The greatest living player of traditional Vietnamese musicalinstruments, Tran Van Khe, is 90 and arthritic, and can no longerperform on the instruments that made him world-famous.
He has notslowed down otherwise and his mind remains as sharp as ever, but hislatest offering is not musical but literary – an autobiography.
“Nhung Cau Chuyen Tu Trai Tim” (Stories from the Heart)narrates the story of his life since he was a 10-year-old orphan growingup in Vinh Kim village in Tien Giang province, his aspirations as ayoung man, his studies and work in foreign countries, and life uponreturning home in 2004.
In the book, he recounts his darkestdays when he first became arthritic: “In 2004, when I was back toVietnam, it was hard for me to play music. I was in tears looking at mytrembling hands. They did not obey me on the frets. My ears were notsharp enough to hear my music. I decided not to play music. It wasdistraught for six months.”
Born into a family of fourgenerations of musicians, he was taught his family’s musical traditionby his paternal aunt and maternal uncle.
He learnt to play manyinstruments, including the Dan Kim or Dan Nguyet (moon-shaped lute), DanTranh (16-stringed zither), and Co or Dan Nhi (two-stringed fiddle),Dan Ty Ba (pear-shaped four-stringed lute) and the Trong Nhac(ceremonial drum).
The Doctor in Musicology, who has helpedpopularise Vietnamese music around the world, is a member of UNESCO’sMusic Council.
He did research at the Centre National de laRecherche Scientifique in Paris, France, and has taught at theillustrious Paris-Sorbonne University.
He has expertise in a widerange of Asian music, particularly Indian, Persian, Chinese, Japanese,and Arabic.
He lived in Paris for around 50 years and travelledworldwide, lecturing and performing, playing a key role in introducingAsian music to the western world. He has taught thousands of studentsfrom all over the world, including a number of PhD’s.
Besides hundreds of articles, he also wrote books on music, made CDs,and a series of five books on his reminiscences in 2001 and 2002.
“Nhung Cau Chuyen Tu Trai Tim” will be released on July 24 to markhis 90 th birthday./.
He has notslowed down otherwise and his mind remains as sharp as ever, but hislatest offering is not musical but literary – an autobiography.
“Nhung Cau Chuyen Tu Trai Tim” (Stories from the Heart)narrates the story of his life since he was a 10-year-old orphan growingup in Vinh Kim village in Tien Giang province, his aspirations as ayoung man, his studies and work in foreign countries, and life uponreturning home in 2004.
In the book, he recounts his darkestdays when he first became arthritic: “In 2004, when I was back toVietnam, it was hard for me to play music. I was in tears looking at mytrembling hands. They did not obey me on the frets. My ears were notsharp enough to hear my music. I decided not to play music. It wasdistraught for six months.”
Born into a family of fourgenerations of musicians, he was taught his family’s musical traditionby his paternal aunt and maternal uncle.
He learnt to play manyinstruments, including the Dan Kim or Dan Nguyet (moon-shaped lute), DanTranh (16-stringed zither), and Co or Dan Nhi (two-stringed fiddle),Dan Ty Ba (pear-shaped four-stringed lute) and the Trong Nhac(ceremonial drum).
The Doctor in Musicology, who has helpedpopularise Vietnamese music around the world, is a member of UNESCO’sMusic Council.
He did research at the Centre National de laRecherche Scientifique in Paris, France, and has taught at theillustrious Paris-Sorbonne University.
He has expertise in a widerange of Asian music, particularly Indian, Persian, Chinese, Japanese,and Arabic.
He lived in Paris for around 50 years and travelledworldwide, lecturing and performing, playing a key role in introducingAsian music to the western world. He has taught thousands of studentsfrom all over the world, including a number of PhD’s.
Besides hundreds of articles, he also wrote books on music, made CDs,and a series of five books on his reminiscences in 2001 and 2002.
“Nhung Cau Chuyen Tu Trai Tim” will be released on July 24 to markhis 90 th birthday./.
