Beijing Music Festival

The Beijing Music Festival (BMF) is an annual music festival held in Beijing which according to Chinaculture.org has become one of the most well-known musical events in the world, drawing international attention.[1] According to Chinaculture.org the festival presents about 30 concerts in October every year offering a wide variety of classical and jazz music including opera, orchestral, chamber, solo, and choral concerts. BMF also gives prominence to music education and community engagement offering free children's concerts and students' concerts, as well as master classes which draw about 6,000 music students, teachers, and spectators.[2] It prides itself in presenting both Western and Chinese music alike.

19th Beijing Music Festival at Sanlitun (October 2016)

According to Chinaculture.org notable performers that have appeared at the festival include Martha Argerich, Pinchas Zukerman, Jean Yves Thibaudet, Emmanuel Ax, Murray Perahia, Julian Lloyd Webber, Maxim Vengerov, Christoph Eschenbach, Tan Dun, Kathleen Battle, Du Yun, José Carreras, Sarah Chang, Augustin Dumay, Valery Gergiev, Mischa Maisky, Krzysztof Penderecki, Issac Stern, Melvyn Tan, Fou Ts'ong, the Kodály Quartet, and the New London Consort.[3]

In June 2018, the President and Artistic Director of BMF for 20 years, world-renowned Chinese conductor Maestro Long Yu, stepped down passing the Artistic Director role to Shuang Zou. Long Yu is now the chair of the artistic committee.[4]

History

Beijing Music Festival is a non-profit organization which was founded in 1998 by Long Yu, with the endorsement of the Ministry of Culture and the Beijing Municipal Government. 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 Ricard Wagner's complete Ring Cycle (2005).[5] The festival encourages the production of both Western and Chinese contemporary music presenting premieres and commissions by composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Philip Glass, Guo Wenjing, Ye Xiaogang, Tan Dun, and Howard Shore.[6] BMF was among the first organizations in China to commission new works by Chinese composers as well as foreign composers, which has laid a strong base for international cultural exchange.

Recent festivals

2021

"Masters and Celebrations" was the theme for BMF's 24th festival, which took place from October 9-24, 2021.[7] The Festival presented 21 unique programs over 16 days.[8] Five concerts are available to watch online including the closing gala conducted by Tan Dun featuring works the premiere of Dun's new version of Fire Ritual - War and Peace written for the world in the pandemic era.[9] The festival presented the Chinese premiere of Stravinsky’s The Rake's Progress performed by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra in addition to the first Youth Music Festival featuring young musicians from Beijing, Hong Kong, and Macau. BMF also celebrated landmark anniversaries for composers including Stravinsky, Saint-Saëns, Vivaldi, Mahler, and Chinese composers Ding Shande, Qigang Chen, Tan Dun, and Wenjing Guo.[10]

2020

BMF's 23rd festival took place from October 10–20, 2020 and included 240 hours of non-stop music, for which the festival purchased all the copyrights in an effort to encourage fellow Chinese organizations to follow its lead.[11] With the theme "Music Must Go On" in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic which shuttered many live performances worldwide, BMF presented music both online and offline.[12] The opening concert featured the world premiere of "To 2020" by Wuhan composer Zou Ye and was performed by Wuhan musicians in honor of Wuhan, which suffered great losses due to the pandemic.[13] For the first time, select BMF concerts were available for Western audiences to watch online via Facebook. Other concerts included several children's concert including a performance of Karen LeFrak's "Sleepover at the Museum"; a celebration of Beethoven's 250th anniversary including all ten of his violin sonatas, 32 piano sonatas, five piano concertos, and nine symphonies; a documentary in memory of conductor and composer Krzysztof Penderecki; the BMF debut of the Suzhou Chinese Orchestra; ten Music at Noon concerts;[14] and the festival closing performance in celebration of China Philharmonic's 20th anniversary with five 20-year-old Chinese artists joining.[15]

