The concerts will be held tonight and tomorrow night.

Unlike the last four festivals, which ended with performances by prestigious foreign orchestras and musicians, this year's closing concerts will feature all-Chinese artists.

They will perform highlights of popular operas such as Carmen, Tosca, La Traviata and La Nozze de Figaro.

"It will be a successful ending to match 'Chineseness,' the core theme of the this year's festival," said Yu Long, artistic director of the Beijing Music Festival.

Performers will include pianists Chen Sa and Li Yundi, cellist Wang Jian, violinist Xue Wei, tenors Liu Huan and Warren Mok, baritone Liao Changyong, mezzo-soprano Liang Ning and soprano Yao Hong.

China Philharmonic Orchestra will perform under the direction of Yu Long.

"If we invited all Chinese musicians abroad back to establish an orchestra, it would definitely be among the world's best," Yu said.

Yu is not exaggerating. Chinese musicians -- from composers to conductors and from instrumentalists to vocalists -- have achieved international fame.

Yet, many Chinese don't recognize these artists' names.

"Occasionally, there's a report that somebody won an international music competition and that's all," Yu said.

"It's far from enough. We, in China, know little about their successful careers and their stories about how to succeed," Yu added.

He invited most of the top Chinese artists, from home and abroad, to participate in the festival.

Many artists had to squeeze time from their busy performance schedules to visit Beijing.

Liao had to decline to appear at the opening concert of the Shanghai International Arts Festival to show up in Beijing.

Liao has won many international vocal competitions -- including first prize at the 41st Concours International de Chant de Toulouse, in 1996; first prize at the 1997 Placido Domingo Opera Competition; and first prize at Queen Sonya International Music Competition in Norway.

Domingo described Liao as "a great singer."

"We are greatly touched by his music ... it's hard to imagine he possesses a deep heart at such a young age. He has incredible technique and sense of music," Domingo, a world-renowned tenor, has said about Liao.

Liao is the first Chinese singer to perform at the Washington Opera House. He performed Count di Luna in Il Trovatore, directed by Domingo, during the 2000 season of the Kennedy Center.

"Committed and credible in his acting, Liao inhabited the role like a born Verdi singer, with dark-hued baritone, vibrant high notes, idiomatic Italian and a command of the long line," The Washington Post wrote of Liao's performance.

Liao has been invited to perform Donizetti's Marin Faliero next year at Carnegie Hall.

"Many of my European friends know about the festival in Beijing. It's a good way to promote Chinese artists who perform Western classical music," said mezzo-soprano Liang Ning.

Liang began her career in Europe at the Hamburg and Vienna state operas. She has won the Metropolitan Opera National Council, Rosa Ponselle International Vocal, and Luciano Pavarotti competitions.

Xue said he is proud of Yu, his one-time schoolmate, who has directed the festival for five years.

"I performed in the first festival, when the reviews were controversial and some critics said it would not continue," Xue said.

"Now five years have passed and it has become a world-known festival," Xue added.

(China Daily November 1, 2002)