NDO - Song-writer Phu Quang, who was famous for songs about Hanoi, passed away on the morning of December 8 at the age of 72, after undergoing two years of being hospitalised for treatment of diabetes complications.

Quang, whose full name was Nguyen Phu Quang, was born in 1949 in Cam Khe district, Phu Tho province. He was a graduate from the Vietnam National Academy of Music.

He worked at the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet from 1967 to 1978 and the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1986. He then moved to the Ho Chi Minh municipal Department of Culture and Information, now the Department of Culture and Sports.

The musician spent most of his life in Hanoi and composed many songs about the capital city, with the most popular among them being ‘Em oi Ha Noi Pho’ (My Dear! Hanoi Street, ‘Ha Noi Ngay Tro Ve’ (Hanoi on the Returning Day), Chieu Phu Tay Ho (Afternoon at Tay Ho Temple), and ‘Im Lang Dem Ha Noi’ (Hanoi on a Quiet Night).

He was honoured with the Outstanding Citizen of the Capital 2014. In 2020, he was granted the Grand Prize - For the love of Hanoi, the most important award of the Bui Xuan Phai - For the Love of Hanoi, in recognition for his lifelong love of the capital city.