Trường phái âm nhạc ấn tượng pháp trong đào tạo và biểu diễn piano chuyên nghiệp tại việt nam TT TIẾNG ANH

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM HO CHI MINH CITY CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC LE HO HAI FRENCH IMPRESSIONISM IN MUSIC IN PROFESSIONAL PIANO TRAINING AND PERFORMING IN VIETNAM Major: Musicology Code: 62 21 02 01 SUMMARY OF DOCTORAL THESIS IN MUSICOLOGY Ho Chi Minh City – 2021 THIS THESIS HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT AT HO CHI MINH CITY CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC Supervisor: Prof Dr People’s Teacher TRAN THU HA Independent reviewer 1:…………………………………………………… Independent reviewer 2:…………………………………………………… Reviewer 1:………………………………………………………………… Reviewer 2:………………………………………………………………… Reviewer 3:………………………………………………………………… The thesis will be defended in front of the doctoral thesis examination commitee at Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music on at …………………… The thesis can be found at…………………………… INTRODUCTION Reasons for choosing the topic In the history of world music, Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) were the two most important composers of the French Impressionism in Music during the turn of the XXth century The innovations in Debussy and Ravel’s piano works opened a new trend, which greatly influenced generations of composers and the development of world modern music The piano and Western culture as well as French music were imported and spread into Vietnam from the end of the XIXth century to the beginning of the XXth century through the first generation of pianists who had the opportunity to interact and study with French teachers However, it was only since 1956, when the Vietnam School of Music and the Saigon National School of Music was established, that the Vietnamese piano art started to take a professional turn Only since then were Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel’s piano works widely known and officially integrated into training programs and performances before wide public In the present-day when the country integrates strongly and deeply in all economic and cultural fields with the world, apart from the works of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, XXth century, modern music, in our piano training program, we also include works of French Impressionism as the inevitable trend However, for many objective and subjective reasons, the piano works of French Impressionist composers in professional piano training and performing in Vietnam still have certain limitations In addition, in Vietnam so far, research on works of Debussy and Ravel applied to piano training and performance is still very lacking This is the reason why we chose the topic “French Impressionism in music in professional piano training and performing in Vietnam” for our thesis Literature review There are nowadays in the world many research works by several musicologists as well as many specialized books written by piano pedagogues and pianists that are related to the topic of this thesis The researches of previous authors are an important and valuable reference sources, providing us background knowledge and useful information, suggesting approaches suitable to our study objectives and thesis presentation The bibliographies related to points of view in the thesis includes works of foreign authors and works of Vietnamese authors a Some typical research works of foreign authors (1) Marguerite Long (1963), with the following works: At the piano with Claude Debussy (Au piano avec Claude Debussy), Édition Gérard Billaudot, and At the piano with Maurice Ravel (Au piano avec Maurice Ravel, 1971), Édition Gérard Billaudot The author is one of the leading French pedagogues and pianists; (2) E Robert Schmitz (1966), The Piano Works of Claude Debussy, Dover Edition; (3) Charles Timbrell (1999), French Pianism, A Historical Perspective, Amadeus Press; (4) Olivier Messiaen, Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen (2003), Analyses of the piano works of Maurice Ravel (Analyses des oeuvres pour piano de Maurice Ravel), Durand Editions Musicales; (5) Mira Kruja (2004), Piano inside out: The expansion of the expressive, technical, and sonorous spectrum in selected twentieth-century art-music repertoire for the modern acoustic piano, Doctor of Musical Arts Dissertation, University of Kentucky, USA; (6) Sun Hye Park (2012), with Elements of Impressionism evoked in Debussy and Ravel’s “Reflets dans l’eau” and “Jeux d’eau”: The theme of water, Doctor of Musical Arts Dissertation, University of Washington, USA; (7) Kiryang Kim (2015), A Teaching Guide for Debussy and Ravel: Technical and Stylistic Applications for Korean Piano Teachers, Doctor of Musical Arts Dissertation, University of North Texas, USA, etc b Some typical research works of Vietnamese authors (1) Trần Thu Hà (1987), Vietnamese piano art, Ph.D in Musical Arts Thesis, Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, former USSR This is the very first deep scientific study on the piano depicting the whole process from piano introduction into Vietnam to the birth and development of the Vietnamese piano art; (2) Đào Trọng Tuyên (2007), Les Douze Études pour piano de Claude Debussy: Esthétique et Interprétation (12 Etudes for piano of Claude Debussy: Esthetic and Interpretation), Doctoral thesis in Music-Interpretation, University of Montreal, Canada; (3) Trần Nguyệt Linh (2012), Le concerto pour la main gauche de Maurice Ravel: une leỗon pour laccomplissement du jeu de pianiste (Concerto for the Left Hand of Maurice Ravel: a lesson for pianist’s accomplishment of playing technique), Doctoral thesis in Music-Interpretation, University of Montreal, Canada, etc Purpose of study The purpose of our study is to identify the characteristics, technical elements and style of French impressionism in music, as well as the French piano school’s concept of art, pedagogical philosophy and perspective on performance The thesis proposes solutions designed to improve professionalism in the piano training program, in handling with technical requirements and artistic contents through teaching, studying and performing piano works by the two composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel in Vietnamese professional music training institutions Objective and scope of study Objective of study: the objective of the study is French Impressionism in music in professional piano training and performing in Vietnam Scope of study: the scope of study focuses on the technical characteristics, artistic style and musical language displayed in piano works written by French impressionist composers (C Debussy and M Ravel) to apply in professional piano training and performing in Vietnam The thesis also examines the present state of matters about current integration of Debussy and Ravel’s piano works in Vietnamese professional music institutions and proposes measures to enhance, expand and add more piano works by these two composers to the training program as to accommodate the new period, while focusing on researching methods and solutions to deepen understanding and improve skills in handling performance techniques according to Debussy and Ravel’s style and musical language through selected works Arabesque No1, Prelude No10, Vol.I “La Cathédrale engloutie” (Sunken cathedral), Prelude No12, Vol.II “Feux d'artifice” (Fireworks) by Debussy, and “Ondine” (the Water of Spirit) from the Gaspard de la Nuit (Gaspard of the Night) by Ravel These works are adapted to the present general level of the Vietnamese training and performing program, but with new requirements and the goal of reaching international level The thesis does not research on scales, modes, harmonies, form and structure, the art of construction and thematic development in the works It doesn’t either focus on analyzing and explaining the musical content of works nor the performing technique in every work of the training program; it simply focuses on studying the