"I have performed at the festival many times and every time it feels like a reunion with old friends," says Tan a day before the concert in Beijing. "Music is like a flowing river; a continuous, ever-evolving force that transcends time. Just as a river never stops moving, music flows from generation to generation, carrying the contributions of countless musicians across eras."

"The Beijing Music Festival, over nearly 30 years, carries stories, emotions and historical contexts, acting as a bridge between the past and the present, the East and the West. Many great musicians from around the world perform during the festival. Just like a river connecting different lands and people, the festival connects generations of cultures," Tan says.

During the first half of the concert, Tan also led the China National Symphony Orchestra to perform his music piece Passacaglia: Secret of Wind and Birds, during which the orchestra members held up their phones to play the recordings of birds chirping to traditional Chinese instruments.

Young Chinese suona player Liu Wenwen, a first-time performer at the Beijing festival, shared the stage with the orchestra and Tan, performing the famous suona piece Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to Phoenix. As the nation's first student in a doctoral program for the suona at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Liu, a 13th-generation suona player, is also one of the most active young players in China.

"We had many discussions about programs for the opening concert for this year's Beijing Music Festival. Thanks to Tan, we presented Chinese music works during the first half of the concert and Western music pieces in the second half, bringing a sonic journey that bridges Chinese heritage with Western traditions," says Zou Shuang, artistic director of the Beijing festival, from Oct 5 to 13, with nine concerts by international musicians.

One of the highlights during the second half of the concert was cellist Wang Jian and violinist Lu Wei playing Mozart's Symphonie Concertante in E-flat Major, K 364 under Tan's baton.