Summer concerts take music outside in Beijing

A new outdoor music festival, the Olympic Park Summer Music Concert, will be launched in early summer this year at the southern square of the Olympic Park in Beijing.

According to co-organizer Beijing Performance & Arts Group, four concerts ranging from classical music to Chinese folk music will be staged from July 9 to 12.

"We try to create a music festival for families. It will be a time when students take summer vacation. The temperature will be cooler at night," says renowned conductor Tan Lihua, who is one of the initiators of the festival. "Meanwhile, the location of the music festival is near the iconic Olympic Park, which offers a beautiful view for visitors."

The conductor will lead the Beijing Symphony Orchestra to open the festival, featuring classical music pieces, including the overture to Carmen by Georges Bizet, Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms, and the overture to The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky.

Young pianist Wu Muye, renowned violinist Lyu Siqing and soprano Wu Bixia will join in the opening concert.

"It's always been my dream to hold such an outdoor summer music festival in Beijing. Summer is a good time for local people to hang out and for tourists to walk around the city. Music is indispensable, which will make the day," Tan says.

In 1996, the conductor proposed holding a New Year concert in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People, which has become an eagerly anticipated event in the capital.

"I hope that the Olympic Park Summer Music Concert will become another successful annual event in the capital," Tan says.

Traditional Chinese folk music will be highlighted on the third day of the festival, with 12 bands sharing the stage and bringing folk songs and works such as Youth Dance, a series of songs from China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Galloping Horses, a music piece from Inner Mongolia.

Folk musicians, including percussionist Abu from Xinjiang, erhu player Chen Jun and pipa player Wang Jingjing, will show the diversity of their instruments.

Tticket prices for the four-day festival will start as low as 80 yuan (about $11.50), and the highest price will be 580 yuan.