training system, the training program at each study level (Secondary and University) and on studying the performing technique of a number of works considered typical of Debussy and Ravel Nor does it undertake comparative research in terms of musical characteristics and performance techniques between French Impressionist piano music and works from composers of other schools Research methods System-structure method: We consider culture as a major system and music as a component of that system At the same time, music itself is a system that is, a sub-structure - which includes many components of its own, including the piano and the works written for the piano Comparative analysis method: We analyze some representative factors in the musical contents and imaginations found in piano works written by French Impressionist composers as compared to their mode of expression in other domains of art like literature and painting, in order to derive methods for technical processing and artistic expression that may be adequate with the teaching, studying and performance of French Impressionist piano music in Vietnam Moreover, we also base on interdisciplinary history and pedagogical knowledge on professional piano performance via music theory, musical symbols and terms, to study performing techniques of selected piano works related to the thesis topic Beside reference materials, we also resource ourself by attending specialized symposiums, masterclasses, piano recitals, and by interviewing world-renowned pianists Scientific and practical significance of study Scientific aspect: (1) This thesis is a systematic and in-depth research work in French Impressionism in music, the composers and piano works of French Impressionist composers; (2) This thesis examines and synthetizes the factors forming the French Impressionism, thus sketching out the process by which creative and aesthetics principles were approached and implemented in French Impressionist composers’ piano works; (3) This thesis identifies the role of piano art in the formation and development of Vietnamese modern music, reflected in the piano training and performing French Impressionist piano music in Vietnam; (4) This study is meant to open new perspectives on orientation for development of piano discipline in particular and of music research in general Its results are meant to provide a theoretical basic for professional piano training and performing in Vietnam Practical aspect: (1) From the systematization of all elements expressing the musical characteristics of French Impressionist composers’ piano works, the thesis surveys favorable conditions as well as difficulties, proposes approaches and solutions to represent piano works of French Impressionist composers in piano training and performing in Vietnam; (2) The thesis contributes to clarifying the importance and valuable impact of the piano in general, and of piano works written by French Impressionist composers in particular in the development of professional piano training and performing, contributing to the edification of Vietnamese music in the context of Vietnam’s world integration and globalization; (3) Its results are meant to provide a practical basic for professional piano training and performing in Vietnam; (4) The thesis may be used as reference documentation for music teaching, piano teaching and performance in professional music training institutions as well as art and culture schools throughout the country, and for other related works Thesis structure: This thesis consists of three chapters in addition to the introduction, conclusion, and appendices: Chapter (36 pages): French Impressionism in music in world piano art Chapter (41 pages): French Impressionist music in professional piano training in Vietnam Chapter (48 pages): French Impressionist music in professional piano performance in Vietnam CHAPTER 1: FRENCH IMPRESSIONISM IN MUSIC IN WORLD PIANO ART Theoretical knowledge in musicology, art studies, piano literature, piano pedagogy and performance are the scientific basis of this thesis 1.1 Overview of the French Impressionism in music 1.1.1 Influence of literature on French Impressionism in music The Symbolism movement was first identified in literature during the second half of the XXth century in France Considered as a transitional group between their Romantic predecessors and their Surrealist successors, the French poets qualified by literature commentators as Symbolists have left their undeniable marks that expanded to the entire Europe, Russia, America and even to Vietnam The Symbolism was a reaction against the excessively rigid regulations governing both technique and theme in traditional French poetry, as can be clearly seen in the precise description of the Parnassian poetry The Symbolist poets wished to liberate poetry from this necessity to explain everything in details, and for over-framed eloquence, in order to focus on expressing transient sensations experienced in human internal and spiritual life, sensitiveness to transcendental beauty generating subtle nuances in human feeling and soul They believe that the world around us contains wonderful mysteries and that poetry is the very mean to express those metaphors, and so doing, attain absolute truth by using symbols which are the very means for indirect expression According to Stéphane Mallarmé - leading figure of the Symbolist movement - everything needing to be said seems to have been said definitely, but when poetry strives to reach mathematical accuracy or go down to very detailed description, then there is a risk that the verses may convey unnecessary tasteless trifles His work, Divagations (Wanderings, 1897) is the most impressive affirmation of the movement’s artistic value The Symbolist manifesto (Manifeste du Symbolisme) itself was published by Jean Moréas Le Figaro on September 18, 1886 in Paris 1.1.2 Influence of paintings on the French Impressionism in music During the early years of the 1860s and 1870s, there were two visual discoveries in paintings: first, was about color and the vibration of light; second, was about the density of air Never had any artist depicted the real color of light, and secondly, the air is not always of the same density, and therefore, a scenery painted by an artist is only something he/she saw through a given mass of air However, those two intuitive discoveries are of second importance if compared to the much bigger one concerning “transitoriness”, this phenomenon that artists inadvertently experienced through their compositions Impressionist painters mostly paint landscapes and everyday-life activities, for example natural sceneries, activities in open-air (plein-air), park or city scenes in France, café, and most of Impressionist painting captures the movement of colors, light and blurred lines Impressionist painters no longer preferred heroic themes so appreciated by the Romantic painters, because the main subject they want to depict is not the man but "light" There are two kinds of light: (1) the external light (2) the innermost light within a human soul which is its sensitivity to external light Isn't that what we call "reflection" - the philosophic aspect of Impressionist art? Oscar Thompson, critic and scholar, summed up the Impressionism in the following words: “In literature, in painting, in music, the aim of these kindred artists was to suggest rather than to depict; to mirror not the object but the emotional reaction to the object; to interpret a fugitive impression rather than to seize upon and fix the permanent reality” [Thompson, Oscar (1937), Debussy, Man and Artist New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., p.21] 1.2 The role of Claude Debussy in the French Impressionism in music 1.2.1 Claude Debussy's piano composition Claude Debussy was a great innovator and is considered the most original composer of the XXth century In the history of world music, he occupies an important role in the transition from the Romantic music of the late nineteenth century