí Minh trên biển - con đường huyền thoại (The Hồ Chí Minh road on the sea – the legendary road) (2011) by Lê Quang Vũ.

The character of President Hồ Chí Minh was often attached to the topic of revolution. It could be found in musical works such as the symphonic poem Người về đem tới ngày vui (He comes back and brings us joyful days) (1990) by Trọng Bằng, the concerto Người đi tìm hình của nước (The one who seeks for the image of the country) (2011) for violoncello and the symphony orchestra by Thế Bảo.

Composers explored the depths of their emotional connections to theirhome cities and the country in several musical forms and styles. Pride in the development and changes in the homeland and the country were optimistic feelings, reflecting the joys of life, and exciting music expressed the breath of the contemporary life: the symphonic poem Việt Nam - đất nước của niềm tin và hy vọng (Vietnam – the country of hope and joy) (1977) by Minh Khang, the rhapsody Vietnam (1980) by Đỗ Hồng Quân; the overture Chào mừng (Welcome) (1986) by Trọng Bằng; the symphonic phantasy Mở đất (Reclaim new land) (1998) by Đỗ Hồng Quân; the symphonies Nghe âm điệu quê hương tôi ở Grand Rapids (Listening to the melody of my homeland in Grand Rapids) (1993) by Đỗ Dũng, Mặt trời và niềm tin (The sun and belief) (2001) by Ca Lê Thuần, Symphony No. 6 Sài Gòn 300 năm (Sài Gòn 300 years) (1998), and Symphony No. 8 Quê hương đất nước tôi (My homeland country) (2002) by Nguyễn Văn Nam.

Musicians used historical topics, such as the brilliant feats in ancient time and more recent historical events that protected and strengthened the country of our forefathers, as well as national heroes who contributed to the building and defense of the country and folk legends. That content could be found in the symphonic poems Thánh Gióng (Saint Gióng) (1984) by Doãn Nho, Lệ Chi viên (Lệ Chi Garden) (2009), Chiếu dời đô (The decree of capital movement) (2005) by Đinh Quang Hợp, and Bạch Đằng giang (Bạch Đằng River) (2011) by Trần Mạnh Hùng; the ballad Đẻ đất đẻ nước (Give birth to the country) (1997) by Trần Trọng Hùng, the improvisational symphony Ngàn năm khoảng khắc (The moment of thousand years) (2001) by Vĩnh Cát; the rhapsody Hào khí Tây Sơn (The spirit of Tây Sơn) (2004) by Phan Ngọc; and the symphonies Không chỉ là huyền thoại (Not just the legend) (2009) by Vĩnh Cát, Dáng Rồng lên (Ascending Dragon) (2010) by Đỗ Hồng Quân.There are some works showing the vibrant pace of new life in the entire country, such as Trên đồng ruộng quê hương (On the fields of homeland) (2000) by Đinh Quang Hợp, the symphonic poem Protok timi (2001) by Nguyễn Cường, Những điệu múa trên sân cỏ (Dances in the grass yard) (2004) by Hoàng Lương, the overture Ngày hội (The festival) (2004) by Đặng Hữu Phúc, the symphony Trổ một (The first phrase) (2007) by Đỗ Hồng Quân.

Topics hardly used in symphonies before 1975 were exploited in this period. Composers explored personal concerns, thoughts, dreams and aspirations in the social context of this time. These expressions were captured in such works as the symphonic poems Khát vọng (Aspiration) (1986) by Nguyễn Thị Nhung, Không đề (No Title) (1992) by Đức Trịnh, Chân trời bến đợi (The skyline The Place To Wait) by Vũ Duy Cương; the concerto for violoncello and the ensemble Khát vọng (Aspiration) (1990) by Hoàng Dương; the symphonies Không đề (No Title) (1996) by Đàm Linh, Symphony No. 7 Chuyện nàng Kiều (The Story of Lady Kiều) (2000) by Nguyễn Văn Nam, Một nửa cõi trầm (Half of the Under Realm) (2007) by Trần Mạnh Hùng, Một nửa cõi trầm (Full Moon – Crescent Moon) by Vũ Lê Phú, Thị Kính - Thị Mầu (Lady Kính – Lady Mầu) by Nguyễn Đình Bảng; the rhapsody Huyền tưởng (Mysterious Belief) (2012) by Phan Ngọc; and the music pieces Phác thảo (Sketch Out) (2000), Không gian (Space) (2001), Đi vào - đi ra (Come In – Come Out) (2003) by Vũ Nhật Tân.

