One year after making her mark at Tchaikovsky Night, Polish violinist Sara Dragan returned to Ho Guom Theater in the program “Frozen Fire." Together with conductor Kalle Kuusava and the Hanoi Symphony Orchestra, she led audiences through a musical journey spanning the Nordic symphonic world of Sibelius, the fiery Romanticism of Wieniawski, and the haunting depth of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5.
“Frozen Fire" opened up a musical world still unfamiliar to many Vietnamese audiences: Nordic symphonic music. This musical current is known for its contemplative melodies, inspired by nature, history and national identity.
Born in Finland, the homeland of Jean Sibelius, conductor Kalle Kuusava guided audiences into Finlandia, a work regarded as a spiritual symbol of the Finnish people and one of the defining hallmarks of Nordic symphonic music.
Under the baton of Kalle Kuusava, the Hanoi Symphony Orchestra recreated Sibelius's layers of sound, at once majestic and profound. The orchestra's recent series of international collaborations also reflects its increasingly clear progress on the path toward integration.
Following her memorable appearance at Tchaikovsky Night in 2025, Polish violinist Sara Dragan returned to Hanoi with Henryk Wieniawski's Concerto No. 1, a work renowned for its technical difficulty and one that appears on stage less often than the more familiar Concerto No. 2.
From high-speed technical passages to poetic musical phrases, Sara Dragan captivated audiences with a balance of technique and emotion. Her performance reflected the young artist's maturity upon her reunion with the Hanoi public.
After prolonged applause, Sara Dragan returned to the stage with a special encore. Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst's transcription of Erlkönig requires the artist to continuously shift musical characters and command violin technique at an exceptionally high level, bringing the solo performance to a close amid the admiration of the audience.
If the first half of the program was an inspired showcase for the soloist, the second half demonstrated the strength of the entire orchestra with Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5. Under the direction of Kalle Kuusava, the work impressed not only with its scale, but also with its contrasting emotional layers, from tension and sorrow to the aspiration to rise above adversity.
Alongside the international guest artists, the Hanoi Symphony Orchestra also left a strong impression by mastering one of the complex works of the 20th-century symphonic repertoire. The woodwind solos and the close coordination among the orchestral sections contributed to a complete and fulfilling concert night.
As one of the partners accompanying “Frozen Fire," ROX Group continues to choose to engage with art programs of depth. In 2026, marking the milestone of 30 years of “Creating – Reaching Further," the Group also used the language of art to tell its own development journey through the grand music event ROX30 Concert - Rising in Brilliance, where symphony, contemporary music, visual mapping and stage art came together. Its partnership with “Frozen Fire" therefore also reflects how ROX Group views art as a value capable of connecting people, inspiring audiences and enriching cultural life.