Nguyen Le & Ngo Hong Quang - Ha Noi Duo feat. Paolo Fresu

Nguyên Lê's new album features a new collaboration - Hà Nôi Duo - with Ngô Hồng Quang.

Nguyên Lê defines what lies at the heart of this collaboration: “Ngô Hồng Quang and I are two Vietnamese musicians whose upbringing and musical education and evolution could not have followed more different paths. And yet we have found that we both share common goals: to express and to share the soul of Vietnam with the wider world, to bring together the roots and the future of Vietnamese music. Vietnam as a country is evolving so fast and so brilliantly, its population is full of so much youthful vigour, curiosity, and a deep hunger to learn everything possible from the West. But at the same time, many people feel a vital need never to forget the past.”

“In this album we - as musicians - live through those paradoxes. The album shows the diversity of what Vietnamese music can be today. Like the country itself, this album aspires to be colourful, plural and moving. We want to excite the ear and engage the intellect – and to bring the listener closer to the soul of Vietnam.”

“Quang is a great example of what I would call the 'traditional musicians of today.' Virtuosos from elsewhere who carry & embody the tradition of their country at its deepest level. But because they are young, they are also impressively open. They want to share their identity with the whole world, to learn from the West without denying their past. They can play contemporary music on their traditional instruments. They can integrate into new musical situations while remaining themselves. Being modern doesn't replace tradition, but brings tradition to a new level of liveliness.”