When it comes to Italy's music traditions, the world knows a lot about the country's opera. But the nation also boasts of a strong piano tradition. An exhibition and concert were held in Beijing's Millennium Monument Museum, dedicated to the piano.

This organ was made before 1746, or more than 270 years ago, and can still generate dulcet sounds, thanks to the hands of Claudio Brizi, a master on antique keyboards.

The exhibition illuminates the evolution of keyboard instruments, from the piano’s oldest ancestors to the modern concert masterpieces. Items of great importance also include the first modern copy of a fortepiano Cristofori.

This exhibition is also part of the ongoing ‘Meet in Beijing’ Arts Festival, with the country "guest of honor" being Italy. Hosted by China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG) and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture, the ‘Meet in Beijing’ Arts Festival is a large comprehensive arts festival catering to various tastes of audiences in multiple ways. The arts festival carries forward Chinese art and culture, introduces foreign arts, and promotes international cultural exchanges.

Guido Bizzi, curator of the Italian Historical keyboards exhibition, says, "This is the story of the instruments that were in existence before the piano where Italy, Europe in general, but Italy, in particular, has a historic tradition. So we wanted to start with this, with the hope to continue and strengthen the relationship in the field of classical music and the use of historical instruments in classical music."

Bizzi says these instruments were accompanying all kinds of performances for three centuries between the 15th century to the late 18th century, before the modern piano even appeared. The significance of these instruments is for performing music as it was originally written and composed.

The contribution of Italy to the world of classical music is much more than opera. Not many people know that it was an Italian who invented the first piano in the world around 1700. And the word piano was also derived from Italy, it is the shorted form of Italian term "pianoforte." This exhibition and the following concert inform visitors of the distinguished history of Italians producing and playing the piano.

Visitors can immerse themselves in this fascinating world, not only by seeing, but also by listening, to a concert played by Claudio Brizi, on some of these historical instruments. Brizi is one of the most authoritative players and experts in Italy on these ancient keyboards.

He played four different instruments at the same time  – harmonium, harpsichord, fortepiano and pedal piano. He says "hybrid music," which combines multiple keyboards, pipe and strings, was popular in old Europe. Playing pieces from Ferrini, Bach and Scarlatti, he says these instruments give these classics a different color.

Interest towards these old instruments has been growing since the 70s. Brizi has received hundreds of invitations to perform all over the world. He's taken his music all over Europe, to the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka, and now, the Chinese capital.