Bui Xuan Phai Award 2025 honors musician Tran Tien

Photo caption — Delegates attending the ceremony. Photo: Phan Phuong/VNA

Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists Association , Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper Le Quoc Minh and General Director of Vietnam News Agency Vu Viet Trang attended the ceremony and directly presented the Grand Prize - For the Love of Hanoi to musician Tran Tien.

Honoring creations for the love of Hanoi

Speaking at the award ceremony, Editor-in-Chief of Sports and Culture Newspaper Nguyen Thien Thuat affirmed: Over the past eighteen years, the Bui Xuan Phai Award - For the Love of Hanoi has become a bridge connecting the past - present - future, affirming the endless vitality of the love for Hanoi. From elaborate research on history and culture; touching artistic creations; to practical actions to preserve living space, conserve heritage and develop sustainable urban areas... all have contributed to creating a Hanoi that is "both ancient and modern, both traditional and innovative".

“In the context of the country facing new opportunities and challenges, the Bui Xuan Phai Award - For the Love of Hanoi continues to be a place to honor the hearts, minds and hands that have, are and will contribute to the Capital. Each work, each project, each initiative honored today is a testament to the eternal love for Hanoi, to the aspiration to build a civilized and modern Capital, but still preserving its core and identity,” the Editor-in-Chief of the Sports and Culture Newspaper emphasized.

The Bui Xuan Phai Award - For the Love of Hanoi was established in 2008 by the Sports and Culture Newspaper (VNA) and the family of the late painter Bui Xuan Phai, to award authors, works, ideas, and activities of high scientific and artistic value, imbued with love for Hanoi.

From 54 initial nominations, through the preliminary and final rounds, the Jury unanimously awarded 5 prizes for 4 categories including: Grand Prize, Work Prize, Work Prize, Idea Prize.

Grand Prize honoring musician Tran Tien

The Grand Prize - the most important category of this year's Bui Xuan Phai Award - For the Love of Hanoi - honors musician Tran Tien, who has contributed to Hanoi songs imbued with the cultural heritage of the Red River, the Old Quarter, and the Doai region...

Tran Tien is one of the musicians who left a special mark in the contemporary Vietnamese music scene, not only because of his liberal creative personality, rich in "improvisation", but also because of his cultural and memory touchpoints. In Tran Tien's compositions, Hanoi is not only a place name, the capital, but also a space of childhood memories, a flow of Northern folk culture, everyday streets, and even the countryside of the Doai region.

According to music researcher Nguyen Quang Long, looking at the outstanding songs written about Hanoi by Tran Tien including: “Improvisation of the Red River”, “Lu khach Song Hong”, “Hanoi Ngay Ay”, “Hanoi in the 2000s”, “Improvisation of the Street”, “Poor Street”, “Little Sun”, “My Mother”, “Homeland”… one can see that the creative source of musician Tran Tien has a connection created from the “cultural triangle”: Red River - Old Quarter - Xu Doai. These are not only 3 geographical spaces, but also 3 cultural layers, 3 sources of inspiration combined, shaping the appearance of Hanoi in his music.

The Red River is the Cai River, the origin of the culture of the Northern Delta. With “Red River Improvisation” or “Red River Traveler”, Tran Tien not only depicts a river flowing through the city, but also revives historical memories, folk songs, folk songs, stories about the alluvial deposits and the flow of life of the Vietnamese people. There, Hanoi appears as a cultural center, where the river is both geographical and symbolic.

Hanoi Old Quarter is a space of memories and urban life. Songs like “Poor Street”, “Street Improvisation”… have recreated a familiar Hanoi with brown tiled roofs, falling almond leaves, train whistles, and small coffee shops. Hanoi in his music is therefore both intimate, poetic, and full of human emotions.

Xu Doai is another depth. In Tran Tien's music, the image of Xu Doai appears through folk materials, through images of villages, temples, boats, river banks... This is where cultural memories are kept, a folk background that enriches the space of Hanoi in his music.

