Published:  00:00 Saturday - October 02, 2010

A concert entitled “International integration – toward future” took place on the opening night of Hanoi millennium celebrations on October 1 at the Hanoi Opera House.

The classical concert was held under the baton of Spanish conductor Carlos Cuesta.

Vietnamese pianist Dang Thai Son and an orchestra accompaniment from the Vietnam National Academy of Music played Concerto No 2, written for the piano by S Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) and Symphony No 9 by Beethoven's (1770 – 1827).

Son was awarded first prize and the gold medal at the 10^th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1980, marking the first time that an esteemed international competition was won by an Asian pianist.

Earlier the same day, an exhibition of 1,000 photos opened, introducing local and foreign visitors with remarkable moments and impressions on the land and people of Hanoi, the city of peace.

Entitled “Hanoi – the city of one thousand years”, the exhibition takes place at the Exhibition House, No. 45, Trang Tien street, with 200 photos and at the Temple of Literature with 800 others.

The selection of photos for the exhibition was launched by the Hanoi Photographers’ Association in 2006.

A series of cultural and art programmes, including a lighting festival and an ao dai (traditional dress) show was also held around the Hoan Kiem Lake on the opening night.