"When I begin to write a new song about Ha Noi, I write so fast because my love for the city covers my soul," Ky said.

Ky has just released a new song – Bay Len Viet Nam (Viet Nam, Let's Fly) to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of capital Ha Noi.

In the song, he opens a huge sky of freedom and captures the desire of not just Hanoians, but Vietnamese people as a whole, to raise their living standards.

The veteran composer, who has 400 songs to his credit, has written quite a few famous ones about the capital city.

He loves Ha Noi because it has a hidden beauty that is full of poetry and always contains the country's soul, Ky said.

Born in the northern province of Nam Dinh, Ky started his career as a song writer when he was chief of Nong Cong District in Thanh Hoa Province. His first work came out of the pain of a broken heart. He'd fallen in love with a girl from Ha Noi who'd been evacuated to his district in 1946 during the resistance war against the French.

After she returned to the city, Ky enshrined his love in his first song – Trang Xua (Old Moon) though he did not know a single note of music then.

Later, Ky, a soldier in the resistance war, was recognised for his musical talent and sent to music classes within and outside the country.

In 1955, he began his music career in Ha Noi with important and prominent songs including Bai Ca Hy Vong (Song of Hope) and Troi Xanh Ha Noi (Ha Noi's Blue Sky). After more than 50 years, Bai Ca Hy Vong, the composer's complete belief in the country's victory still strikes a chord in listeners, and Troi Xanh Ha Noi has been the theme song for Ha Noi Television and Radio for a long time. Ky is now thinking of a "summary" event to mark his music career, but at 82, he is still in no hurry, because "I want to travel more and compose more".