Biography
Vietnamese traditional musician Pham Duc Thanh ranks among the foremost virtuosos of the dan bau, a single-string monochord whose pitch is altered by manipulating a lever with one hand. After establishing himself through performances across his homeland, he relocated to Germany in the early 1990s, remaining there several years before making his permanent home in Montreal, Québec, Canada, in 1996.
Born in 1956, he displayed an early fascination with music when the dan bau’s resonant tones drifted from a nearby dwelling and captivated him at age four. By six he had already attained fluency on that instrument along with the dan tranh, a sixteen-string zither, and the dan nhi, a two-string fiddle. Encouraged by his parents yet largely self-directed, he journeyed to Hanoi at eighteen to attend the School of Folk Music, earning a first-prize diploma in 1978. He continued his education at the University of Vietnamese Folk Music in Saigon, completing his studies in 1983 with command of roughly a dozen native instruments. During this period he also redesigned the dan bau for contemporary use and later conceived a collapsible model suited to travel. In 1984 he claimed first place at the International Monochord Competition. The ensuing years found him engaged in both solo and ensemble work while teaching and issuing several cassettes.
Accompanied by his wife, vocalist Lieu Nguyet Lan, Duc Thanh settled in Germany in 1990. Over the following six years he crisscrossed Europe, conducted workshops, taped sessions for German national radio, created instructional videotapes on various Vietnamese instruments, and pursued improvisation studies in Paris under Tran Van Khe, whom he came to regard as his maître à penser. In 1996 the Hong Duc Vietnamese cultural center in Montreal invited him to direct its Traditional Instruments Department, prompting his move to a city then home to roughly 25,000 Vietnamese residents. He subsequently established a modest personal studio and has issued several self-produced recordings, two of which appeared on the Oliver Sudden label: Vietnamese Traditional Music in 1999, which showcased his wife, and Vietnamese Traditional Dan Bau Music in 2002, which incorporated broader contemporary textures. Duc Thanh frequently appears in Montreal with a trio comprising his wife and son, and he maintains regular touring circuits throughout Canada and the United States.
Born in 1956, he displayed an early fascination with music when the dan bau’s resonant tones drifted from a nearby dwelling and captivated him at age four. By six he had already attained fluency on that instrument along with the dan tranh, a sixteen-string zither, and the dan nhi, a two-string fiddle. Encouraged by his parents yet largely self-directed, he journeyed to Hanoi at eighteen to attend the School of Folk Music, earning a first-prize diploma in 1978. He continued his education at the University of Vietnamese Folk Music in Saigon, completing his studies in 1983 with command of roughly a dozen native instruments. During this period he also redesigned the dan bau for contemporary use and later conceived a collapsible model suited to travel. In 1984 he claimed first place at the International Monochord Competition. The ensuing years found him engaged in both solo and ensemble work while teaching and issuing several cassettes.
Accompanied by his wife, vocalist Lieu Nguyet Lan, Duc Thanh settled in Germany in 1990. Over the following six years he crisscrossed Europe, conducted workshops, taped sessions for German national radio, created instructional videotapes on various Vietnamese instruments, and pursued improvisation studies in Paris under Tran Van Khe, whom he came to regard as his maître à penser. In 1996 the Hong Duc Vietnamese cultural center in Montreal invited him to direct its Traditional Instruments Department, prompting his move to a city then home to roughly 25,000 Vietnamese residents. He subsequently established a modest personal studio and has issued several self-produced recordings, two of which appeared on the Oliver Sudden label: Vietnamese Traditional Music in 1999, which showcased his wife, and Vietnamese Traditional Dan Bau Music in 2002, which incorporated broader contemporary textures. Duc Thanh frequently appears in Montreal with a trio comprising his wife and son, and he maintains regular touring circuits throughout Canada and the United States.
Albums
