Jazz performance by Quyền Văn Minh (right) and his club at Lý Thái Tổ Flower Garden. Photo nguoihanoi.vn

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội is striking a new note at the Octagonal House in Lý Thái Tổ Flower Garden near Hoàn Kiếm Lake, where visitors can now enjoy street music every weekend, adding fresh rhythm to one of the capital’s most familiar public spaces.

The project was initiated by the Hà Nội Department of Culture and Sports and aims to develop the site into a high-quality cultural gathering place while offering engaging and accessible artistic experiences for the public.

Performances at the venue feature a wide range of vibrant repertoires and dynamic melodies, creating an inviting programme for both residents and visitors to Hà Nội.

More than a series of music shows, the initiative reflects the city’s strategy to bring music closer to everyday life, contributing to Hà Nội’s positioning as a creative city.

“The department has launched the music project at the Octagonal House to bring music shows to residents of the capital every weekend,” said Bach Liên Hương, former director of the Hà Nội Department of Culture and Sports.

“We hope this venue will become a familiar cultural meeting point, where music resonates within the historic setting of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, allowing the community to relax and connect with the arts in the most natural and fulfilling way.”

Art units such as Hà Nội Cải Lương Theatre, Hà Nội Circus and Variety Arts Theatre, Hà Nội College of Arts, and Nguyễn Đình Chiểu Secondary School will perform.

Cooperation between established and emerging artists is expected to deliver captivating programmes and create a distinctive, emotionally rich artistic space.

In the coming period, the project will introduce a wider range of art forms, including folk, classical and contemporary music, contributing to a diverse cultural space serving both residents and visitors.

“We perform not only to spread our passion, but also to bring jazz closer to the public, while demonstrating to international tourists that Việt Nam has a strong and well-grounded jazz tradition,” said jazz artist Quyền Văn Minh.

He also hopes that jazz will appear more frequently in Hà Nội’s public spaces, adding that the genre has long been performed mainly in lounges and theatres, but with this project, it has the opportunity to reach a much broader audience.

The fusion of jazz’s improvisational rhythms with the historic setting of Hoàn Kiếm Lake in a performance by Minh and his jazz club at the project’s launch created an atmosphere that was both sophisticated and evocatively nostalgic.

The project, supported by Next Group and the Việt Nam Football Federation, is expected to become a new cultural hallmark, enriching the spiritual life of the public while promoting the image of Hà Nội as a creative, culturally rich and hospitable capital. — VNS