The Beijing Music Festival (BMF) is an annual music festival held in Beijing which according to the Chinese Ministry of Culture 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.[citation needed]
According to Chinaculture.org notable performers that have appeared at the festival include Martha Argerich, Pinchas Zukerman, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Emanuel 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, Isaac 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 Long Yu, stepped down passing the artistic director role to Shuang Zou. Long Yu is now the chair of the artistic committee.[4]
- ^ "Beijing Music Festival". China Culture. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Beijing Music Festival". China Culture. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Beijing Music Festival". www.chinaculture.org/. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ^ May, Thomas. "From Cutting-Edge To Baroque, China Fest Is Innovative". Classical Voice North America. Retrieved 14 November 2020.