The topic of Buddhism was also used to create musical works, such as the concerto for piano and the ensemble Sinh tử luân hồi (Samsara Life And Death) by Đỗ Dũng (2010).

After 1975, there were various types of the symphonic form, from single movement pieces, such as the symphonic poem, overture, ballad, rhapsody and fantasy, to multi-movement symphonies, such as medley symphony, suite symphony and other musical works consisting of several parts:

Poetic symphonic was the entitled single movement symphony. This type first appeared in nineteenth-century Europe. F. Liszt (1811-1886) was considered the father of this form, because he created the first thirteen famous symphonic poems. Examples of his compositions are Tasso, Mazeppa and Les Préludes.

Symphonic poems involve several topics that are combined in a single movement. A symphonic poem’s structure was shorter and more condensed than that of a medley symphony. Since the early days of symphony, Vietnamese musicians often made pieces of this type.

After 1975, many symphonic poems were created. Some typical pieces were: Giao hưởng thơ d-moll (Symphonic Poem D-Moll) by Ca Lê Thuần, Khát vọng (Aspiration) by Nguyễn Thị Nhung, Việt Nam - đất nước của niềm tin và hy vọng (Vietnam The Country Of Belief And Hope) by Minh Khang, Thánh Gióng (Saint Gióng) by Doãn Nho, Chân trời bến đợi (The Skyline the Place to Wait) by Vũ Duy Cương, Không đề (No Title) by Đức Trịnh, Protok timi by Nguyễn Cường, Thung lũng đỏ (Red Valley) by Phan Ngọc, Nhớ Trường Sơn (Missing Trường Sơn) by Huy Loan, Chiếu dời đô (The Decree of Capital Movement) by Đinh Quang Hợp, Lệ Chi viên (Lệ Chi Garden) and Bạch Đằng giang (Bạch Đằng River) by Trần Mạnh Hùng...

Ouverture (the opening) was the opening phrase written for the orchestra to perform in opera, ballet and drama. In the nineteenth century, overture developed into a separate symphonic form. It was a single movement piece with its own title, written to stand alone and to be played by a symphony orchestra. The overture was normally structured as a sonata. F. Mendelssohn (1809-1847) is considered the father of this type. He composed many famous overtures, such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage and Fingal’s Cave.

Before 1975, musicians also composed many overtures, such as Chờ đợi (Waiting) by Tạ Phước, Thắng lợi của tình yêu Tổ quốc (The Victory of Love for Homeland) by Nguyễn Đình Tấn.

Some of the overtures written by Vietnamese musicians after 1975 included  Chào mừng (Welcome) by Trọng Bằng, Vầng trời đông đón chào một ngày mới (Sunlight From the East Welcomes a New Day) by Nguyễn Văn Nam, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh - thành phố trẻ (Hồ Chí Minh City –the Young city) by Chu Minh, Trường Sơn và Về với miền Trung trong bão lũ (Trường Sơn and Come Back to the Central in Floods) by Phan Ngọc, Ngày hội (The Festival) by Đặng Hữu Phúc, Mùa xuân thế kỷ (The Century Spring) by Hoàng Cương.

Rhapsody, ballad, and fantasy are written in the style of the single-movement symphony:

Rhapsodie derived from folk music and uses its singing methods, recitative and European ancient epic recitative. In the nineteenth century, rhapsody was transformed from poetry and song to an instrumental music form, favored by Romantic composers and musicians. Its structure was free; improvisation in rhapsody is based mainly on folk materials. The majority of rhapsodies use opposite musical phrases, such as quick and slow, romantic and exalted, humorous and dreamlike (Nguyễn Thị Nhung1996, 55).

Vietnamese musicians produced many music pieces of this type, such as Rhapsody số 2 (Rhapsody No. 2) (for T’rưng and the ensemble) of Nguyễn Văn Thương, Hào khí Tây Sơn (The Spirit of Tây Sơn) and Huyền tưởng (Deluded) by Phan Ngọc, Việt Nam by Đỗ Hồng Quân, Miền lúng liếng (The Land of Kinkiness) by Ngô Quốc Tính, Chiêng và dàn nhạc (The Gong and the Ensemble) by Nguyễn Cường.

