19th Beijing Music Festival Opens to Record Crowds

Long Yu, President and Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) Announces 19th Season. Photo: Beijing Music Festival

The Beijing Music Festival (BMF) opened its annual classical music festival last Sunday with a concert by the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra and Chorus under the baton of Maestro Lü Jia. This marked the first collaboration between BMF and NCPA. The concert, which featured symphonies and choral works by Brahms and Shostakovich, elicited several standing ovations from the sold-out crowd.

Festival to Celebrate “Musical Legacy and Innovation”

After nearly two decades as China’s leading cultural event, the 19th BMF will present 30 shows covering a wide range of music genres such as opera, symphony, ethnic music, crossover, and more. As in previous years, there will be public activities that include children's musical, urban musical, Chinese music concert, as well as music-themed seminars, lectures and dialogues. The festival runs from October 9th to 29th.

Music of Old Masters Performed by New Artists

Highlights of the 19th BMF include the China premiere of Britten’s opera “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on October 15th and 16th (the first production in a 5-year partnership with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence), a 3D-chamber opera “Blank Out” by Dutch composer Michel van der Aa (October 20th and 21st), Mozart’s operatic masterpiece “Don Giovanni” featuring site-specific immersive theatrics and technology (Oct. 12 to 14th), and multimedia performances of Schubert’s song cycle “Die Winterreise” (October 26th to 28th).

Other highlights include the complete Tchaikovsky symphonies conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev (October 26th to 28th), concerts with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (October 10th) featuring French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (October 23rd and 24th), Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra and Youth Orchestra (October 22nd), virtuoso organist Cameron Carpenter (October 25th), and a closing concert with the Hong Kong Philharmonic led by Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden (October 29th).

About the Beijing Music Festival

Held over 4 weeks every October, BMF is the most important cultural event in China. The Festival and its Founder and Artistic Director, Maestro Long Yu, pioneer China’s unique musical voice. The festival has presented numerous historical performances such as the China premiere of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (2002), the Asian premiere of Alban Berg's opera, “Lulu” (2002); Guo Wenjing's operas, “Ye Yan” (2003) and “Wolf Club Village” (2003); and the China premiere of Richard Wagner's complete Ring Cycle (2005). BMF’s co-commission with Opera Boston, “Madame White Snake,” was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize.

Music Industry News Network: Festival D'Aix & Beijing Music Festival Sign Five-Year Agreement

Long Yu, Linda Davies, and Bernard Foccroulle in Beijing, October 2015

Music Industry News Network

Two of the world's most renowned music festivals have agreed an historic five-year artistic collaboration, orchestrated by the KT Wong Foundation.

Bernard Foccroulle, Artistic Director of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, and Long Yu, Founder and Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival, signed an agreement on 10th October 2015 that will see an exchange of the finest classical and operatic productions between China and Europe.

This groundbreaking partnership will launch in October 2016 with a series of performances of Benjamin Britten's operatic masterpiece, A Midsummer Night's Dream. This 2015 revival of the legendary 1991 production, directed by Robert Carsen, will be staged at the Poly Theatre in Beijing as part of the Beijing Music Festival.

This unique cultural milestone was conceived by the pioneering KT Wong Foundation, an organisation that has led the way in delivering boundary-pushing cultural, artistic and educational exchanges between China and the West since its launch in 2007. As well as a commitment to promoting cultural relations, the Foundation has also established itself as a leading supporter of young musical talent in China, Europe and the US.

Under the leadership of Founder and Chairman Lady Linda Wong Davies, the organisation has been a longtime supporter of both the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and the Beijing Music Festival, and worked tirelessly over the past three years to bring them together.

In France the Foundation has supported a range of productions presented at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence including:

- Handel's Ariodante directed by Richard Jones
- JS Bach's Trauernacht directed by Katie Mitchell
- Britten's A Midsummer Nights Dream directed by Robert Carsen
- Tchaikovsky's Iolanta/Persephone directed by Peter Sellers
- Jonathan Dove's Monster in the Maze directed by Marie-Eve Signeyrole

In addition the Foundation has been introducing the work of the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence to Chinese audiences since December 2014 with a series of film screenings in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin of some of the Festival's previous seminal productions. These extraordinary productions have included Patrice Chéreau's chilling production of Strauss' Elektra, The Robert Carsen sparkling revival of A Midsummer Nights Dream and Robert Lepage's water-filled production of Stravinsky's The Nightingale.

Lady Linda Wong Davies said: "The KT Wong Foundation are extremely proud to have played a key role in securing this historic partnership between the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and the Beijing Music Festival.

"These two leading music festivals are recognised for showcasing the world's finest artistic and musical talent, and this argument will allow them to reach out to new audiences in both countries, create new artistic ventures, and provide opportunities for young artists, creators and performers.

"The KTWF has worked tirelessly over the past three years to bring these two festivals together. This collaboration represents a significant triumph for the Foundation's continuing commitment to building cultural bridges and creating the best environment for artistic exchange to thrive between China and the West.

"I commend my colleagues B Foucroulle and Maestro Long Lu on their individual and combined vision and courage to come together in their desire for greater artistic creativity and excellence.

"We must remember that in these uncertain times, where our societies are rocked by economic and political changes, that France‎ has continued to show the world that support of the cultural arts remain a priority. The leadership shown by the signing of this agreement is a testament to the strength of the relationship between France and China.'

"Since its launch in 2007, the Foundation has already produced a hugely diverse body of work, creating, producing and supporting boundary-pushing creative ventures across disciplines including opera, design, architecture and film.
"I am very excited to be part of this cultural milestone and look forward to helping make this unique collaboration truly an exciting creative platform for meaningful cultural exchange between China and France."