Classical pomp goes pop

The Beijing Music Festival heads to the city's hip Sanlitun district to make it more accessible to the masses. Chen Jie reports.

Schedule

This is the first time I'm writing a preview of the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) after it has kicked off since I first covered the annual event in the fall of 2000, two years after it was inaugurated. And this year, a big and worthwhile change has taken place after the initial performances. The festival opened on Tuesday at the Poly Theater with a concert by the 155-year-old Halle Orchestra from Manchester that featured the Russian violinist Maxim Vengerov and South Korean soprano Sumi Jo. It was a good opening. Vengerov played Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major and reaffirmed his rank among the world's best violinists, while Jo's operatic arias demonstrated she deserves her reputation as Asia's premier coloratura soprano.

Halle - one of the world's oldest orchestras - performed the following day at the Forbidden City Concert Hall, under the baton of Sir Mark Elder.

The concert highlighted British classics, including Elgar's Symphony No 1 in A Flat Major - a work Halle premiered in 1908.

Jo teamed up with the China Philharmonic Orchestra to perform opera and other pieces on Thursday.

They've all been impressive performances, as have all the concerts the BMF has presented over the past 14 years. Every year, the previews and reviews I've written have retained the same themes - world-class orchestras, big-name virtuosos and celebrated works.

But what I really anticipate seeing and highly recommend starts on Saturday in Sanlitun Village.

That's right - Sanlitun Village, the city's trendy and fancy landmark venue, where luxury labels open flagship stores; designers give runway shows; the Apple Store is packed with hip customers; kids play in the fountain; and Cold Stone's ice cream mixes with Starbucks' aroma.

I asked BMF's program director Tu Song: "What is the biggest change this year?"

The clarinetist turned director said: "The change of location. We moved from the concert hall to dynamic Sanlitun."

I would answer my own questions with: "There has been an attitude shift."

This classical music festival has become more down-to-earth, casual and welcoming to all walks of life.

The BMF's founder and artistic director Yu Long tells me that, whenever he walks in Salzburg, he dreams of staging an open festival everybody can enjoy.

"We always look for new ways to attract young audiences and bring people different musical experiences," Yu says.

"And Sanlitun, for sure, offers a breath of fresh air."

He believes Sanlitun resembles Salzburg with its square, shops and restaurants. People hang out there to meet friends and enjoy life.

He vividly describes his vision: a concert is running inside Sanlitun's Orange hall, and a young man in smart business-casual watches the performance live on the big screen outside.

He sips coffee and takes a call from his girlfriend. She has just gotten off the subway and will arrive soon. He walks to meet her, and, 10 minutes later, the couple is sitting outside Starbucks to enjoy the rest of the performance together.

"This is the city life I hope every Beijinger will enjoy," Yu says.

This addresses a paradox in which many Western musicians hail China as the "future of classical music" yet it is removed from most people's lives.

We have such big names as Lang Lang and Li Yundi. We have millions of children studying piano and violin, and a huge number of outstanding music students flooding European and US academies. And every city - even some second- or third-tier towns - hosts magnificent concert halls.