中華表演藝術基金會 Chinese Performing Arts Foundation

photo: Benjamin Cheung

photos : Benjamin Cheung

Dang Thai Son 鄧泰山
“A genuine musician” - Isaac Stern

An outstanding international musician of our time, Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son was propelled to the forefront of the musical world in October 1980, when he was awarded the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Xth International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. It was also the first time that a top international competition was won by an Asian pianist.

He began piano studies with his mother in Hanoi. Discovered by the Russian pianist Isaac Katz, who was on visit in Vietnam in 1974, he pursued his advanced training at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Russia with Vladimir Natanson and Dmitry Bashkirov.

Since winning the Chopin Competition, his international career has taken him to over forty countries, into such world renowned halls as Lincoln Center (New York), Barbican Center (London), Salle Pleyel (Paris), Herculessaal (Munich), Musikverein (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Opera House (Sydney), and Suntory Hall (Tokyo).

He has played with numerous world-class orchestras such as the Leningrad Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Baden-Baden Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Warsaw National Philharmonic, Prague Symphony, NHK Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Hungarian State Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, Russian National Symphony, as well as Virtuosi of Moscow, Sinfonia Varsovia, Vienna Chamber, Zurich Chamber, Royal Swedish Chamber Orchestras, and the Ensemble orchestral de Paris. Also, he has appeared under the direction of Sir Neville Marriner, Pinchas Zukerman, Mariss Jansons, Ivan Fisher, Vladimir Spivakov, Dimitri Kitaenko, James Loughram, Jiri Belohlavek, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, Pavel Kogan, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Sakari Oramo, and John Nelson.

In the field of chamber music, he has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic Octet, the Smetana String Quartet, Barry Tuckwell, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Pinchas Zukerman, Boris Belkin, Joseph Suk, and Alexander Rudin, and he has played duo-piano with Andrei Gavrilov.

Other career highlights include a New Year’s Day concert (1995) with Yo Yo Ma, Seiji Ozawa, Kathleen Battle, and the late Mstislav Rostropovich, in a major international event produced by the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK; in January 1999, a Gala-concert opening the Chopin year, where he was the only foreign artist invited to appear as soloist with the Warsaw National Opera Theatre Orchestra; concerts in Isaac Stern’s last festival in Miyazaki, Japan in 2001, which included three performances with Pinchas Zukerman; and a special performance as the only guest artist at the Opening Gala Concert of the XVth International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, where he was also a member of the jury.

Dang Thai Son is frequently invited to give masterclasses around the world - such as the special class in Berlin in October, 1999, where he taught alongside Murray Perahia and Vladimir Ashkenazy, who extended the invitation. Since 1987, he has been a visiting professor at the Kunitachi Music College (Tokyo), and currently, he teaches at the Université de Montréal (Canada). He has sat on the juries of such prestigious competitions as the Cleveland (USA), Clara Haskil (Switzerland), Hamamatsu (Japan), Rachmaninoff (Russia), Piano Masters of Monte Carlo, Sviatoslav Richter (Moscow), Chopin (Warsaw), C. Bechstein (Germany), and Villa-Lobos (Brazil). In the 2007-2008 season, he served on the juries of the Vladimir Viardo (Dallas), 4th China, Artur Rubinstein (Tel-Aviv), and Jeunesses Musicales (Montreal) International Piano Competitions. Dang Thai Son has recorded for Deutsche Grammophone, Melodya, Polskie Nagrania, CBS Sony, Analekta and Victor JVC. In October of 2009, Mr. Dang recorded the Complete Mazurkas of Chopin, a 2-CD set, which will be released in early 2010 by Victor Entertainment Inc. in Japan.

As the winner of the Chopin Piano Competition, 2009-2010 will be one of the most exciting seasons of Mr. Dang’s career as the year 2010 marks the 200th birthday of Frederick Chopin. Mr. Dang will begin his European tour in February 2010 with several concerts with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Czech Republic, and the 18th Century Orchestra in Poland. On Chopin’s 200th birthday, March 1st, Mr. Dang will join Martha Argerich and Yundi Li at the much-anticipated Warsaw Gala Concert where he will perform Chopin’s Concerto No. 2 in F minor, and Martha Argerich will perform Chopin’s Concerto No. 1 in E minor. In October 2010, Mr. Dang will once again be invited to join the jury at the 16th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland, alongside with Martha Argerich, Nelson Freire, Bela Davidovitch, and Fou T’song among others. More information about additional concerts in Europe, North America and Asia during this celebratory season can be found under the “News” section at www.dangthaison.net.

Also, he is the subject of the biography, “A pianist loved by Chopin - The Dang Thai Son Story”, published by Yamaha Music Media Corporation in 2003.

Dang Thai Son
at the 1980 Chopin competition,
where he was also the winner.

Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky The Four Seasons op.37b
Tokyo Kioi Hall,
Japan

Mendelssohn G-minor Concerto at the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition

The harvest (August) in the 4 seasons collection op.37bis Nr. 8
in Tokyo, Japan

Barcaroll Op. 37bis, Nr.6 of Tchaikovski
in Tokyo Hall,
Japan