The dynamic young musicians of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO) will take Beijing by storm today and tomorrow when they perform selections from the epic symphonies of Gustav Mahler at the National Center for the Performing Arts.

Founded in 1978 by Claudio Abbado, EUYO unites Europe's most talented young musicians under internationally renowned conductors. The orchestra is an ensemble that transcends cultural boundaries and performs all over the world, demonstrating the cooperation, achievements and creativity of European youth.

The orchestra includes musicians representing all 27 member countries of the European Union. The musicians are selected each year from more than 4,000 candidates aged between 14 and 24. Auditions are held throughout the EU.

Today the orchestra continues its tradition of excellence under Music Director Vladimir Ashkenazy (pictured).

"I absolutely love working with this orchestra - they are young and vibrant and enthusiastic, but at the same time entirely professional," he says. "Taking the rostrum with the EUYO is a very rewarding experience."

Ashkenazy has often been quoted as saying that for him music is all-encompassing.

His commitment is evident in his passionate engagement with many different aspects of music-making, including serving as a conductor, pianist and chamber musician.

In the years since he first came to prominence on the world stage in the 1955 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, he has built an extraordinary career, not only as one of the most renowned and revered pianists, but as an artist whose creative life encompasses a vast range of activities and continues to offer inspiration to music-lovers across the world.

For the two concerts in Beijing, the maestro and the EUYO will play Mahler's Symphony No 2 in C minor, Resurrection, one of Mahler's most popular and successful works.

The concert will feature Chinese young soprano Niu Shasha and Zhou Xiaolin as soloists.

Time: 7:30 pm, Aug 29, 30

Place: National Center for the Performing Arts, west of Tian'anmen Square

Tel: 8528-2222, 6655-0000

(China Daily August 29, 2008)