When reconnected, the Red River - Old Quarter - Xu Doai form a cultural triangle, both historical and symbolic. Thanks to that, Hanoi in Tran Tien's music is not limited to a city, but becomes a symbol of the convergence between tradition and modernity, between streets and villages, between the flow of alluvium and the sediment of memories. Tran Tien depicts Hanoi not only by place names, but also by an open cultural space, full of vitality and imbued with Vietnamese soul. His songs about Hanoi have contributed to enriching the musical identity of Hanoi, making Hanoi a cultural symbol in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people.

For musician Tran Tien, even though he has been away from Hanoi for decades and the city has changed every day, he still has a special affection in his heart. “Hanoi has changed a lot, with tall buildings and wide doors. There are many new streets that I have never known. That is a good thing. It has to change with the times, the whole world has changed. But in me, the image of old Hanoi like Bui Xuan Phai's paintings remains. Wherever I touch, I tremble with the beloved years, the happy and sad memories like negatives of a distant time,” musician Tran Tien shared.

Honoring authors, works, ideas, and deeds that enrich Hanoi's culture

In addition to the Grand Prize awarded to musician Tran Tien, the Organizing Committee also awarded 4 prizes in 3 other categories. In particular, the category of Work Award - For the Love of Hanoi was awarded 2 prizes including: A series of paintings about Hanoi by artist Pham Binh Chuong in 20 years of "Xuong Pho" and the musical "Fire from the Earth" (Vietnam Youth Theatre).

Specifically, the series of paintings about Hanoi by artist Pham Binh Chuong in 20 years “Xuong pho” is the result of a long and tireless journey to find the “soul of the city”, depicting the transformation of Hanoi from quiet, ancient to vibrant, modern. As artist Pham Binh Chuong himself expressed, each of his strokes not only records a street corner, but also contains the story of life and changes of the beloved city.

The musical “Fire from the Earth” of the Youth Theatre is considered an epic about Hanoi in the 1930s. The work recreates the image of comrade Nguyen Ngoc Vu - the first official Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. The play is a special work of art, built not only as a simple theatrical work, but also as a serious effort to recreate, preserve and honor an extremely important part of the history of the capital Hanoi and the whole country. These works, each in its own way, have affirmed the strong vitality of Hanoi culture, where the past and present intersect, leaving a deep impression in the hearts of the public.

In the category of Jobs - For the Love of Hanoi, the National Exhibition Fair Center (VEC) was honored - a new "wonder" in Hanoi, a "miracle" of construction in Vietnam. After only nearly 10 months of construction, the project was completed, 15 months ahead of schedule - a rare construction feat. With a scale of more than 900,000 m², the Center is positioned to become the largest exhibition center complex in Southeast Asia and is in the Top 10 largest exhibition complexes in the world, with the expectation of contributing to introducing and connecting Vietnamese businesses with international businesses through exhibition activities. The architecture is inspired by the image of the Golden Turtle God, associated with the legend and history of Co Loa, giving the project a special symbolic value. VEC is not only a fair and exhibition center, but is also expected to become a driving force for the development of cultural industries, promoting the image of Hanoi and Vietnam to the world.

The Idea Award - For the Love of Hanoi was awarded to the Project to build the Hanoi Opera House and the cultural and artistic park in Quang An (Tay Ho ward), which was approved by the Hanoi People's Committee in November 2024. The Hanoi Opera House is considered a key project that contributes to raising the status of the Capital.

Located in the center of this complex, the Opera House on Dam Tri Lake, right next to West Lake, is considered a major cultural project, aiming to attract tourists from all over the world to Hanoi and become a symbol of the beauty of Hanoi. The theater project was designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano, a giant of modern architecture in the world. With architect Renzo Piano, the Hanoi Opera House is a work of art that carries the spirit of Hanoi, reviving ancient cultural features, nurturing the simple lifestyle of the present, while still painting the color of the future with the most advanced contemporary values of the world.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/giai-thuong-bui-xuan-phai-2025-vinh-danh-nhac-si-tran-tien-20251003224741974.htm