Văn Cao

Who was Văn Cao?

Văn Cao was a Vietnamese composer whose works include Tiến Quân Ca, which became the national anthem of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He, along with Pham Duy and Trinh Cong Son, is widely considered one of the three most salient figures of modern Vietnamese music. He was also a noted poet and a painter.

In 1956, after the Nhân Văn - Giai Phẩm affair, a movement for political and cultural freedom, he had to stop composing. Most of his songs, except "Tiến Quân Ca", "Lang Toi", "Tien Ve Ha Noi" and "Truong Ca Song Lo" were prohibited in North Vietnam. In 1987, his songs were once again authorized in Vietnam.

In 1991 the American composer Robert Ashley composed the solo piano piece Van Cao's Meditation, which is based on the image of Văn Cao playing his piano.