Presentation: Missing Legacy - Evidence of Recorded Sound in Pre-1945 Vietnam

Tuesday, 3/25/2025
6:00 - 7:30
Koret Auditorium
Main Library

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

415-557-4400

Discover how early 20th-century phonograph recordings in Vietnam preserved traditional music and shaped the rise of cải lương theater.

 

Multi-national record labels came to Vietnam at the start of the 20th century to record local repertoire that would encourage sales of their phonograph equipment. They captured in sound a vast variety and amount of traditional music and played a role in the growing popularity of reformed theater (cải lương)." A Missing Legacy" grew out of a conference exploring early 78 rpm recordings in Asia resulting in the book Phonographic Modernity: The Gramophone Industry and Music Genres in East and Southeast Asia.

 

Jason Gibbs is the music librarian at the San Francisco Public Library. He holds a PhD in Music Theory and Composition from the University of Pittsburgh and is the author of the book Rock Hà Nội & Rumba Cửu Long (2008, updated 2019). He wrote the entry for Vietnam in the Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World and has published articles in Asian Music, Journal of Vietnamese Studies, Southeast Asian Research and BBC Tiếng Việt. He is also one of the co-authors of Longing for the Past, the 78 RPM Era in Southeast Asia (2013). He writes about Vietnamese music and popular culture on his Tây Bụi blog.

Dance & Music

Enjoy performances, talks and workshops that celebrate movement and the musical arts.

Art, Architecture & Photography

Learn from world-class designers, artists and experts in their fields. 

Spotlight

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.