Bui Xuan Phai Award - For the Love of Hanoi honors musician Tran Tien

With a creative and liberal personality, rich in improvisation, with compositions that leave a strong mark in contemporary music , especially compositions about Hanoi, musician Tran Tien was awarded the Grand Prize at the Bui Xuan Phai Award - For the Love of Hanoi.

The award ceremony took place on the evening of October 3 at the Exhibition Center 45 Trang Tien, Hanoi, organized by the Sports and Culture newspaper (Vietnam News Agency).

Tran Tien's Music - Hanoi Soul

In Tran Tien's music, 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.

Tran Tien’s source of compositions about Hanoi first left its mark on the streets and poor streets. The streets appear very clearly in Tran Tien’s songs. In the song “Street Improvisation,” he depicts a very ordinary and also very romantic, very unique Hanoi: "In Hanoi, everything is cheap/ Only the most expensive are friends" or "Only the most expensive are human feelings."

Hanoi in Tran Tien's music is not limited to a city, but becomes a symbol of the convergence between tradition and modernity.

Or like the streets of Hanoi in the 2000s, fresh, modern and full of hope in Tran Tien's music. The images of "ripe starfruit rolling on the sidewalk," "clanging trams," "watching the sunset over Thang Long ancient town" evoke the spirit of the old streets, but are set in the context of a city "growing more green parks," where "children no longer beg," where "balls still fly in the sky" and "angelic smiles of children" resound in the new rhythm of life.

The constant inspiration in Tran Tien's "source" of compositions about Hanoi also includes the Red River and the Doai region.

“Impromptu Song Hong” is one of the most typical songs by musician Tran Tien when talking about Hanoi. Not simply writing about a river, the song has elevated the Red River to a cultural symbol, a symbol of memory, closely linked to the history and spiritual life of Hanoians as well as the entire Northern Delta region.

The Organizing Committee presented flowers and certificates to the nominees. (Photo: Huy Thong)

According to music researcher Nguyen Quang Long, looking at the outstanding songs written about Hanoi by Tran Tien, including: "Improvisation on the Red River," "Traveler on the Red River," "Hanoi in the 2000s," "Street Improvisation," "Poor Street," "My Mother," "Hometown" ... one can see that his creative source has a connection created from the "cultural triangle": Red River - Ancient Town - Doai region.

These are not only three geographical spaces, but also three cultural layers, three sources of inspiration combined to shape the appearance of Hanoi in his music. 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.

According to researcher Nguyen Quang Long, musician Tran Tien has made a special contribution to portraying Hanoi through music. For him, Hanoi is not only a place name, but also the Red River flowing forever, the streets that are both poor and poetic, the unique Doai region that has now become a part of the capital. Those songs have contributed to enriching the musical identity of Hanoi, making Hanoi a cultural symbol in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people.

Tran Tien's music is therefore not only to listen to, to sing, but also to remember, to love, to preserve a part of Hanoi's soul in each person.

For musician Tran Tien, although he has been away from Hanoi for decades, and although the city he loves has changed every day, in his heart there is still a special feeling, as he confided: “Hanoi has changed a lot, tall buildings, wide doors. There are many new streets I have never known. That is a happy thing. It must 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, there are also beloved years, happy and sad memories like negatives of a distant time.”

Works For the love of Hanoi

In addition to the Grand Prize, the Organizing Committee also awarded 4 equal prizes for the categories: Work Prize (2 prizes), Idea Prize, and Work Prize.

Series of paintings about Hanoi by artist Pham Binh Chuong.

In the Work Award category, the series of paintings about Hanoi by artist Pham Binh Chuong was evaluated as having created a "street narrative" journey with many nuances, sometimes evoking nostalgia for old scenes and places, sometimes heavy with deep thoughts about street life and human life before the changes of life.

Besides, the musical "Fire from the Earth" (Vietnam Youth Theater) was also honored in this category.

The work is considered an epic about Hanoi in the 1930s and the people who made history. This 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.

canh-dong-chi-nguyen-ngoc-vu-truyen-lua-cach-mang-cho-cac-tu-nhan.jpg — Actor-singer Le Viet Anh (right) plays the lead role in the musical “Fire from the Earth” (Youth Theater). (Photo: CTV/Vietnam+)

The centerpiece of the play is the portrait of Comrade Nguyen Ngoc Vu, the first official Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. Through this image, the musical not only tells the story of an ideal historical figure but also depicts the growth of the Communist Party of Vietnam from its early days.

The Job Award was given to the representative of the Vietnam Exhibition Center - a new "wonder" in Hanoi.

Vietnam Exhibition Center (VEC) started construction on August 30, 2024 on a scale of more than 900,000m2, and handed over the site on June 27, 2025 - after only nearly 10 months of construction, 15 months ahead of schedule.

The National Exhibition and Convention Center has a total area of over 900,000 square meters and is positioned to become the largest exhibition center complex in Southeast Asia. (Photo: VEC)

This project is positioned to become the largest exhibition center complex in Southeast Asia and 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 Idea Award was given to the project to build the Hanoi Opera House and an art and cultural park in Quang An (Tay Ho ward).

The Hanoi Opera House and the cultural and artistic park project are part of the detailed planning project of the central spatial axis of Quang An peninsula, scale 1/500, approved by the Hanoi People's Committee in November 2024. The Hanoi Opera House is considered a key project contributing to raising the status of the Capital.

With its large scale and orientation to become a venue for world-class art programs and a destination for globally renowned artists, the Hanoi Opera House will contribute to making Vietnam a leading opera destination in the world. (Photo: CTV/Vietnam+)

Speaking at the award ceremony, journalist Nguyen Thien Thuat, Editor-in-Chief of Sports and Culture newspaper, Head of the Organizing Committee, member of the Jury Council, said that over the past 18 years, the award has become a bridge connecting the past - present - future, affirming the endless vitality of love for Hanoi.

From elaborate research on history and culture; touching artistic creations; to practical actions to preserve living spaces, 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 immortal love for Hanoi, to the aspiration to build a civilized and modern Capital, but still preserving its core and identity./.