'Unforgettable' Berlin Philharmonic and Orfeó Català choir concert at Sagrada Família

The Berlin Philharmonic and the Orfeó Català choral society put on what has been described as an "unforgettable" concert at Antoni Gaudí's art nouveau Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona on Monday night.

"Majestic and aetherial: words that describe both the programme and the setting of this year's Europakonzert," the orchestra tweeted.

Every year on May 1, the orchestra chooses an emblematic European landmark as the site of the group's celebratory Europakonzert anniversary performance. The Berlin Philharmonic was founded in 1882, the year construction on the Sagrada Família began. 

Conducted by Kirill Petrenko, the orchestra and choir performed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 25 and sacred works such as the Austrian composer's Coronation Mass.

They also played Tōru Takemitsu's Requiem for Strings and Valentyn Silvestrov's Prayer for Ukraine.

The Berlin Philharmonic and Orféo Català were accompanied by four soloists: Louise Alder, Wiebke Lehmkuhl, Linard Vrielink and Krešimir Stražanac. 

Some 1,200 people were able to see the rehearsal the day prior, with 200 attending the concert on Monday although a total of 21,779 had tried their luck signing up online. 

The Berlin Philharmonic will go on to perform at the Palau de la Música concert hall on Tuesday before playing alongside the Orfeó Català once again in Madrid on Wednesday.