French music festival heats up in Beijing

Chinese songwriter Yang Le performs at the opening of World Music Day in Beijing, June 19, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Speaking at the opening, Yang Le said it's delightful to see more music festivals in China to promote musical communication between China and the outside world.

"I took part in music festivals in France when I studied there in the 1980s. The atmosphere was open and free. People gather and sing on streets and play whatever music they like," Yang told China Daily after his performance. "French music is full of creativity and imagination.”

The 60-year-old went on to say that today's youth are lucky to be exposed to a wider range of music from across the globe.

"When we set up a band [in the 1980s], the music information we received was far less than what people have now, so our music compositions back then were relatively limited as well. Music imagination is influenced by experiences and music inputs," Yang said.

Though Yang prefers classical music and jazz over the electronic music sweeping across the globe nowadays, he said he respects all musicians.

"In today's world, it's a great thing that so many people are still producing music."