A Landmark Celebration

Running from 8 to 29 October, the Beijing Music Festival celebrated its 20-year milestone in 2017. Nancy Pellegrini looks at two of the event’s highlights: the ten-hour orchestral marathon and violinist Maxim Vengerov’s world premiere

- Nancy Pellegrini

China’s arts festivals come and go, under promoted and often unnoticed. But the Beijing Music Festival (BMF) is different. Founded by artistic director Long Yu, it was once a desperate bid to vault the country on to classical music’s world stage. Twenty year later, international luminaries vie for spots in front of enthusiastic Chinese audiences, and most Chinese musicians credit the festival for advancing the country’s music by at least 15 years.

High-level concerts abound in Beijing these days, but the BMF still shines in terms of creative programming. One example this year was the orchestral marathon, designed to test not stamina but audience awareness. ‘The orchestral marathon helps audiences easily understand the importance music has in our daily lives, just like sports,’ said Song Tu, BMF’s director of programme. ‘The audience can enjoy vast amounts of orchestral music in a short time.’

The marathon didn’t hurt the reputation of the orchestras taking part either. For years, Chinese ensembles were comprised of disappointed musicians whose families had sacrificed everything so they could become superstars. As a result, true sound unity did not exist. This is no longer the case: China’s orchestras now tour the world to great acclaim. The marathon served to highlight that fact, as well as boosting the stage credentials of provincial orchestras – playing in Beijing, let alone for the BMF’s 20th anniversary, will help to sell a lot of tickets back home. ‘Every year we invite world-class orchestras to perform at the festival,’ said Tu. ‘At the same time, our goal is to help local orchestras and assist them to realise their vision for artistic achievement.’