28 Oct-4 Nov. Rome's churches and basilicas host some 600 performances of sacred music by artists from nive countries.

The festival opens with a concert in St Peter's by Japan's IlluminArt Philharmonic and then on 29 Oct with Weiner Philarmoniker playing Beethoven's 6th and 8th symphonies in St Paul's without the Walls.

The closing concert on 4 Nov is the much awaited premiere at the church of S. Ignazio of Giovanni Allevi's Toccata and Fugue for organ. Allevi has called its composition one of the defining moments of his career, as though he had been “hit by a river in full flood.”

For the full festival programme see the website.