The 28th Beijing Music Festival (BMF) will take place from October 10 to 24 in Beijing, with five main sections: "Main Stage Performances" (主单元演出), "Maestro Classes" (大师公开课), "Youth Orchestra Showcase" (青少年展演汇), "Symphony Month for All" (全民交响月), and "Travel with Music" (跟着音乐去旅行). More than 700 musicians and eight renowned music troupes from 26 countries and regions will deliver excellent performances.

The festival will raise its curtain on October 10 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA). Long Yu, an internationally renowned conductor, will lead the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Haochen Zhang, a piano prodigy of the post-90s generation, to perform Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5.

Mikhail Pletnev, a distinguished musician of the Russian school, will make his Asian debut during the festival together with the Rachmaninoff International Orchestra. The audience will be treated to some top-tier Russian performances.

The Divine Music Administration of the Temple of Heaven will present the "Melodies in Motion: Spring Bird @BMF", where 13-year-old cellist Wang Tianyou will join pianist Meng Huaying in a cross-genre collaboration, igniting sparks between classical heritage and avant-garde innovation.

Hayato Sumino, a Japanese pianist acclaimed as a rising star in classical music, will present works by Frédéric Chopin and Johann Sebastian Bach, among other maestros.

Four landmark works will make their debuts at the festival. Among them are the Chinese premieres of the concert version of the opera Rinaldo and the fully-staged version of the opera Wozzeck. The world premiere of the commissioned work The Ocean Etched in the Forest will be performed by an intangible cultural heritage inheritor together with young artists from the Jinuo ethnic group, breathing new life into ancient music. The BBC Philharmonic will present City of Floating Sounds, an interactive piece by Chinese-born composer Huang Ruo, which extends classical music beyond the concert hall to explore the symbiotic relationship between music and the city.

At the closing concert, conductor Yang Yang will lead the China Philharmonic Orchestra, together with violinist Gil Shaham and mezzo-soprano Ildikó Komlósi, in a performance of Brahms's Alto Rhapsody.

The festival also aims to expand general public's access to music through integrated online and offline initiatives. The "Maestro Classes" section will feature more than 10 appreciation and sharing sessions led by world-class music maestros, supplemented by an online course series titled "Classical Music's Starter Zone" (古典音乐新手村).

The "Youth Orchestra Showcase" section will include a dedicated "BMF Sunshine Youth" (BMF阳光少年) segment, combining maestro classes, music classes, and an open music market to create a multi-perspective experience. These offerings are expected to contribute to music education for the young generations.

In addition, the "Symphony Month for All" section will feature more than 20 performances co-presented by professional ensembles and institutions, including the symphonic work Beijing Style (北京范儿).

The "Travel with Music" is a new section this year. By integrating cultural, commercial, travel, and sports elements, it aims to develop multiple "Music+" sub-sections. It includes outdoor concerts and the Grand Canal Music Festival, which will create a musical atmosphere across the city. Over 600 businesses in Wangfujing, SOLANA, Sanlitun, and other famous commercial areas will offer discounts for those holding the ticket stubs of the festival. "Beijing Gifts" stores will provide special deals for those with ticket stubs, along with cultural-tourism vouchers worth 2 million yuan. In addition, 10 music-themed tours will be introduced with ride discounts to be offered by Beijing Public Transport Corporation to ticket stub holders.

(Source: Official WeChat account of the Beijing Overseas Cultural Exchange Center)