Riding on the October breeze, the annual
Beijing Music Festival decorates Beijing City with festive atmosphere. The music
gala has harvested plentiful fruit through the past four years, carrying with it
dreams and expectations of numerous music lovers. Sponsored by the Ministry of
Culture and Beijing Municipal Government, the Fifth Beijing Music Festival is to
be held from October 11 to November 2. During this year's festival, a total of
26 concerts and operas are to be put on the stage. Over 300 artists from China
and foreign countries, including USA, Germany, Austria, Russia, Belgium,
Australia, Sweden, Japan and Korea, will perform in the festival. The pleasant
melody is the prelude to the 16th Party Congress.
Maestros Gather Together
In the list provided by the organizing
committee, many familiar names jump into our sight. The New York Philharmonic
Orchestra conducted by Lorin Maazel once played Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 with Chinese pianist Lang
Lang; world-renowned soprano Kathleen Battle, who performed in the closing
ceremony of the festival two years ago, will hold a recital concert of about 20
works; another soprano Barbara Hendricks will work with Swedish Norrkoping
Symphony Orchestra led by Chinese young conductor Lu Jia
to perform Strauss' Four Last Songs; trumpet
player Haken Hardenberger and pianist
David Helfgott will
also perform in the festival, either play with an orchestra or give a solo
concert.
The pianist Leon Fleisher will join hand
with violinist Joseph Silverstein to present a concert named two heroes of
string and key, a name having a Hollywood tint. They will play works of Mozart,
Brahms, Debussy and Ravel with China Philharmonic Orchestra. Another concert
appealing to the audience is the combination of Western and Chinese music, with
Canadian tenor Daniel Taylor singing Handel's Rinaldo while
Chinese artist Hu Wenge acting the Mei School's The Intoxicated Beauty.
Chinese Passion
From the program list of this year's
festival, one can see a distinct change. The focus of Beijing Music Festival has
shifted from just introducing foreign masterpieces to Chinese audiences to
promoting Chinese musicians' works and folk music, gradually extending the
proportion of Chinese works.
In last year's festival, the Tan Dun
Composition Concert stirred up the musical world and the whole society, while in
this year's festival, Ye Xiaogang Composition Concert and Chen Qigang
Composition Concert will shake the world twice. Ye Xiaogang will play
Tide and Twilight in Tibet, written for tenor and orchestra,
Great Wall Symphony for piano, voice, Chinese instrument and orchestra,
three world premiere works, and The Last Paradise, for violin and
orchestra. Chen Qigang will present Wu Xing (the 5 elements) and Die
Lian Hua (Butterflies Lingering over Flowers), two world famous works, and
Time Disappearing(Erhu Concerto), which failed in its world premiere early this year.
Moreover, Ju Percussion Group from Taiwan
will bring a Stir Up the Heart Concert, while Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony
Orchestra will present a concert of 20th Century American Musical
Highlights. On the closing ceremony, Chinese musicians will stage the best
performances. Singers including Wan Jian, Xue Wei, Chen Sa, Liao Yongchang, Mo
Hualun, Liang Ning, Yao Hong and Liu Huan will play works of Liszt, Verdi, Puccini,
Wegner and Tchaikovsky.
Forum Debuts on Festival Stage
Organizers include forums as one form of
activities into this year's festival for the first time. According to Yu Long,
the general artistic director, through years of
accumulation, there is a wide range of topics for musicians and music lovers to
discuss. He said that the forum would present a broad discussion platform not
only for music professionals but also for ordinary people. Penderecki and
Wu Zuqiang, the artistic advisors of the festival,
and some professionals in the music circle and record industry will
lecture in the forum.
Besides the forum, the
opening ceremony of this year's festival will also set a record with
Mahler Symphony No.8 (Symphony 1000). Yu Long will
conduct the unprecedented
lineup comprised of China National Symphony Orchestra
Chorus, China Broadcasting Chorus,
China Opera and Ballet Theater Troupe, Shanghai Opera House, New York Choral
Society, International Festival Chorus, Choirs of Beijing Zhongguanchun No 3.
Primary School, China Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Broadcasting Symphony
Orchestra, and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. Alban Berg's Lulu, a
masterpiece of modern opera that debuted on the world's stage in 1937, will have
its Asian premiere in Beijing. Artists from Helikon Opera House, Moscow will
create a big surprise to music lovers.