2019

With the theme "Timeless Music in the Future," BMF's 22nd festival was held from October 4-28, 2019.[16] The festival presented 16 distinct programs including operas, symphonic concerts, recitals, chamber music concerts, and virtual reality music experiences.[17] It began with an 8-hour performance of Max Richter's Sleep at the foot of the Great Wall of China.[18] Additional performances included the Asian premiere of Eight, a mixed-reality musical theater work written by Michel van der Aa and co-commissioned by BMF; the 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Angel's Bone by Du Yun; and the China premiere of Handel’s Xerxes performed by Opera Fuoco and David Stern. Guest artists included sopranos Renée Fleming and Edita Gruberová, pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, prodigy Alma Deutscher, maestros Long Yu, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Charles Dutoit, and Pinchas Zukerman, and BMF's first resident orchestra Mahler Chamber Orchestra, among others. BMF also presented the world premiere of Aaron Zigman’s Tango Manos Piano Concerto.[19]

2018

Outreach events including the world premiere of the immersive opera, Orfeo, by Fay Kueen Wang a musical theater adaptation of Leoš Janácek's song cycle, Diary of the One Who Disappeared;[20] George Benjamin's Written on Skin; The Orphan of Zhao;[21] and two concerts celebrating Leonard Bernstein's centenary.

2017

Held from October 8-29, 2017, the theme of BMF's 2017 festival was "Beijing Music Festival at 20" to commemorate its 20th anniversary.[22] Highlights of the 41 events and outreach activities included an 11-hour orchestral marathon with nine Chinese symphony orchestras, [23] a joint production with Salzburg Easter Festival of Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Jaap van Zweden,[24] and the premiere of Qigang Chen's Violin Concerto by violinist Maxim Vengerov at the closing concert.

2016
A Midsummer Night's Dream at the 19th Beijing Music Festival

The theme of BMF's 19th festival, which was held from October 9–29, 2016 was "Musical Legacy and Innovation."[25] According to China Radio International the opening concert by China NCPA Orchestra and Chorus led by Lü Jia was the first collaboration between NCPA and BMF. The festival also presented the Chinese premiere of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Robert Carsen to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death and launched a five-year planned collaboration between BMF and Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.[26] Other performances included Mozart's Don Giovanni presented as an immersive theatrical experience with visual effects; Blank Out, a 3D mini opera by Dutch composer Michel van der Aa; and the complete symphonic works of Tchaikovsky.

2015

According to CCTV BMF's 18th festival, held from October 8–24, 2015, included 18 performances by artists from over 30 countries and regions.[27] The theme was "Revel in Romance" and focused on monumental works on opposite sides of the Romantic music spectrum - Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner. Highlights included conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste leading the WDR Orchestra in the ambitious Brahms 4 Plus 4 Project (four concertos and four symphonies) and Gustav Kuhn leading Tirol Festival Erl in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg and Tristan und Isolde.[28]

Commissions

In commemoration of its 10th anniversary, BMF commissioned a second version of Krzysztof Penderecki's Symphony No. 8. The new version included an anonymous 15th-century Chinese poem and is 30 minutes longer than the original work. The commissioned version premiered on October 24, 2007 by the China Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of its composer.[29]

BMF co-commissioned Zhou Long's first opera, Madame White Snake, with Opera Boston, which marked the first collaboration between BMF and an American opera company. Based on the Chinese legend of the White Snake, the work was premiered in Boston by Opera Boston on February 26, 2010 and then in China on October 27, 2010 during the 13th Beijing Music Festival.[30]

The BMF Arts Foundation commissioned Howard Shore's Ruin and Memory, a concerto for piano and orchestra written for and premiered by Lang Lang with the China Philharmonic conducted by Long Yu on October 11, 2010. The three-movement work was written in celebration of Frederic Chopin's 200th anniversary. Shore commented "The piece is really my musical reflection of Chopin's time and the life he lived. The title captures a bit of Chopin's life, about where he came from and the world he lived in, and what became of him when that world no longer existed."[31]

