East meets West in cultural celebration as Beijing Music Festival marks

11th year of superb classical music



    NEW YORK, July 30 /EMWNews/ -- The 2008 Beijing Music Festival,

which runs October 2nd - 19th, will host an extraordinary gathering of

internationally celebrated musicians in a landmark year of cross-cultural

exchange between China and the West. Currently the largest classical music

festival in the eastern hemisphere, each year the Beijing Music Festival

has grown in stature and reputation and with this year's stunning line-up

of artists and popularity with international visitors, it's poised to

become one of the largest classical music festivals in the world. The

festival features acclaimed performances by the Deutsche Oper Berlin

(Opening Night, Der Rosenkavalier, Tannhauser, Opera Gala Concert), The

Academy of Ancient Music (Messiah, Dido & Aeneas), Murray Perahia, Hilary

Hahn, Hui He (Opera Gala with Deutsche Oper Berlin), Sumi Jo, and many

others.



    The festival is led by world-renowned conductor Long Yu, the co-founder

and current Artistic Director of the China Philharmonic, as well as the

founder and Artistic Director of the Beijing Music Festival. Long Yu has

appeared with a prestigious list of international orchestras and opera

companies, including the Bamberg Symphony, Academy of St Martin-in-the

Fields, Hamburg State Opera and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. In North

America, he has conducted the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra,

the Washington National Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony and most recently,

the Los Angeles Philharmonic.



    Founded in 1998, the Beijing Music Festival has been a driving force in

the growing appreciation of Western classical music. The reintroduction of

classical music to China only happened 35 years ago, but in that short

space of time, the study and appreciation of the genre has soared. Now,

over 50 million children in China study violin and piano. Garnering great

critical acclaim from around the globe, each year the festival is a meeting

of East and West, as international opera companies, orchestras, ensembles,

conductors and soloists participate in a diverse celebration of classical

music.



    A highlight this year includes the Chinese premier of Unsuk Chin's

Rocana, jointly commissioned by the Beijing Music Festival, Montreal

Symphony Orchestra, Bayerischer Staatsoper and Seoul Philharmonic

Orchestra. Also, the Beijing Opera will be performing the Heroine Trilogy

-- three traditional works rearranged by famous director Li Liuyi and

recomposed by Guo Wenjing.



    In what promises to be a moving performance, the festival is holding a

special concert commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the birth of

Leonard Bernstein: Bernstein on Broadway, featuring his daughter Jamie

Bernstein as narrator. The Bernstein celebration will span the globe, with

two of the composer's favorites, On the Town and West Side Story, to be

broadcast in Times Square in New York City.



    For a complete festival program: http://www.bmf.org.cn



    For more information, please contact Pamela Murphy at Align

Entertainment Group: [email protected] or 646-596-8700