to the Modern music of the XXth century He explored the expressive possibilities of the piano to create delicate timbres, new sonorities, and this is his innovation, a unique character in his art of composition, never to be found in piano works by composers prior and contemporanous to him 1.2.1.1 The first period 1862-1900: Debussy’s compositions during this period, though still far from his aesthetic ideals and immaturity, he clearly defined his own personal style, for example Deux Arabesques (Two Arabesques) with grace and elegance The first Arabesque is sentimental and reverie, and the second filled with rhythmic vitality and frolicsome spontaneity Valse romantique and Rêverie are still characterized by lyrical “salon” music in the style of post-Romantic, while the famous piece Claire de lune (Moonlight, Suite Bergamasque) already follows the modern Nocturne style, conveying to the listeners the insightful sensation of midnight moonlight, along with drifting clouds, twinkling stars, and perhaps the Milky Way across the sky 1.2.1.2 The middle period 1900-1913: Impressionist style were definitely affirmed during this period in piano works considered as representative of typical "Debussyism", fully expressed through natural phenomena like wind, water, branches, cloudy sky, mountains and forests, ocean immensity, sunset, perfume of the night Reflets dans l'eau (Reflections in the water, 1905) is the most famous work in his Images I, Images II His conception of Impressionism and Symbolism are concretized in his piano works, especially in Preludes Book I & II with highly descriptive titles like Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir (Sounds and perfumes swirl through in the evening air), and Ce qu'a vu le vent d'Ouest (What the west wind saw) 1.2.1.3 The last period 1814-1917: As a true heir of Chopin and Liszt's piano art, and of the French piano school, Debussy brought countless new approach to harmony and melody in piano music, and exploited to their extreme limits all possibilities of the instrument to create new sonorities and delicate timbres while introducing innovative techniques including pedal applications and novel fingering As observed by author Allen Krantz, "Just as impressionist painters seek to catch the soul of a furtive moment or a transient mood, Debussy correspondingly does the same in musical creation to which he gave extremely suggestive titles" [http://classicalarchives.com/bios/debussy_bio.html, 05/11/2017] 1.2.2 Preludes for piano Book I & Book II (Préludes pour piano Livre I & Livre II) The books of Preludes for piano with 24 Preludes, have been written out in a very special personal way When writing, Debussy simply extended the natural evolution of this form: originally, with Bach, it was only a mere classical position as preliminary movement or introduction; then came Chopin who wrote more substantial preludes, complete in themselves as independent pieces with enriched functions and full of poetry and imagination Debussy reinforced this tendency to independence, introducing even more complex materials and elaborated forms, bringing the prelude genre to its highest point of development, without losing the brevity that is inherent its essential Twenty-four preludes came out successively, remarkably perfect and brief, dealing with themes as various as mother nature, cultures of other nations including oriental cultures, the antique culture, the world of fairy tales, humor and wit, poetry and potentially inspirational facts, and he knew exactly how to derive the best of those materials, how to personify each of them, how to convert them into musical language, to make of them unique works [Schmitz, E Robert (1966), The Piano Works of Claude Debussy Dover Edition, p.129-130] 1.3 The role of Maurice Ravel in the French Impressionism in music 1.3.1 Maurice Ravel's piano composition Maurice Ravel is one of the greatest creative talents in French musical history He was pioneer in extending the capabilities of two-handed pianist playing on the keyboard, bringing fully into use the expressive possibilities of the piano; he also contributed a great deal of masterpieces to the piano repertoire 1.3.1.1 The first period 1875-1905: Ravel was profoundly influenced by literature and poetry of C Baudelaire, E A Poe, and S Mallarmé, as well as by French composers G Fauré A E Chabrier and E Satie During the 1900’s, he kept friendly relation with a group of avant-garde artists in literature and art known as Les Apaches (The Ruffians) Through exchanges with these writers and artists, he learned much about French culture and became very familiar with it One of his most remarkable work during this period, Jeux d’eau (Water games), is considered as an introduction to a new era in the history of the evolution of piano techniques 1.3.1.2 The middle period 1905-1918: This can be called his period of maturity in composing, and the best of Ravel’s musical career both in quality and quantity, beginning with Sonatine (1905) and ending with the end of World War I (1918) During this period, Ravel’s compositional activities reaches its summit Miroirs (1904-1905) and Gaspard de la Nuit (1908) are two works in which Ravel reveals conventional concepts of Impressionism which proposes audacious harmonies and virtuoso techniques, paving the way to his following masterpieces 1.3.1.3 The last period 1918-1937: This is the period of Ravel’s post-war creation characterized by Neo-Classical style After the end of World War I and Debussy’s death, Ravel was recognized as the foremost French composer During this period, he composed his works basically on Neo-Classicism principles Ravel often used traditional forms, like the ternary, and traditional structures to introduce new melodies, rhythms and harmonies into his musical creation Yet, there are also other elements mixed into his works, particularly from the NeoRomanticism With such renovations in his compositions, he laid an important turning point for the development of the art of piano playing in the XXth century 1.3.2 The Gaspard de la Nuit The Gaspard de la Nuit is one of the most beautiful works of French piano music, and also one of the most difficult piano masterpieces of all time, a true pianistic challenge Its components Ondine, Le Gibet and Scarbo, not only difficult to handle matters of technique, owing to a great multitude of notes requiring very clever control of technical accuracy - but also on a high level of sophisticated imagination, containing a whole imagery related to poetry: dark illusory characters, opposing forces in the same time beautiful and somehow grotesque Ondine is generally considered as one of the most beautiful symbols of Impressionist music: most colorful, polysensory and sensuous Also, it depicts with wonderful skill the magical world of water which is the featured theme relished by French impressionism in music Conclusion of Chapter 1: At the end of the XIXth century, the history of Western art in general and of French art in particular experienced great advances in evolution In literature, Impressionism has just moved from a movement called “Symbolism”, while 11 conductor Henri Tomasi With such eminent professors, Mrs Thái Thị Lang could not fail to graduate both specialties, piano performance and composition, with the first prizes, at the Paris Conservatory in 1938 Mrs Thái Thị Liên (born in 1918) started to learn piano from nuns at the age of From age 11, while attending the Marie Curie secondary school, she also learned piano professionally from the talented artist and professor Armande Caron Aged 16, she gave her début public performance at the Saigon Municipal Palace In 1949, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam sent her to Praha (Czechoslovakia) for further improvement After finishing her study there, she came back to Vietnam to join the revolution by serving in the Central Art Performance Troupe until peace was re-established, and then contributed to the creation of the Vietnam School of Music