The Polish composer/conductor Krzysztof Penderecki will conduct the China National Symphony Orchestra to play his composition Three Chinese Songs which reflects his interest in Chinese poetry. German composer/conductor Peter Rucizka will conduct the China Philharmonic Orchestra to premiere his Holderlin Symphony for Baritone and Orchestra.

Commissioned works are an important part of BMF's programs and its 13th edition will have two big projects: operas Madam White Snake and Song of Farewell. Both are Chinese stories interpreted in the Western opera form by Chinese musicians.

Co-commissioned by the Boston Opera and Beijing Music Festival, Chinese composer Zhou Long's Madam White Snake premiered at the Boston Opera in February 2010.

Chinese soprano Huang Ying and tenor Peter Tantsits in Madam White Snake, staged by the Boston Opera. Photos provided to China Daily

In a story drawn from a beloved Chinese legend, a white snake longs to become human to experience love. She grasps it for one fleeting instant before it is swept away by a flood of deceit, doubt and distrust. Robert Woodruff, the former artistic director of the American Repertory Theater, directs the compelling and heart-breaking drama. Chinese soprano Huang Ying performs the title role. The opera is sung in English with Chinese subtitles.

Song of Farewell is composer Ye Xiaogang's first operatic endeavor. It is a modern interpretation and metamorphosis of the Peking Opera story Farewell, My Concubine. But the opera does not follow the legend about how King Xiang Yu is defeated and his concubine Yu Ji has to commit suicide. Rather, it is set in the 1920s in Beijing where a Peking Opera playwright falls for an actor but their love succumbs to the turbulence of the times.

For its opening show, BMF commissioned Canadian composer Howard Shore, best known for his score for The Lord of The Ring film trilogy, which won three Academy Awards, to score the piano concerto Ruin and Memory for Lang Lang, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth.

Chinese pianist Li Yundi will offer an all-Chopin program at the coming 13th Beijing Music Festival.

"In a year when the whole world is commemorating the Polish composer, BMF should not miss the point," Yu says, adding that Li Yundi, the golden prize winner of the Chopin International Competition and arguably the nation's best Chopin interpreter, will offer an all-Chopin program.

"But having the best Chopin player to perform Chopin pieces is not enough and we still wanted to do something special," Yu adds.

In 2008 Yu met Shore in Los Angeles and talked about writing a piece for the China Philharmonic Orchestra. Lang Lang then indicated to Yu that he wanted to play Shore's music.

Chopin is not the only composer BMF celebrates. This year also marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Robert Schumann. Another talented young pianist, Chen Sa, will hold a recital to commemorate the German composer.

As in every year, in addition to classical music, BMF will also present jazz, pop, and other genres to underscore its belief that music has no boundaries. No matter what forms it takes, it is for everyone to enjoy.