Ballad is a musical form that first appeared in medieval Europe. It was derived from the songs and dances of folk music; and used in professional music since the end of the eighteenth century; ballads became popular in the nineteenth century. European musicians essentially composed vocal ballads. F. Chopin (1810-1849) was the first to compose an instrumental ballad. He wrote 4 four ballads for piano. The ballad form was also used to compose symphonies. Structure of the ballad was normally free depending on the content and literary image of the work.

  Some Vietnamese symphonies of this type include Đội cận vệ bất diệt (The Immortal Escort Team) and Sài Gòn - thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (Sài Gòn - Hồ Chí Minh City) by Đàm Linh, Ballad Symphonique của Ca Lê Thuần, Đẻ đất đẻ nước (Give Birth to the Land – the Water) by Trần Trọng Hùng, Huyền tích Trường Sơn (The Legend of Trường Sơn) by Ngô Quốc Tính, Chiếu dời đô (The Decree of Capital Movement) by Đinh Quang Hợp, Niềm tin gửi lại (The Belief Left) by Trí Thanh, Tiếng chuông không ngủ (The Sleepless Bell) by Võ Vang...

In this period, musicians also paid much attention to the works of other improvisational types, such as Capriccio by Nguyễn Văn Thương, the symphony fantasie Mở đất (Reclaim New Land) by Đỗ Hồng Quân, the improvised symphony Ngàn năm khoảng khắc (The Moment Of Thousand Years) by Vĩnh Cát, fantaisie Tưởng nhớ (Commemoration) by Nguyễn Văn Nam.

Some musicians went for free types of contemporary music, such as  Phác thảo (Sketch), Không gian (Space), Đi vào - đi ra (Come in – come out), Hà Nội, Hà Nội và Hà Nội (Hanoi, Hanoi and Hanoi) by Vũ Nhật Tân.

Symphonic medleys (symphony) born after 1975 continued to have titles. While traditional symphonies often consist of four movements, sometimes there were more movements in a symphony. For instance, Không chỉ là huyền thoại (Not Just a Legend) by Vĩnh Cát consists of five movements, and Symphony No. 7  Chuyện nàng Kiều (The Story of Lady Kiều) by Nguyễn Văn Nam is comprised of six movements.

Vietnamese musicians made use of the principles of the European classic symphonic medley to create multi-movement symphonies. However, each musician made many changes when applying the principles in order to make the works suit the theme and aesthetic opinion of each musician. For instance: Không đề (No Title) by Đàm Linh, which was finished in 1996, has four parts but those parts are not considered as musical movements. Each part’s content was about a season in a year in order: Đông - Xuân - Hè – Thu (Winter - Spring – Summer – Autumn). The third part’s structure was rondo (A-B-A₁-C-A₂) and the fourth one’s was 3 phrases (a-b-c) meanwhile the first and the second part did not follow European classic structures but developed sections, as in traditional music.

- Part 1 (Largo) consisted of five phrases: a-b-c-d-e.

- Part 2 (Adagio) consisted of four phrases: a-b-c-d.

Let us see some symphonic medleys in this period: Chiến thắng (The Victory by Doãn Nho, Tưởng niệm (Commemoration) by Hoàng Vân, Lễ hội quê hương (The Homeland Festival) by Đinh Quang Hợp, Giao hưởng không đề (No Title Symphony) by Đàm Linh, symphonies No. 4 Adusky, No. 5 Mẹ Việt Nam (No. 5 The Mother of Vietnam), No.6 Hòn ngọc Viễn Đông (No.6 The Pearl of the Far East), No. 7 Chuyện nàng Kiều (No.7 The story of lady Kiều) and No.8 Quê hương- đất nước tôi (My home land – my country) by Nguyễn Văn Nam, Trở về Điện Biên (Come Back to Điện Biên) by Trần Trọng Hùng, Nghe âm điệu quê hương tôi ở Grand Rapids (Listen to the Melody of My Homeland in Grand Rapids) by Đỗ Dũng, Không chỉ là huyền thoại (Not Just a Legend) by Vĩnh Cát, Tượng đài vô danh (The Anonymous Monument) by Đức Trịnh, Bản hùng ca thời đại Hồ Chí Minh (The Epic in the Era of Hồ Chí Minh) by Đinh Quang Hợp, Một nửa cõi trầm (Half of the Under Realm) by Trần Mạnh Hùng. Besides titled symphonies, there were some works with no title, such as Symphony No. 1 by Trần Trọng Hùng.

Suite symphony is also known as multi-movement symphony. In terms of a music icon, contents of movements are contrary to each other. Unlike symphonic medley, suite symphony comprises movements which do not have to share the same thematic materials.

