Unconventional yet quite exceptional

The combination of flute, guitar and cello in a chamber concert is uncommon.

The Beijing Music Festival and UBS will bring Sir James Galway (pictured), guitarist Yang Xuefei and cellist Ma Xinhua together to perform at Wangfujing Church in Beijing.

The unique venue, celebrated musicians and interesting program make this a must-see show of the month-long festival.

Galway is the one-time principal flutist of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, whose solo turn has earned him worldwide acclaim as "the man of the golden flute" (or "magic flute"). The New York Times comments: "The flutist Sir James Galway, for all his popular and crossover success, is eminently capable of turning in a high-minded, straitlaced performance".

British Classic FM magazine ranked Yang - a truly dazzling young Chinese guitar virtuoso - among the world's "100 Best Artists".

Ma is the China Philharmonic Orchestra's formal principal cellist and one of the country's best.

The program ranges from Piazzolla's Libertango to Villa Lobo's Latin-flavored From Bachianas Brasileiras and veers off to De Falla's Six Popular Songs.

7:30 pm, Oct 12. Wangfujing Church, Beijing. 010-6507-1833, 6593-0299 (English).

- Chen Jie