Beijing celebrates three decades of festive symphony

Welcoming the New Year with a symphony concert has become a ritual for Beijing's musical circle for decades. Each December, the sound of an orchestra rising in harmony marks a ceremonious farewell to the past and the beginning of a hopeful year ahead.

The year 2026 celebrates two milestones: the 30th anniversary of the Beijing New Year's Concert and the 10th anniversary of the Beijing New Year Performance Season. The season opened on Dec 6 with a news conference and a rich calendar of events will continue through early January. At its heart are three major performances at the Great Hall of the People, where renowned musicians, inventive productions and cross-cultural collaborations will share a single stage.

The flagship New Year's Concert on Dec 31 will be presented by the Beijing Symphony Orchestra alongside leading soloists from China and abroad. The performance will open with Ode to the Red Flag, a signature piece of the event, setting a grand and patriotic tone. The program will further expand in scope with an international musical dialogue featuring guests such as Italian trumpet soloist Andrea Giuffredi and German pianist Julian Pflugmann. Supported by a 120-member orchestra and choir, the concert promises a rich and immersive experience.

On Jan 1, the season turns to its youngest audiences with the Beijing Children's New Year Concert, gifting a festive spectacle titled Fantasy Night of Tianma. Tianma refers to a mythical flying horse. The production's most striking feature is the 2,000-plus sandpainting artworks created by Peking University's School of Arts, which accompany the music to tell a magical adventure story.

Two days after that, on Jan 3, the Beijing New Year's Concert Gala will present a first-time collaboration with the acclaimed musical The Message, adding a contemporary spark to the event.

"Great to hear, wonderful to see, and fun to experience", is how artistic director Zhang Shurong sums up the concert's guiding spirit. To bring a sense of playfulness to the performance, Zhang offers an example: during Feuerfest!, musicians will mimic the sound of metalwork, adding a theatrical element that enhances the audience's experience. The program will also bring several works inspired by the upcoming Year of the Horse.

Unlike traditional classical symphony concerts, the New Year event aims to bring people together to celebrate in a joyful atmosphere. "We have lowered the threshold for symphonic music almost to zero," Zhang says.

Zhang has worked on the Beijing New Year's Concert since its first edition in 1996, when the inspiration came from the televised Vienna New Year's Concert popular in China during the 1980s. The Beijing concert quickly became a sensation; tickets sold out almost immediately.

"Back then, people mainly came for the novelty," he adds. "But today it's entirely different." With China's rapid development over the past three decades, symphonic music has taken root and flourished, and both the repertoire and performance standards of concerts have advanced significantly.

Beyond celebrating the New Year, Jia Ding, also the artistic director of the event, hopes the concert will present an open and confident China to the world and offer audiences world-class music. Meanwhile, international ensembles will have the chance to perform and share their artistry on the prestigious stage of the Great Hall of the People.

Over the past decade, the Beijing New Year Performance Season, which grew from the concert's success, has presented 93 high-quality productions and attracted 197,000 in-person attendees and more than 4 million online viewers. This year's season includes 69 performances, featuring groups such as the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra. "Music will truly be heard across the entire city," says Zheng Fang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

"As we step into a new year," Jia Ding says, "we all seek a sense of ritual. When beautiful music brings us a moment of happiness, we can carry that hope with us into the year ahead."

Bai Shuhao contributed to this story.