Suite symphonies often have titles, such as A Phủ by Đàm Linh,, Ngọc trai đỏ (Red Pearl) by Ca Lê Thuần, Cao nguyên Tây Bắc (Northwest Plateau) by Đinh Quang Hợp, Dáng Rồng lên (Ascending Dragon) by Đỗ Hồng Quân, Ngọn lửa vĩnh cửu (The Everlasting Flame) and Đường Hồ Chí Minh trên biển - con đường huyền thoại (The Hồ Chí Minh Road on the Sea – the Legendary Road) by Lê Quang Vũ.

Concerto is actually a sonata medley composed for one or two musical instruments and the ensemble. The composer showcases the solo instrumentalist who shows the complexities of the piece’s featured musical instrument against the power of the orchestra. The soloist must possess high technical skills and virtuosity to harmoniously play with the ensemble. In Vietnam, musical works written in concerto form developed later than other types of symphonic works. Symphonies appeared in the 1960s, but it was not until after 1975 that concertos were composed.

The concerto appeared later in Vietnam because Vietnamese composers needed expertise in both the symphony orchestra and the solo musical instrument, with all of its characteristics, features, and performing techniques. Accordingly, they surely had to learn and consult the performers, and they needed soloists who possessed excellent performance skills. Hence, before 1975, when the country was fighting the war, the lack of good conditions made it hard to facilitate the composition and performance of concerto.

 A concerto might comprise one or many movements. Vietnamese concertos were normally composed for Western popular instruments, such as the piano, violin and violoncello. There were also a number of pieces written for traditional musical instruments and the symphony orchestra.

There were a large number of concertos for piano and the ensemble. Works of note included Bất khuất (Indomitable )(1975) by Đỗ Dũng, Concertino (1983) by Ca Lê Thuần, Concerto piano và dàn nhạc (Concerto piano and the Ensemble) (1985) by Thế Bảo, Tổ quốc (Homeland) (1986) by Nguyễn Đình Lượng, Concertino Tuổi trẻ (The Youth) (1986) by Chu Minh, Concerto Es-dur (2006) by Ca Lê Thuần, Sinh tử luân hồi (Samsara Life and Death) (2010) by Đỗ Dũng.

Concertos were written for violin and orchestra, such as Concertino (1979) by Nguyễn Đình Phúc, Thăng Long (1994) by Đàm Linh, Concerto (1996) by Đỗ Hồng Quân, Concerto Fantastics (2001) by Phúc Linh, Đây sông Hồng - sông Cái (Here the Red River – Mother River (2010) by Vĩnh Cát...

Concertos for violoncello and orchestra included Tiếng hát sông Hương (The Singing on Hương River) (1986) and Khát vọng (Aspiration) (1990) by Hoàng Dương, Người đi tìm hình của nước (The One Who Seek for the Country’s Image) (2011) by Thế Bảo.

Composer Trọng Đài wrote a concerto for many solo musical instruments and the symphony orchestra in 1992.

In addition to concertos for Western musical instruments, composers also created concertos for traditional instruments, such as Concerto for bamboo flute by Trí Thanh, concertos No. 1 Quê tôi giải phóng (The Liberation of My Homeland) (1988) and No.2 Đất và hoa (Land and Flowers) (1994) for long board zither by Quang Hải, Concerto for moon shaped lute (đàn nguyệt) by Quang Hải, Âm thanh núi rừng (The Forest Sounds) for t’rưng and the ensemble (1987) and a concerto for long board zither and the ensemble (1986) by Xuân Tứ; Khúc nhạc tâm tình (The sentimental music piece) (1980) Hoàng Dương.

In summation, the contents and forms of symphonies which were created after 1975 were diverse. Besides the forms popularly composed in the previous time, musicians paid much attention to improvisation genres, such as rhapsody, ballad, capriccio, fantasy and the free form of contemporary music. By developing several styles and their own expressions, the composers not only preserved the traditional identity but also ceaselessly exploited and boosted the contemporary capacity of traditional music language expression.

REFERENCES

1.  Nguyễn Thị Nhung. 2001. Vietnamese symphony – chamber music. Hanoi: Publishing House of the Vietnam Institute for Musicology, 2001.
2.  Tú Ngọc, et al. 2000. Vietnamese new music – The development and achievement. Hanoi: Publishing House of the Vietnamese Institute
for Musicology.
3.  Nguyễn Thị Nhung. 1996. Music genres. Hanoi: Music Publishing House.