Art beat in April

Return of Blu and Jewel

Rio 2, the sequel to the 2011 animated picture that grossed $485 million globally, premieres in China on Friday. The 3-D film is Blue Sky Studio's first sequel beyond the Ice Age series. Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway continue their roles as Blu and Jewel, two Spix's macaws who have their own baby in this new installment. The family's adventure extends to the Amazon rainforests, where they believe a community of their kind lives. Music will still be a highlight, as was the case in the first Rio film. The stellar singing cast includes Jamie Foxx, Bruno Mars and will.i.am, founding member of the Black Eyed Peas.

-Liu Wei

Harpsichord brings Bach to life

Bach scholar and harpsichordist Raymond Erickson will perform in Beijing, playing music from Bach and other baroque composers, such as Couperin and Rameau. The New York-based professor has given master classes in Bach interpretation all over the United States and Europe. His instrument, the harpsichord, a stringed keyboard developed during the 14th and 15th centuries, is rarely played by modern musicians.

7:30 pm, April 13. Forbidden City Concert Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, west of Tian'anmen Square, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6585-5755.

- Chen Nan

Ancient-inspired art

Tan Khoon Yong, a Singapore-based painter, will hold his solo exhibition in Beijing. Born in Singapore, Tan inherited his forefathers' expertise in I Ching (Yijing) and geomancy studies. It explains his ink paintings, which feature the theory of I Ching. Also Known as the Classic of Changes, I Ching is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts and was re-interpreted as a system of cosmology and philosophy that subsequently became intrinsic to Chinese culture. Titled Arts and Yi, the exhibition will showcase Tan's 80 works.

March 29-April 13. 798 Art District, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu (Road), Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5978-9282.