The Beijing Forum for Symphonic Music 2025 has concluded. As one of the key annual events of the World Association for Performing Arts (WAPA), the forum brings together leading specialists from the academic music scene. This year, the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) hosted over 300 representatives from more than 190 art institutions across 30 countries and regions. The Astana Opera played a significant role, with its participation contributing substantially to the international dialogue on the future of symphonic art.
The opera house, supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information of Kazakhstan, was represented by Astana Opera’s conductor Elmar Buribayev and the of opera house’s symphony orchestra director, Gennadiy Anikushin. Their presentation, focusing on “The Folk Kui as a Form of Integrating National Tradition into Kazakhstan’s Symphonic Music,” generated considerable interest among forum participants. The Kazakh delegation demonstrated how national intonation and rhythm can be organically woven into the symphonic canvas, creating a new sound that clearly features both the spirit of steppe traditions and the European academic school.
The speakers highlighted that contemporary symphonic music in Kazakhstan is a unique artistic synthesis. The Symphonic Kui (a traditional instrumental piece), which formed the core of the discussion, has long transcended its genre limitations and transformed into a cultural phenomenon. It harmoniously blends folk melody, orchestral colours, and Western European forms, becoming a crucial link between tradition and modernity, East and West, and oral and written heritage. The works of Kazakh composers from the 20th and 21st centuries convincingly showed that national art can communicate in the universal language of the symphony without losing its deep roots and spiritual essence.
The presentation by the Astana Opera representatives fit organically into the broader context of the three-day forum program, which covered topics such as engaging young audiences, developing innovative methods for recording and distributing symphonic music, the role of national elements in the academic traditions of different countries, and the prospects for young musicians.
Among the many guests and representatives of theatrical and symphonic circles were Thorben Dittes, Chief Executive of the Philharmonia Orchestra (London); Serge Dorny, General Director of the Bayerische Staatsoper; Joseph W. Polisi, President Emeritus of the Juilliard School and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Tianjin Juilliard School; and many others.
It is worth noting that since 2019, the Beijing Forum for Symphonic Music has served as a platform where industry leaders meet to shape the modern trends in the development of the global symphonic scene. The participation of Kazakhstan, through the Astana Opera, in this major event underscored the growing role of our country in the global musical sphere.
