Vietnam will host its first international piano competition in Hanoi from September 4-12, according to the country’s National Tourism Administration.

This will be just one of the many cultural events to mark the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and will also commemorate the 200 th birthday of world-renowned Polish composer Frederic Chopin.

The 2010 Vietnam International Piano Contest aims to identify and support talented young classical musicians not only in Vietnam but throughout the world.

The contestants, aged between 10-23, will play works by four world-renowned composers, namely Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, Frederic Chopin and Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff.

The famous Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son will act as the competition’s Honorary Chairman and Artistic Director and the contest is expected to be held every two years./.