Concert «Khúc Hoan Ca» (Celebration of Life)

   For two nights at the end of October, Hanoi's Ho Guom Opera hosts a Japanese orchestra making its debut on this stage: the Kyushu Symphony Orchestra brings «Khúc Hoan Ca» - Celebration of Life, an evening built around Mozart and Brahms.

   Conductor Gen Ohta leads the orchestra, joined by two Japanese vocalists - soprano Michiko Hariu and tenor Kohei Yamamoto - for a set of Mozart arias and duets. The second half is given entirely to Brahms' Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 73, one of his warmest and most lyrical works.

   The Kyushu Symphony Orchestra is one of Japan's orchestras with the deepest tradition. Its Hanoi visit continues a run of Vietnam-Japan cultural exchange concerts at Ho Guom Opera, the same stage that has welcomed the London Symphony Orchestra back four times.

   The evening is for classical music listeners and for anyone curious to hear a Japanese orchestra take on Mozart and Brahms in Hanoi - not something that comes around often. If you know Brahms' Symphony No. 2 only from recordings, this is a chance to hear it live under the opera house's dome.

   Both nights run the same programme, 24 and 25 October, only the date changes.