The 23rd Beijing Music Festival (BMF) kicked off Saturday, with an opening concert paying tribute to the fight against COVID-19.

Composed and conducted by Zou Ye, the concert depicted touching details of the battle against the epidemic. It featured an orchestra and vocalists from Wuhan, the city once ravaged by the epidemic.

The highlight of the 11-day festival is a series of non-stop classical music shows that will be performed both online and offline for over 240 hours. Audiences can enjoy notable works of Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Puccini on the BMF app.

The offline segment includes 20 different performances of orchestral music, chamber music, solo concerts, opera films, and others.