BMF commissioned the opera, Song of Farewell by Ye Xiaogang, and gave the world premiere during the closing concerts of the 13th festival, October 30 and 31, 2010. The work fuses Peking Opera and Western Opera with its traditional Chinese staging and Puccini-like score. The work is based on the Chinese film Farewell My Concubine.[32]

Education and outreach

BMF partners with the Central Conservatory of Music to hold master classes for music students with such musicians as Isaac Stern, Ken Nagano, Fou Ts'ong, Warren Mok, Melvyn Tan, Jian Wang, and the Kodály Quartet. They also hold free children's concerts, pre-performance lectures, and student concerts.[33]

Artistic committee

The artistic committee includes:

See also

References
  1. "Beijing Music Festival". China Culture. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  2. "Beijing Music Festival". China Culture. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  3. "Beijing Music Festival". www.chinaculture.org/. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  4. May, Thomas. "From Cutting-Edge To Baroque, China Fest Is Innovative". Classical Voice North America. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  5. "Beijing Music Festival". KT Wong Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  6. Jie, Chen. "Beijing festival with maestros". Sohu. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  7. "The 24th Beijing Music Festival Unveiled: "Masters and Celebrations"". Musical America. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  8. "24th Beijing Music Festival Draws to a Close; Honors "Masters and Celebrations"". Musical America. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  9. "Beijing Music Festival". Facebook. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  10. "24th Beijing Music Festival Draws to a Close; Honors "Masters and Celebrations"". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  11. "Beijing Music Festival Presents Over 240 Hours Of Online Streaming and 20 Diverse Performances On Stage". Broadway World. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  12. "23rd Beijing Music Festival to kick off in October featuring virtual performances". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  13. "China classical music festival to feature Wuhan musicians". AP. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  14. "Beijing Music Festival Concludes After 10 Days Of Nonstop Music". Broadway World. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  15. "Young musicians to close Beijing Music Festival". China Daily. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  16. Griffith, Will. "Beijing Music Festival Returns for 22nd Year, Oct 4-28". The Beijinger. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  17. BWW News Desk. "The 22nd Beijing Music Festival Presents Unique Music Experiences". Broadway World. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  18. Strauss, Matthew. "Max Richter to Perform at the Great Wall of China for 8 Hours". Pitchfork. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  19. ZIgman, Aaron. "Tango Manos, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra". Aaron Zigman. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  20. Salazar, Francisco. "The Beijing Music Festival As A Microcosm For The Great Chinese City". OperaWire. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  21. Wong, Edward. "Theater Director Returns to China With 'Liberating and Cool' Vision". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  22. "The 20th Beijing Music Festival: Musical Legacy & Innovation". Top 40 Charts. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  23. Smith, Ken. "Orchestral Marathon, Poly Theatre, Beijing — 11 hours of musical bounty". The Financial Times. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  24. Pellegrini, Nancy. "The best of Beijing Music Festival 2017". TimeOut Beijing. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  25. "World-class Performances to Headline 19th Beijing Music Festival". Yibada. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  26. Honglin, Niu. "19th Beijing Music Festival opens". CRI (China Radio International). Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  27. "China-Music Festival". China Central Television (CCTV). Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  28. Pellegrini, Nancy. "Guide to the Beijing Music Festival 2015". TimeOut Beijing. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  29. "10th Beijing Music Festival". Beijing Music Festival. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  30. Tsioulcas, Anastasia. "Madame White Snake". WQXR. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  31. "Howard Shore's Ruin and Memory Premiered by Lang Lang at the Beijing Music Festival". Schott Music. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  32. Fabius, Charles. "Beijing Music Festival 2010: China's Future in Performing Arts". Huffington Post.
  33. "Mercuria Marks 8th Year Sponsoring Beijing International Music Festival". Mercuria. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
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