Capital to begin music gala

A MONTH-LONG musical extravaganza will start in Beijing tomorrow, while Shanghai prepares for its first international arts festival next month.

The Second Beijing International Music Festival will present 40 concerts of orchestral and chamber music, recitals and opera by masters from more than 10 countries.

Performing artists include pianists Martha Agerich and Fu Cong, violinist Isaac Stern, cellists Misha Maisky and Julian Lloyd Webber.

The festival was expanded to 31 days.

The gala will gather together the mainland's top four orchestras.

Shanghai will be hoping to steal some of the limelight from its northern neighbour when it holds its festival next month. Rivalry between the two cities is especially marked in the field of music.