From the above information, hypotheses and historical facts, it may be inferred that the very first pianos appearing in Vietnam were introduced, to the shortest, in the end of the XIXth century (about 20 years before the XXth century) Yet, it was only until the beginning of the 1910s that learning piano became widespread movement and piano music propagated throughout Vietnamese artistic activities via music classes held by French private individuals, church musical activities and Vietnamese-French schooling systems in large cities 2.1.2 Conservatoire franỗais d'Extrờme-Orient (1927-1930) On July 19th, 1927, the Conservatoire franỗais dExtrờme-Orient (French Conservatory of the Far East) was officially created in Hanoi, which received from the protectorate government the modest annual subsidy of 20.000 Piastres and was granted for free its first land plot situated by the side of the Fine Arts College - Fair area (today Cultural Friendship Palace), then, a year later, moved to a new site in a villa at Avenue Puginier Thus, the Far East Conservatory was not exactly a full-funded and government-ruled institution but a private school officially recognized and partially subsidized by the State Both Poincignon and Bilewski were its co-directors In its initial stage, the Conservatory promoted the teaching of Vietnamese traditional music, while its students were also trained in applied Western instruments (including piano, harmonium, string instruments like violin, cello, double bass) The training program was divided into levels: Elementary, Secondary, College Were promised for the future such learning subjects as music theory, music history, pedagogy, orchestral harmony, counterpoint and composition Unfortunately, the universal economic crisis triggered by the Wall Street crash on “Black Tuesday October 29th, 1929”, deprived the Conservatory of its finance sources so that it had to close down in June 1930 in short of finance Despite its limited time span in activity, the Conservatory got the merit of gathering a number of Vietnamese music students who later on improved their 12 instruction on their own to become very active elements boosting up the western music performance movement in Vietnam Most outstanding among them on the piano were: Lưu Quang Duyệt, Nguyễn Hữu Hiếu, Nguyễn Thị Nết, Lê Văn An, Hà Thị Mộng Chi, Nguyễn Thị Nam, etc As for string instruments, there were two brothers, professor Phạm Huy Quỹ (cello) and composer Phạm Huy Kỳ (violin), etc 2.2 Piano training in Vietnam from 1956-1975 2.2.1 Vietnam School of Music The “Vietnam School of Music” was established in Hanoi in 1956 It fostered a Piano Department from the start Since its establishment, it marked a stage of maturity of the professional teaching staff and in the regular curriculum, and helped develop professional performances, as it beneficiated from foreign expert’s assistance Simultaneously, the Government of Democratic Republic of Vietnam - the Socialist State of Vietnam - sent students abroad on professional improvement to constitute a solid nucleus for the future One of those who made an immense contribution in piano education and training to the school itself as well as to Vietnamese piano art in general was the People’s Teacher, pianist Thái Thị Liên As the “leading pianist”, Mrs Thái thị Liên plaid a very important role in the birth and development of Vietnamese professional pianism In the area of training, she dispensed deeply professional teaching to many generations of artists and music teachers among which many have become famous pianists or teachers, such as: Associate Professor-Merited Artist Nguyễn Hữu Tuấn, Pr Dr People’s Teacher Trần Thu Hà, Merited Artist Trần Thanh Thảo, etc., and the most outstanding of them, People’s Artist Đặng Thái Sơn She also wrote the first piano programs and curriculums for Elementary, Secondary and Bachelor levels in Vietnam In performance, she played in many concerts in company of local and foreign artists In addition to her teaching and performing activities, she composed a great number of piano works, deriving materials from Vietnamese traditional folk songs which have been integrated in Vietnamese piano curriculums Having been at leading position of the piano discipline in general and Head of Piano Department at the Vietnam School of Music for 28 years, Mrs Thái Thị Liên was granted by the Government many highly distinguished titles Equally in charge of teaching in the school by the side of Mrs Thái Thị Liên, during the school’s early stage, were a number of piano teachers trained in piano under French colonization, namely Mss Vũ Thị Hiển, Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh (alias Vượng), Lê Liên, Nguyễn Thị Mai, Minh Thu, etc 2.2.2 Saigon National School of Music 13 In 1956, the Government of the Republic of Vietnam also decided to have its own “National School of Music in Saigon” which is the very first institution in southern Vietnam to provide music training, and as such, was bound to attract teachers from various sources, those trained on place by French teachers, those formerly students of the Far East Conservatory, those having studied abroad and chiefly graduated in France Among its founders was composer Hùng Lân Its main purpose was to teach various disciplines in Vietnamese traditional music, for example performing on Vietnamese traditional musical instruments, but under insistence of its director Nguyễn Phụng, the curriculum was complemented with Western classical music.“At its inauguration, only 150 students were selected out of 2500 applications for admission” [Memoir of Nguyễn Phụng, Reims, 1997, p.3] In 1960, its name was changed to Saigon National School of Music and Drama According to memories of Mrs Đỗ Thế Phiệt alias Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Thuyền and pianist Hồ Đắc Thủy Hoằng, before the National School of Music was founded, piano teaching was provided at the Société Philharmonique with as teachers Mrs Gabrielle Amiel Nguyễn Văn Đẩu, Mrs Dương Nguyệt Lảng, Mrs Klara Phạm, Mr Võ Đức Thu, Mr Võ Đức Tuyết, Mrs Thẩm Oánh, etc And when the National School of Music came into activity, the majority of teachers having graduated in France joined in, namely Mrs Nguyễn Tuyết Phương, Mr Nghiêm Phú Phi, Mrs Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Thuyền, Mrs Phạm Thị Lạc Nhân, Mr Nguyễn Cầu, Mrs Phạm Thị Hồng Tuyến, Mrs Ngô Thị Như Mai, Mrs Nguyễn Thị Cúc Xuân, etc 2.2.3 Huế National School of Music and Drama The Huế National School of Music and Drama was officially inaugurated for schoolyear 1961-1962 The first Director was a priest, Father Ngô Duy Linh In respect of academic matters, it was organized like the The Saigon National School of Music and Drama Teaching staff during the the first stage included Mr Otto Soellner (West Germany), Mrs Thiết (a French woman wife of Lawyer Phan Văn Thiết), Mrs Nguyễn Thị Thuý Ngà, Mr Nguyễn Cầu, Mrs Nguyễn Thị Đăng Thư, Mr Phạm Thành Hoàng, Mr Nguyễn Phước Vĩnh Hùng, etc [Annals of the 50th year since foundation of the Huế Academy of music] As a general view, the span of time from 1956 to 1975 was a period where Vietnamese piano art developed into professionalism with the creation of the Vietnam School of Music, the Saigon National School of Music, followed by the Huế National School of Music and Drama Those facts proved that there was a will to assimilate new acquisitions from Western musical culture into something that suits the Vietnamese way That was indeed the phase where acquisitions and inheritance from French piano music books and curriculum were combined with local realities, including piano works written by Vietnamese composers, to make a new piano training curriculum 2.3 Piano training in Vietnam from 1975 until today 14 2.3.1 Piano in the professional music training system In 1975, when Vietnam was entirely reunified, the arts training system, including music, came under the unified management of the Ministry of Culture Piano teachers who have reached maturity in the