Beijing Music Festival opens with Mozart extravaganza
Ninety-year-old conducting legend Charles Dutoit has been in Beijing leading the Beijing Music Festival Orchestra, joined by pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja for a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K. 482.
The concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts Friday evening marked the opening of the Beijing Music Festival.
Musicians led by 90-year-old conductor Charles Dutoit perform in a concert at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, October 9, 2026, marking the opening of the Beijing Music Festival. (Photo provided to CGTN)
The year 2026 marks the 270th anniversary of Mozart's birth. Over the following 12 days, Mozart's music will continue to thread through the festival's stages.
The London Philharmonic Orchestra will serve as the festival's orchestra-in-residence, presenting the opera The Magic Flute and a series of concerts. Violinist Ning Feng will join Germany's Potsdam Chamber Orchestra for a performance of Mozart’s complete violin concertos.
The lineup also includes Georg Handel's opera Giulio Cesare, a live music show by Anoushka Shankar, a concert by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and a closing concert blending symphony and rock.
During the festival, more than 20 public welfare events and a "Travel with Music" initiative integrating culture, commerce, tourism, sports and exhibitions will be made available to people in the Chinese capital.