Festival marks key anniversary

So far, the festival has staged 56 opera productions, 36 of which were premiered. For example, in 2005, the festival gave the Chinese premiere of the full cycle of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Since then, the festival has presented German and Austrian operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss. To attract bigger audiences, the festival has been bringing classical music to Beijing's urban landmarks, such as the popular commercial area Sanlitun and the Great Wall.

Supporting and offering opportunities for young musicians have always been a key mission for the festival, Yu says.

"From a young conductor in his early 30s to a conductor who is approaching 60 years old, I devoted my best 25 years to the Beijing Music Festival. I feel very happy," says Yu, who stepped down from the position of the festival's artistic director and handed it over to Zou in 2018.