October 9, 2026 — The 29th Beijing Music Festival (BMF) opened Friday evening at the Concert Hall of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), with legendary conductor Charles Dutoit leading the BMF Festival Orchestra and acclaimed pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja in a programme pairing Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K. 482, with Ottorino Respighi’s Roman Trilogy.

Marking the 270th anniversary of Mozart’s birth and the 90th anniversary of Respighi’s death, the opening concert brought together two contrasting musical worlds: the elegance and intimacy of Mozart’s mature Classical style, and the vivid orchestral spectacle of Respighi’s musical portraits of Rome.

The BMF Festival Orchestra was assembled by the League of China Orchestras, with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra taking the lead and musicians from the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Beijing Symphony Orchestra also participating. Bringing together performers from several leading Chinese orchestras, the ensemble was formed especially for the Festival’s opening concert.

Following enthusiastic applause, Dutoit returned to the stage with the orchestra for an encore: the Chinese orchestral classic Good News from Beijing to the Borderland.

Running through October 20, this year’s Festival presents 12 performances spanning opera, symphonic music, chamber music and crossover projects, with nearly 700 artists from 32 countries and nine orchestras and ensembles participating. Mozart remains a central thread throughout the programme. Highlights include the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s residency and performances of Die Zauberflöte, violinist Ning Feng’s presentation of Mozart’s five violin concertos with the Kammerakademie Potsdam, Handel’s Giulio Cesare, a concert by sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar, and a closing concert blending classical and rock music.