HÀ NỘI — Internationally acclaimed pianist Kevin Kenner, winner of the 12th International Chopin Piano Competition, will perform in Việt Nam next month in a chamber concert titled In Gratitude, alongside Vietnamese pianist Nguyễn Việt Trung and a quintet of guest artists.

Organised by the Việt Nam Classical Music Association (VCMA) with support from Impressivo Production & Enterprise, the concerts are scheduled for May 22 at Hồ Gươm Opera House in Hà Nội and May 24 at the HCM City Opera House, the Việt Nam Classical Music Association announced on April 26.

Structured in three thematic parts, the programme explores gratitude through heritage, artistic journey and human connection. The opening section will feature Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Op.11, performed by Kenner, whose interpretations of Chopin have earned global recognition.

The second section will present Chopin’s Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante, Op.22, performed by Trung, one of Việt Nam’s leading young pianists.

The final section will bring the two pianists together in works for two pianos, including Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op.56b by Johannes Brahms and Concertino for Two Pianos, Op.94 by Dmitri Shostakovich.

Kenner is widely regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of Frédéric Chopin. He rose to international prominence after winning the prestigious Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland in 1990 and has since built an extensive global career in performance and recording, also earning distinction at the Tchaikovsky Competition.

Trained in the Polish musical tradition and shaped through collaborations with renowned musicians including Leon Fleisher and Leonard Bernstein, Kenner is also an influential pedagogue at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami of the US.

The concert will also feature guest chamber musicians, including Polish violinist Pawel Zalejski – founding first violin of the acclaimed Apollon Musagète Quartet, along with Vietnamese artists Tạ Khánh Linh (violin), Phùng Hoài Thu (viola), Lưu Ly Ly (cello) and Vũ Cẩm Tú (contrabas). —VNA/VNS