Best of Beethoven as Youth China Music Festival resonates
A concert as part of the 2025 For Youth Beethoven China Music Festival was held in Shanghai.
From the Rhine to the Huangpu River, a symphony of Beethoven resonated in Shanghai as the 2025 For Youth Beethoven China Music Festival was launched in Changning District, ushering in a variety of music activities through the end of the year.
As a benchmark cultural project for China-Germany cultural and people-to-people exchange, the festival brings together more than 30 top Chinese and German musicians, including Lior Shambadal, a world-renowned conductor and artistic director of Konzerthausorchester Berlin; Wei Danwen from the Central Conservatory of Music; and Wu Lingfen, the choir conductor of the National Center for the Performing Arts.
The festival features a variety of music activities in 30 Chinese cities.
Involving piano, symphony and choral music, the festival introduces innovative programs like master workshops, urban symphony hall tours, and youth art camps. As the only Asia-authorized project by BTHVN, the global body commemorating and spreading Beethoven's music culture, it will feature three major sections: Beethoven Classroom, Beethoven Stage, and Beethoven Study Tours.
The Beethoven Classroom will host more than 100 online and offline activities, including master's classes and symphony seasons.
The Beethoven Stage will feature piano, string instruments, choir, and symphony performances, while the Beethoven Study Tour will visit Bonn, Germany, in August, allowing participants to touch the eternal notes of Beethoven's birthplace.
A performing scene at the festival.
Piano art performances will be a highlight of the festival, which will host three rounds of competitions at the art center of the Shanghai History Museum, the Hongqiao Art Center in Shanghai and Beethovenhalle Bonn, respectively.
In Shanghai, several concerts are on the menu for the coming months as part of the festival under the aegis of the Chinese Culture Promotion Society and the Changning District Culture and Tourism Bureau.
These include Wu Zeming's 2025 China Tour Piano Recital and solo recitals of French pianist Pascal Gallet and Italian pianist Andrea Molteni.
In neighboring Taicang City, Jiangsu Province, the "China-Germany Beethoven Choral Art Season" will be held as part of the festival. The festival will tour 30 cities nationwide.
The festival was launched at the Shanghai Hongqiao Art Center.
Upcoming events of the festival
Wu Zeming's 2025 China Tour Piano Recital
Date: 7:45pm, April 27
Venue: Shanghai Oriental Art Center
Address: 425 Dingxiang Rd, the Pudong New Area 浦东新区丁香路425号
Iraya's Dream – Shanghai Iraya Saxophone Ensemble
Date: 7:30pm, May 18
Venue: YOUNG Theater
Address: 1155 Kongjiang Road, Yangpu District 杨浦区控江路1155号
A Rendezvous of the Soul – Violin Concert of Liao Haoyue
Date: 7pm, March 8
Venue: WeArts Theater
Address: 195 Anzhi Road, Jiading District 嘉定区安智路195号
La Marseillaise – Solo Recital of French Pianist Pascal Gallet
Date: 7pm, April 20
Venue: WeArts Theater
Address: 195 Anzhi Road, Jiading District 嘉定区安智路195号
National Final of 2025 China-Germany Beethoven youth music festival piano art performance
Date: June 6-8
Venue: Shanghai Hongqiao Art Center
Address: 888 Tianshan Road, Changning District 长宁区天山路888号