North as well as young teachers regularly trained in the Socialist countries were mobilized and sent as reinforcement to the South where they became core elements From 1975 to 1980 was the phase for quality amelioration where the basic study levels were brought to perfection During this stage, occurred a turning point extremely meaningful in the history of Vietnamese piano art: People’s Artist Đặng Thái Sơn, one of the students sent abroad by the Government for training, hit a glorious summit in winning the First Prize and the Gold Medal in the 10th Chopin International Piano Competition, a fact that attracted attention from the piano global community on the still very young Vietnamese piano art Then came the period of renovation starting in 1990, aiming at full industrialization and modernization of the country, with a whole set of new policies acting as a lever to propose the whole country into a phase of total-aspect development The resulting intensification of cultural exchange and international cooperation laid new conditions favoring Vietnamese professional musical art to expand in richness and diversity In terms of training program and curriculum, it can be said that, with the firm intention to constantly renovate the training, the piano discipline was among the leading disciplines to upgrade training quality through perfecting programs and curriculums for all study levels, starting from the heritage left by the previous generation of teachers and with the help of professor experts who had come and taught in Vietnam before This countrywide unification of the music education management system allowed the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sport and Tourism to proceed in 1991 together with the Ministry of Education and Training to elaborate and enforce a standard Training Program to be applied uniformly at secondary and bachelor level all over the country; the piano discipline was standardized based on the 2003 framework program for music education at bachelor level The three training institutions, the Vietnam National Academy of Music, the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and the Huế Academy of Music became leading music training institutions of all the country, cumulating training, performance and scientific research functions 2.3.2 Debussy and Ravel’s piano works in professional piano training in Vietnam Investigations have been carried out on training programs applied in piano department at professional music training institutions in Vietnam such as the Vietnam National Academy of Music, the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and the Huế Academy of Music, on students having been tough on all the works for keyboard, on works for piano of various eras: Baroque, Classic, 15 Romantic, XXth century, Modern, including piano works of the French Impressionist music, results of which show that in both the Vietnam National Academy of Music and the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music, Debussy and Ravel’s works are highly praised in terms of artistic value and profusely used, principally in training program from secondary level upward; in the Huế Academy of Music, training about these two composers remains limited Today, talents throughout the world as well as in the region tend to reveal at a younger and younger age, and, to match this tendency, the Vietnamese piano discipline has achieved some positive changes as a result of renovation in training: Programs and curriculums have been expanded and modernized In the wake of this new development, we propose measures to improve, expand and add more of Debussy and Ravel’s works in the training programs at all study levels, from secondary to bachelor and further, to postgraduate level in Vietnamese professional music training institutions Conclusion of Chapter 2: In chapter 2, we studied how the piano was introduced in Vietnam and the role played by pianism in the process of creation and development of Vietnamese modern music The historical and political context of the past, as well as the policy to systematically not develop arts educational programs in colonies contributed to keep Vietnamese pianism in a “primitive” state in its initial stage, and in this situation, propagation of this new instrument was the result of spontaneous private initiative through church activities and music lessons organized by French private individuals; Only the French Conservatory of the Far East did provide some formal music instruction, but it lasted only years Fortunately, some positive elements of propagation remained active that contributed to sustain its first staggering steps as a turning point for the development of Vietnamese professional pianism in the next stages Since 1990, the Vietnamese piano art, and more particularly its training component, have been through a powerful transformation and achieved very remarkable results We are now fully equipped materially speaking, in terms of learning equipment, class rooms, concert halls, and musical instruments, all at correct standard; documentation for training and curriculums are updated, performers and teachers highly experienced, knowledge of students widened through international exchange opportunities, etc So many favorable factors and new requirements for us to put more insistence on teaching piano works of the French Impressionist music in professional piano training in Vietnam 16 CHAPTER 3: FRENCH IMPRESSIONIST MUSIC IN PROFESSIONAL PIANO PERFORMANCE IN VIETNAM In order to fruitfully learn about and successfully perform a piano work, besides the basic requirements for performance techniques, knowledge of form and structure, content, etc., the performer must also have a deep understanding of its characteristics, of the elements of tradition, the musical style that influenced the composer in aesthetical and philosophical aspects The Impressionist piano music foster their own specific characteristics as well as characteristics common to the art of French piano music in general In Chapter 3, we will study the major characteristics of French piano school in general, with particular focus on the art of French Impressionist piano music, in order to find out some professional mode of resolution that may inspire and suggest ways to address performing technical and artistical issues inherent to Debussy’s works such as Arabesque No1, La Cathédrale engloutie / Sunken Cathedral (Prelude No10, Book I), Feux d'artifice / Fireworks (Prelude No12, Book II)) and Ravel’s work: Ondine / The Water of Spirit from Gaspard de la Nuit 3.1 Artistic Characteristics of French piano school and French Impressionist piano music The French piano school is synonym of “Pearl-style of playing” (Jeu Perlé) with its following characteristics: rapid, clean, even passage work, note after note “bright and perfectly formed, like each pearl on a necklace” [Timbrell, Charles (1999), French Pianism: A Historical Perspective, Amadeus] The French school of piano playing insists the movement of hands never move of the keyboard, supple movement of fingers, arms, wrists and hands, freedom of the body, independence of the fingers in order to produce the clear articulation and beautiful tone; playing fast tempo from finger and wrist instead of using arm and shoulder; auditory aesthetics, purity, great clarity and transparency of sound, moderation in the art of performing, and judicious pedaling, all of the above properties being so essentially characteristic of French piano school Music is the art of time, but, according to People’s Artist Đặng Thái Sơn, impressionist music also fosters a “space” Depending on the colorful scenery of the work, the artist can, thanks to his art of pedaling, produce tone colors, sound effects, echo effects, far or near, bright or dark, etc., and all this constitute the multi-dimensional space in Impressionist music As a characteristic absolutely specific to Impressionist composers found in their works, both Debussy and Ravel seldom write down fingerings and