The 17th Beijing Music Festival to open up classical music to all

Yu Long, the president of the Beijing Music Festival Artistic Committee. Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Music Festival

The Beijing Music Festival Arts Foundation held a press conference on August 12 to announce the program and performance lineups for the 17th Beijing Music Festival, which will start on October 9.

As is the event's tradition, the Beijing Music Festival has maintained a preference for commemorating great composers. This year, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Richard Strauss, a renowned German composer, the 17th Beijing Music Festival is themed as "Richard Strauss in Beijing."

Among all the 19 performances at the festival this year, six symphonic concerts will be dedicated to the works of Strauss, as well as two operatic performances of Strauss who was also an opera composer.

According to Yu Long, the president of the Beijing Music Festival Artistic Committee, six symphony orchestras have been invited to this music feast, including Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Symphomique de Montréal, and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. Li Yundi, one of the most popular Chinese pianists, will hold a recital in St. Joseph's Church, and the Tapiola Youth Symphony Orchestra from Finland will also perform the "Princess from the Orient" especially designed for kids.

In this festival, primitive music with Chinese characteristics will also be presented. A concert named Walking along Ancient Tea-horse Road will be held in the Orange Hall of Taikoo Li in Sanlitun. Bring the most primitive and original music to the most modern area in Beijing, according to Yu, is to show the crossover between traditional and modern civilization.

Along with the classical music, the audience can also get access to the traditional Chinese folk music during the festival.

To allow more people to access classical music, the Beijing Music Festival has adopted a low-pricing policy. The average ticket price ranges from 80 yuan ($13) to 180 yuan. As outreach programs, four benefit concerts will also be held during this festival, along with several lectures given by leading musicians.