Concerts themed on Italian Renaissance to be staged in Beijing

A pair of concerts titled "The Sounds of Italian Renaissance" will be held in Beijing this week to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Italian master artist Leonardo da Vinci.

The concerts, to be staged respectively at the Italian Cultural Institute of the Italian Embassy Wednesday and the Central Academy of Fine Art (CAFA) Museum Friday, are part of the Beijing Music Festival.

Co-organized by the festival, the Ugo e Olga Levi Foundation, the CAFA Museum and the Italian Cultural Institute, the concerts will perform instrumental and vocal music from the Renaissance.

In addition to 12 works composed by European musicians, including "La Spagna" and "De tous bien plain," three classic Chinese songs including "Jasmine Flower" will also be presented.

The concerts will be played by the Ugo and Olga Levi Venice Ensemble, with conductor Cristian Contadi and his students from the Department of Ancient Music of the conservatory "Benedetto Marcello," an important academy for Renaissance music studies.