The defining global relationship of the coming generations may well be the one between Asian and Western countries. Asia, and most notably China, has been identified as the world’s foremost up-and-c0ming power in nearly all arenas–education, economic development, population growth, and political heft–and, accordingly, bridges between the East and West are more important than ever before. Bridge projects enjoy an enduringly popular place in the music community, almost certainly due in part to music’s ability to communicate in a truly universal fashion. Today marks the final day of the Beijing Music Festival’s 15th year, and this year’s festival has been underscored by a theme of cultural exchange. One doesn’t have to look to far for proof of global cultural exchange at the festival: the festival is underwritten by Swiss financial institution Credit Suisse. The business side of the festival is hardly the only place where East and West meets. In fact, the goal of the festival is to, in the words of a China Daily correspondent, to “help to form a bond between China and the West at a time when the country is attaching greater importance to art education and the cultivation of new talent.”
This year’s festival has sought, in keeping with the current zeitgeist, to be the broadest and the most international of the festivals to date. The theme of this year’s music-making has been “Music for You,” which seeks to connect music to both the individual and the global sensibilities of the audience members. Urs Buchmann, Credit Suisse’s head of Corporate and Institutional Clients Business in Asia said before the launch of this year’s festival, “I am excited to see it become a more diverse music festival, now that we are attracting a wider gathering of leading international performers to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the festival with new and returning audiences. Every year the Beijing Music Festival injects new aspects of classical music, either by introducing compositions not or rarely performed in China and Asia or by presenting masterworks by major authors scarcely encountered within the standard repertoire. The festival thus succeeds in significantly broadening the public’s interests.”
The festival has been diverse indeed, featuring 26 performances in 25 days by ensembles ranging from the London Sinfonietta to Michael Bolton to the Chinese Philharmonic Orchestra. Along with presenting music from a wide array of performers, the festival also features a broad range of music, too–this year has featured many “crossover” performances in an effort to “soften the borders” between classical and modern music, thus appealing to a wider and, in many cases, younger demographic. The festival in Beijing is something of an ultimate bridge project, as it draws parallels and pathways between cultures, music genres, and even careers. The somewhat odd bedfellows that are a Swiss bank and a Chinese music festival make sense when the man behind the partnership explains his own experience in music and as a banker. Says China Daily:
In addition to being a banker, Buchmann is a musician himself. He has played piano since age 5 and continues to perform widely throughout Europe and Asia both as soloist as well as in chamber formations. Buchmann says his ongoing encounter with music constitutes an important part of his life. “Playing the piano while pursuing a banking career feels like walking on two legs” Buchmann maintains, who perceives music as a complement to his career that provides for critical balance in daily life. Music helps my creativity, memory and reaction,” he says. “To prepare for a concert requires a long-term approach and practising step by step. Ideally, you commence three years before first performing a work in public.”
“It is just like doing business, especially large projects with far reaching strategic objectives, which require the discipline to work in a structured and concentrated way….Any businessman wanting to be successful in a specific country, requires to be strongly integrated into the local society first. Such integration is being critically helped by the musical idiom, as we can feel that there is natural interest by the Chinese society, especially within the middle class, to learn more about Western classical music.”
Buchmann’s position in Asia and his position as a benefactor of the Beijing Music Festival has placed him perfectly as an observer of classical music’s development in China and in Asia as a whole. What he finds there is both heartening and very much contrasting with what he sees in Western nations. As Beijing becomes more and more of a global center, he finds that the music scene there is developing, as is the attitude toward attendance of live concerts. “What I like about the Beijing Music Festival is the enthusiastic atmosphere within the concert-going audience. Chinese classical music enthusiasts are on the average much younger than their peers in Western countries. Moreover and very importantly they tend to be more open to new developments.” Buchmann’s experience underscores the value of viewing bridge projects like the Beijing Music Festival as a true two-way street rather than a single-direction flow of information. As the Beijing Music Festival wraps up its 15th season and looks toward its 16th, the stage is set for more dialogue and much, much more music.
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