pedal markings, but sometimes suggest with musical indication implying pedal in their original scores They simply provide tempo markings and other musical indications, and leave complete freedom to performer’s creativity in pedal applications and fingerings Therefore, the pianist needs to study his/her added fingering and also pedaling so as to suit the technical and artistic requirements of the work, room/concert hall acoustic 17 In order to successfully achieve Debussy/Ravel’s technical and fundamental artistic intention, reproduce their tone quality as well as technical and stylistic distinction of the French piano school, we propose that the performer can get to know better about the composer, and the work itself through piano literature; discern the composer’s stylistic period of composition, get substantial understanding about the historical circumstances of the work, the relationships between music and other arts, the relation of those arts to other cultures; it means, concerning French impressionism in music, the relation between Western culture (French) and Eastern culture (Vietnam) Besides, the performer playing Debussy/Ravel’s music needs to focus on the overall form and structure of the work, its musical language, harmonic language, details of notes, rhythm, dynamics, nuances, tempo; on treatment of phrases and the expression of phrasing, sections; on different articulation techniques, changing characters/moods, on how to make contrasts, to plan the climax; focus on following musical terms as indicated by composer with absolute accuracy and fidelity 3.2 Studying the performing technique in Claude Debussy’s Arabesque No.1, La Cathédrale engloutie and Feux d’artifice 3.2.1 Arabesque No1 Etymologically speaking, Arabesque in French refers to Islamic art developed by Arabs to produce ornamental interwoven artistic curves It can then be said that Deux Arabesques (Two Arabesques) are Debussy’s “a tonal decorative art” This was one of earliest piano works during Debussy’s early compositional period, initiating the shaping up of his own Impressionist style in music While the First Arabesque mainly insists on the legato technique, flexibility in interpretation the melody, tempo rubato and the use of different pedaling techniques, the Second Arabesque rather focuses on the staccato technique, rhythmic accuracy and great moderation in the use of pedals The First Arabesque is widely used for younger students getting acquainted with the shaping of new sound effects, tone colors in Impressionist music The work mainly requires performance skills for fine details of articulation and delicate timbres (most of dynamic nuances in the work are piano and pianissimo); focus on expressing melody shape and melodic contour; for dealing with polyrhythm of against and treatment of inner voices; for proper use of the pedals (including una corda pedal) accordingly with different musical contexts There is also an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of piano techniques like large arpeggios, veloce passages, to create the effects of large chords on the sf dynamic, and to express correctly all the musical indications about tempo, dynamics and nuances as specified by Debussy 3.2.2 La Cathédrale engloutie / Sunken Cathedral (Prelude No10, Book I) 18 Together with Clair de lune (Moonlight) in the Suite Bergamasque, La Cathédrale engloutie is one of the best-known piano works in the public audiences and also one of the most mystic of Debussy’s piano compositions Its theme derives from a legend of Britany where the Cathetral of Ys (a town in Bretagne - France) was literally swallowed by the ocean during the IVth century because of the impiety of its inhabitants, but was nevertheless granted the special favor to emerge from time to time at sunrise as a warning sign to those alive to mend their lives Though only 4-paged long, it contained many very mystical music imageries and thus requires fertile imagination and accomplished piano performance Music imagery contained in this work includes water, sound of tolling bell, plainsongs and images of the cathedral Two issues must be carefully considered in the performing of this work: the contrast in tone colors and the pedaling technique Tone colors are determined by factors such as pedaling, legato technique, cluster chords playing, feel and control over the entire key range The pianist must think about the static state of water and its depth, express the slow propagation of waves, the tolling sounds of bells, the soft voice of religious praying in Lydian mode, the climax with bell tolling mixing up in the crescending voices of the choir and the sound of the grand organ in full dynamic spectrum on ff; or produce highly sophisticated tone colors in gradually fading out nuances p, pìu p, pp, pìu pp 3.2.3 Feux d'artifice / Fireworks (Prelude No12, Book II) Feux d'artifice is the summit of Debussy’s two books of preludes, one of the piano works most highly praised by talented pianists It heralded the birth of Debussy’s 12 etudes It requires from the performer a solid technical foundation to meet the pianistic challenges of this great masterpiece Piano works preceding it already fostered hard-to-deal-with difficult techniques, but Feux d'artifice was a real jump upward to a new phase of piano virtuosity, taking full advantage of the piano’s possibility to create highly sophisticated tone colors and sonorities Feux d’artifice is related to Paris’s traditional fireworks display on July 14 the National Day of France It includes most complicated piano techniques such as passages shared by both hands, glissandos, trills and tremolos in rapid succession, lightning-fast arpeggios, powerful chords, martellato octaves, rains of small crystalline notes, etc The performer is required to constantly adapt himself to brisk changes of virtuosic passages with hands alternating between black and white keys and the other way round, the evenness of fingers action and the agile arm movements This work makes use of the various pedal applications to create glaring and glitter light effects, bright flash in speed, reflection and brilliant colors of pyrotechnics; long pedals are used to provoke resonance effects between many deafening explosions or huge climax when the combined sounds in harmonies are mixed together on the piano resonance board It also resorts to 19 finger-arranging skill, ability to pick up notes to the other hand, to tightly control rapid changes in dynamic nuances and in the colorful harmonic language 3.3 Studying the performing technique in Maurice Ravel’s Ondine (from Gaspard de la Nuit) In the wake of the pianistic legacy left by the two eminent masters Chopin and Liszt, the Gaspard de la Nuit is one of the pinnacles of XXth century piano literature, also the most representative virtuosic compositions of Ravel which widened the accomplished piano performance Gaspard de la Nuit is composed for movements, Ondine (The Water Spirit), Le Gibet (The Gallows) and Scarbo (Devilish Dwarf Scarbo), each based on poems of the same names by Bertrand, which are placed in front of movements, an indication that this work followed the tradition of instrumental music combined with literary models so typical of composers Schumann and Liszt With Gaspard de la Nuit, Ravel’s masterly talent in the art of creation expanded to a new era, in which he exploited the whole range of sonority possible on the piano, thus elevating performing techniques to their ultimate perfection In writing his masterpiece, his compositional techniques were self-controlled for refinement and details: sequences of lighting-rapid arpeggios with both hands in contrary motion on different tonal keys, producing the dissonance; glissando on black keys to create rippling water images; repeated notes at unimaginably fast tempo; function of the thumb on keyboard through extremely difficult movements; division of melodies and chords between hands: as one hand plays the melody, the other interacts with the melody or notes of