adminAwakening all the senses of music lovers in HCMC with a completely distinct artistic space at Saigon Opera House, HBSO will present the concert themed “Rare Masterpieces by great romantic composers” , taking place on November 22, 2026, at 8:00 PM.
Notably, this year’s concert marks a highly meaningful reunion on stage between two generations of talented artists: clarinetist Hoàng Ngọc Anh Quân will perform alongside the HBSO Symphony Orchestra, led by guest conductor Leon Bosch, a world-renowned master with standard academic musical thinking.
Leon Bosch is a Dutch clarinetist and conductor who served as principal clarinet of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra in Amsterdam for 43 years. He has extensive international solo performance experience and nearly 20 years of teaching at the Maastricht Conservatory, while regularly conducting masterclasses in the Netherlands and many other countries. In his role as a conductor, he has led numerous symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, and wind ensembles, as well as mentoring student and youth orchestras. He has a deep connection with Vietnam and has served twice as a guest conductor for the Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) in 2018 and 2022.
Kicking off the concert with great excitement, the audience will enjoy the “Piet Hein Rhapsody” by composer Peter van Anrooy. This marks the first time this epic, heroic-colored masterpiece has been performed in Vietnam. With ten minutes of explosive energy, the piece acts as a warm greeting, warming up the auditorium and sparking the listeners’ imagination from the very first notes.
Continuing the flow of emotion, the first part of the program will lead the audience into an enchanting dialogue between the orchestra and the woodwinds through the “Clarinet Concerto No. 2” by Carl Maria von Weber. Traversing three movements – from dramatic and lyrical to soaring rhythms – the work is a major challenge in both emotion and technique. The piece will be performed by talented clarinetist Hoàng Ngọc Anh Quân. His poetic and powerful clarinet playing promises to melt the hearts of those who love Weber’s romanticism.
Not only is he currently the excellent Principal Clarinet of HBSO, Anh Quân is also an elite student who was directly taught and inspired by Professor Leon Bosch during his years pursuing a Master’s degree in music in the Netherlands. The profound understanding between the conductor teacher and the soloist student promises to deliver highly harmonious, transcendent, and emotional musical dialogues. This will be one of the highlights not to be missed.
Occupying the entirety of Part 2, the auditorium will completely immerse in the magnificent yet intimate space of “Symphony No. 2” by the Russian romantic master Sergei Rachmaninov. Through four massive movements, the work resembles a cinematic film of memory told in sound. Especially the legendary third movement, Adagio, is one of the most romantic and emotional melodies of all time with sounds overflowing with nostalgia, combined with the brilliant final fourth movement, creating the most complete conclusion that embraces and comforts the listeners’ souls in the chilly atmosphere of the year-end days.
Text: VH Editor; Photo: HBSO
