A “Music for Peace” concert is planned as part of the celebration of International Day of Peace next week. The Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the UN General Assembly to coincide with its opening session every September.

Artistic co-ordinator of the concert, Jorge Bagnini, says “music is able to break all barriers such as those produced by politics, different ideologies, religious differences and racism; which have split the Humankind.”

The program, performed by will include Chopin’s “Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor, Op. posth.” as well as Messiaen’s “Quartet for the End of Time”, both works written in the context of war.

The music will be performed by  Marcela Fiorillo on piano, Robert Schubert on clarinet, Julian Thompson on cello, and Barbara Jane Gilby on violin. A pre-concert talk will be given at 6.30pm by Vincent Plush, composer and director of National Cultural Program at the National Film and Sound Archive.

The 50-minute Messiaen quartet will be performed before a multi-media backdrop created by the filmaker and documentary-maker Michael Edols and visual artist Marion van Den Driesschen.

“Music for Peace”,  National Gallery of Australia’s Fairfax Theatre,  September 22 at 7pm. Bookings to 6275 2700.