A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains concert Photo: Courtesy of BMF

A symphony poem inspired by China's painting masterpiece A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains was staged on Saturday night at the capital's Poly Theater, as part of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Music Festival. 

One of the most well-known classic music festivals in China, BMF has introduced a number of great names to China and completed a series of commissioned pieces centered on Chinese culture. 

The new symphony work, which debuted in August, is closely connected with Chinese history and culture and represents a dialogue between Chinese music and Western symphony. 

The Saturday performance at the Poly Theater saw BMF founder Wu Tong, sheng (a free reed instrument consisting of vertical pipes) player Zhao Cong, pipa (Chinese lute) player Lu Yiwen, erhu (spike fiddle) player and pianist He Ming, bamboo flute musician Dai Ya, and soprano Fang Qiong work together under the baton of Yu Long, the renowned conductor of the China Philharmonic Orchestra, to depict the ancient Song Dynasty (906-1279) painting through music. 

Besides the performance, BMF will work with the Asia Society for an East-meets-West cultural event in New York City on Wednesday featuring US composer-conductor Jamie Bernstein and Chinese musicians such as Zhou Long, Du Yun and Zhou Tian.