An old stone church is the perfect venue to enjoy the solemn sounds of a powerful requiem. Tomorrow night at the Wangfujing Church, in downtown Beijing, one of the world's most famous requiems will be performed as part of a fitting finale of the Beijing Music Festival .

Yu Long, artistic director of China Philharmonic Orchestra and the festival, will conduct his orchestra and the Choir of Teatro La Fenice from Venice as they perform Mozart's Requiem.

It will also feature tenor Luigi Peteroni, soprano Susanna Denes, mezzo soprano Cao Zheng and baritone Tian Haojiang.

"I feel honoured to conduct the Choir of Teatro La Fenice, one of the best choirs in the world. I hope under my baton, the orchestra, the choir and the vocalists from both Italy and China could give a perfect interpretation of Mozart's final and mysterious work," said Yu.

At the same church, Yu and his China Philharmonic Orchestra played on January 27 the birthday of Mozart, as part of this year's worldwide celebration for the music genius.

In March 1998, Yu took the baton of China National Symphony Orchestra and its choir to premiere Verdi's "Requiem" in China. Now the 42-year-old is looking forward to conducting the other famous "Requiem" with the arguably best orchestra in China and one of the best choirs in the world.

The circumstances surrounding the creation of Mozart's Requiem in the summer of 1791 have given rise over two centuries to romantic exaggerations and wild speculation.

The commission, delivered to Mozart by a "grey messenger," portrayed as a harbinger of the composer's own premature death, was already the stuff of legend in the 19th century. While the reality is somewhat more prosaic, the Requiem itself remains one of the most personal, impassioned and profound of Mozart's works.

At his death on December 5, 1791 Mozart had only completed the first movement and part scores of nine of the following 13 sections. His wife Constanze arranged for his pupils Joseph Eybler and Franz Xaver Sussmayr to complete the work.

(China Daily October 27, 2006)