chord so neatly packed together that it is nearly impossible to tell which notes are taking in charge by which hand Also, there are the challenges to deal with extremely complex polyrhythmic, polytonal expressed by vague key signatures, dynamic range from ppp to fff, and inner melodic lines to be sung out clearly over several harmony voices In Bertrand’s poem, Ondine is a beautiful water of spirit who dedicates her ever-singing to a man, describing to him the fascination of the underwater world with the intention to seduce the man, offers him a ring and the kingdom of the waters But when the man replied that he is married to a mortal woman, she sheds few tears, bursts into laughter, then disappears as quickly as she first appeared before him Music in Ondine is full of lyrical melodies and prosody, like a love dream, with the most difficult passages used to express the water spirit’s emotions and feelings of longing, etc., and this requires from the performer a “supple persistent strength” to keep sustaining from gentle touché to powerful attack With this fabulous work, the piano outgrows its normal function as a mere keyboard instrument to achieve the power of expression of an entire orchestra Therefore, the performer not only thinks as an ordinary pianist but also 20 needs to have a rich imagination to imitate the color and timbre of orchestral instruments related to the work Pedaling is a key factor to create intended color effects and musical imagery The pedal is used not only in low register to sustain the fundamental bass, but also in high register to make the sound bright and clear, and more specially to permit sound vibrating to suspend in mid-air, particularly in Ondine, those vibrations are supposed to represent the propagating riddles on the water’s surface Furthermore, the pianist needs to suggest a sweet and luminous atmosphere, with many subtle different touches to achieve the multiple effect of water like light undulations, shimmer, ripple, brilliant or impetuous torrent of cascading water effect Technically speaking, there are passages where the pianist’s two hands must across almost all over the keyboard at extremely rapid speed, require to execute like veloce liquid passages, as water stream; the rhythmic motifs of the chords must be played fast while still preserving gentleness The performer’s both hands “choreogragh” with innumerable notes consisting of rhythmic variety and arpeggio accompaniment, which requires playing through long fast passages while still allow the melody to be sung out Conclusion of Chapter 3: During the XIXth century, Paris was the cultural arts capital of Europe and the whole world, towards which converged eminent musicians, a place where Revolution in piano-playing techniques was taking place, and was considered “a mecca for piano performance” in the first half of the XIXth century Today the French school of piano playing is still one of the greatest schools of influence in the world Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, in their art of the piano, were pioneers in the exploitation the enormous ranges of expressive possibilities of the piano to create new sonorities and sophisticated tone colors effects, and also extended considerably the capabilities of two-handed pianist playing on the keyboard Their compositional breakthroughs provided absolutely the virtuosity and technical inventiveness ever written of that time, thus inaugurating a new era in world-historical development of piano-playing techniques in the XXth century Based on the aesthetic point of view, artistic philosophy, technical requirements and specific style of French impressionism in music, the thesis proposes some modes of technical handling and artistic interpretation for performing selected works like Debussy’s Arabesque No1, La Cathédrale engloutie/Sunken cathedral (Prelude No10, Book I), Feux d'artifice / Fireworks (Prelude No12, Book II) and Ravel’s Ondine/The Water Spirit (from Gaspard de la Nuit), and thus contributes to deepen understanding and improve the quality of teaching, learning and performing piano works by these two composers 21 GENERAL CONCLUSION The piano held an important role in musical creations of almost all greatest composers in the world, from the Baroque era with J S Bach, F Couperin, G F Handel etc., to the classical epoch of Vienne with F J Haydn, W A Mozart and L V Beethoven; then to the Romantic era with great pianists and composers as F Chopin, F Liszt, J Brahms, etc During the XIXth century, many new artistic movements appeared in France, notably the Symbolism movement in literature and Impressionism in painting These highly active movements interfered with each other and their influence ultimately reached the art-music a) Symbolist poets wanted poetry to get out of its old stifling “framework” of precise description and eloquence, and move freely in the world of imagination, senses and intuition where most hidden secrets of the universe can be unveiled More than a mere goal, this is the very nature of Symbolism b) Impressionism in painting aims at expressing the movement of colors, lines designed to blurred vision, phenomenon of transitoriness, etc Painters not hesitate to use contrasting dots of pure colors placed side by side and entirely rely on the beholder’s personal capacity to mix the colors c) As Impressionist painters managed to capture the momentaneous movement of colors and light, Symbolist poets on their side try to catch the spirit deeply hidden in everything, the mystical sensation within life itself, by relying on intuition and physical senses, etc Yet, the very domain in which Impressionism fundamentals can be most wonderfully expressed to most effectively affect human senses is the sonorous art of music In this respect, C Debussy M Ravel have laid a bright milestone in history of world music by inaugurating French impressionism in music Claude Debussy was a great renovator and is considered one of the most original composers of the XXth century He played a particularly important role in history of world music during the transitional phase from the Romantic music of the XIXth century to the Modern music of the XXth century a) Claude Debussy has developed original criteria for building untraditional form structures, highlight the role of sound and color; he also revised the conception of traditional tonal and renovated the way to treat dissonance and consonance b) Debussy’s piano works contain characteristics and musical language unique in themselves, and multitude varied and delighful subjects; his use of eastern musical material, more particularly of the pentatonic scale, makes his music very familiar to Vietnamese people c) Debussy also introduced innovative techniques including pedal applications and novel fingering His exploitation of expressive possibilities of 22 the piano to create new sonorities, subtle timbres and colorful nuances are recognized as great innovations in the art of creation and performing, especially appropriate to his own piano works Maurice Ravel is one of the greatest creative talents in French music history He was pioneer in extending the capacities of two - handed pianist playing on the keyboard, bringing fully into use the expressive possibilities of the piano; he also contributed a great deal of masterpieces to the piano repertoire a) Ravel’s piano works is characterized by a high level of complex piano technique as well as form structures; the perfect balance between expressive and technical is enhanced by highly refined details He also displayed a great diversity in music style through different phases of his compositional career, from Impressionism to Neo-classicism, not to mention deep influences from literature and philosophy, and his very tight relation with French culture b) Ravel sets up a new very special view on harmony: he often used chords of the 9th,11th, 13 th, the pentatonic scale and never wrote according to the whole-tone scale, excluding in Shéhérazade The structure of his compositions