Vietnam classical music needs support, conductor Fukumura
The Vietnamese Government, along with the business community should give more financial support to its music orchestras, said a Japanese conductor after his successful concert in HCMC.
Yoshikazu Fukumura, who has just marked another successful performance of Vietnam-Japan classical music in Ho Chi Minh City recital, talked to Thanh Niens Quynh Nhu after the concert.
What did you think of the audience tonight?
| Yoshikazu Fukumura is one of Japans best-known and most versatile conductors. He was Music Director of the Tokyo Ballet Company and many other orchestras in Japan. Fukumura was conductor of the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra and is also well known overseas. During the past 20 years, he has recorded in Hong Kong, Beijing, Taiwan, the Philippines,etc. as guest conductor of many major orchestras
Born in 1946, Fukumura entered the pretigious Toho School of Music in 1962. In 1968 he gave his dbut as a professional conductor with the Kyoto Municipal Symphony Orchestra. In the 1970s he won many prizes and awards in Europe. In 1995, he was given the La Condecoracion por la Cultura Nacional Award from the government of Cuba and became the main conductor of the Cuban National Symphony Orchestra. In 1998, the Vietnamese Government granted him the medal of friendship for achievements in musical development in Vietnam. |
They were very wonderful. I love Vietnamese audiences.
According to experts, you were the conductor who introduced Vietnamese symphony orchestra to many other countries and helped improve it a lot. So, what made you so close with Vietnam?
Because I found that Vietnam is a country of well-educated people. I came here for the first time in 1992. From that time on, I witnessed many changes your country has made. Personally, I love Vietnam and its audiences very much.
From your experience of conducting Vietnamese instrumentalists on many occasions, could you tell us your views on them?
They need to improve performance skills by attending recitals more frequently. However, they dont have a lot of chance to do that in Vietnam due to financial difficulties. I think the government should give them more support.
How is the situation in Japan?
In Japan, everything seems different. Because Japan has a 100-hundred year history of classical music, we have many audiences of this kind of music. As you know, profit from tickets and donations from the business community help Japan build a strong foundation for classical music.
As far as I know. There are currently about 20 orchestras in Japan- but only 4 or 5 out of them were sponsored by the government. However, performances are held very frequently thanks to sponsorship from companies.
Do you have anything you would like to pass on to your Vietnamese audience?
I would say I hope that Vietnamese audiences continue to support classical music more to make it developed. In addition, government and companies should give more financial support to orchestras.
Thank you very much, Mr. Yoshikazu Fukumura!
Reported by Quynh Nhu