is very traditional, melodies are nearly always written in ancient modes, mostly Dorian and Phrygian c) Most remarkable in Ravel’s creative art is the revolutionary study of piano technique, whole-aspect innovations in virtuoso technique and amazing breakthroughs in highly technical accomplishment, achievements that opened new horizons for the development of the art of piano playing in the XXth century Western music was introduced in Vietnam through many channels One of them was performances and concerts staged in operas in Saigon, Hanoi, Haiphong, Société Philharmonique, and through music teaching and learning in municipal school system, music classes, schools of music founded by the French, most notable of them was the French Conservatory of the Far-East The very first pianos appeared in Vietnam in the end of the XIXth century (about 20 years before the XXth century); in its beginning in this country, piano art was an exclusive privilege of the aristocratic class in the French colonial administration Yet, it was only until the beginning of the 1910s that learning piano really became widespread movement and piano music propagated throughout Vietnamese artistic activities via music classes held by French private individuals, church musical activities, French-Vietnamese schooling system in large cities One of those artist-teachers having considerable influence on the first generation of piano players in Vietnam was Armande Caron Among her students was two famous sisters Thái Thị Lang - lately a talented pianist at the international level and the first Vietnamese composer - and Thái Thị Liên - the leading pianist, “a real monument in Vietnamese pianism” 23 Music training in general and piano training in particular became professional since 1956, with the creation of the Vietnam School of Music in Hanoi and the Saigon National School of Music It was during this historical period that Vietnamese got acquainted with piano works by French Impressionist composers through training programs and performances before wide public The period from 1975 up to now saw Vietnamese piano art develop to maturity both in training and in performing and achieve brilliant worldrecognized success a) From 1975 to 1990, the rather ill-assorted system of music training institutions came under one unique administrating power all over the country; it was therefore a period of quality improvement where all basic study levels were thoroughly improved and simultaneously, measures were taken to set up a core personnel, aiming at developing Vietnamese professional pianism in the coming future The exceptional triumph of People’s Artist Đặng Thái Sơn at the International Chopin Piano Competition in 1980 marks the starting point for Vietnamese piano art, though still in juvenile stage, to hit world-recognized success b) From 1990 up to now, owing to substantial progress of the opening and world integration policy, Vietnamese piano art is taking a new visage with uniformization and standardization of the training program for the whole country Piano works by Debussy and Ravel are now a significant part in the professional piano training program and also widely propagated among Vietnamese audiences In order to learn and perform successfully piano works written by Debussy and Ravel, we need to take a multi-directional approach of the works and combine various knowledge from careful study of characteristics, aesthetic conception and artistic philosophy of French piano school which are necessary to meet requirements in terms of performing techniques and compositional style of French Impressionist composers Other kind of knowledge are to be included in this combination, particularly knowledge on society and interdisciplinary knowledge a) In order to perform Debussy’s piano works, the performer must study Debussy’s music language, the multitude of varied and delightful subjects in his musical creation, expressed in a diverse palette of colors Those tone colors and sound effects are determined by such factors as subtle pedaling to mix the colors of harmonies, using proper fingering, division of melodies and accompaniments between hands, relations between phrases and the expression of phrasing, treatment of voices and inner voices, different sections, solid fundamental finger technique for the articulations and powerful chords, feeling of the “touché” on the keyboards while playing, etc Only then can the performer take full advantage of the whole possibility of the piano to render delicate tone colors, new sonorities, atmospheric color in Debussy’s music 24 b) In order to perform Ravel’s piano works, besides having a understanding of his profound musical thought and approaching “solutions” of innovative piano techniques, the juxtaposition of different articulations, the performer must also develop a steady sense of pulse, the perfect balance between expressive and technical, the accuracy while dealing with countless notes, a skill to deal with extremely complex rhythms, sudden changes of characters/moods, slightest changes in the nuances textures as well as in dynamic range from ppp to fff in order to create multi-dimensional music space, to produce the powerful climax like the sound effects of combining tone colors and power of an entire orchestra 10 New contributions deriving from study results of this thesis: a) New adds for specialized research on factors forming the French impressionism in music, to identify the characteristics, technical elements and musical styles found in C Debussy and M Ravel’s piano works through each period of their careers b) Contribution to a clearer view on gaps in the evolution of Vietnamese piano art through new historical data, new information on introduction and propagation in Vietnam of the piano along with western culture and French music, and more particularly on the influence of French piano school on the development of Vietnamese piano art c) New adds for research on the development of professional piano training in Vietnam through different periods The thesis examines the present state of matters about current integration of Debussy and Ravel’s piano works into professional music institutions in Vietnam’s training programs Based on favorable conditions as well as limitations and inconsistencies actually found, the thesis proposes to enhance, expand and add more piano works by these two composers to the training program as to accommodate the new period d) Through Debussy and Ravel’s selected piano works, the thesis proposes some methods and solutions for professional development in order to address technical and artistic aspects in performance These works are adapted to the present general level of the Vietnamese training and performing program, but with new requirements and the goal of reaching international level e) This thesis is meant to open new perspectives on orientation for the development of piano discipline in particular and of music research in general, and to provide a theoretical and practical basis for professional piano training and performing in Vietnam./ LIST OF PUBLICATIONS RELATED TO THE THESIS Le Ho Hai (2020), Musical style in piano works of Claude Debussy, Journal of Music Education, No 1(117), June 2020, p.75-87, Vietnam National Academy of Music Le Ho Hai (2020), Musical style in piano works of Maurice Ravel, Journal of Vietnamese Music, No.18, June 2020, p.76-86, Hue Academy of Music ... on the piano depicting the whole process from piano introduction into Vietnam to the birth and development of the Vietnamese piano art; (2) Đào Trọng Tuyên (2007), Les Douze Études pour piano. .. piece for piano was Trống Tràng Thành by Nguyễn Xuân Khoát, closely followed by solo piano works written by Thái Thị Lang based on Vietnamese folkloric airs Introduction of piano in Vietnam: According... Medal in the 10th Chopin International Piano Competition, a fact that attracted attention from the piano global community on the still very young Vietnamese piano art Then came the period of renovation