"My subject is war and the pity of war."
Thus wrote Wilfred Owen, poet and soldier, not long before death claimed him a few days before the First World War ended.
The haunting power of his words is with us yet as we commemorate 50 years since the conclusion of World War II against a backdrop of chaos, gunfire and genocide across the globe.
As part of this city's celebrations, Benjamin Britten's War Requiem will be performed in the Shostakovich Philharmonia on May 11.
England's greatest and most passionate 20th-century composer drew on Owen's works in creating his 1961 War Requiem -- a tribute to the dead of both world wars and a fervent appeal for international peace and reconciliation.
Britten's masterpiece is being performed in numerous cities this May but nowhere will its message be more poignant and powerful than in this city that suffered an unprecedented loss of human life during its 900-day siege.
Leningrad also had a special place in Britten's heart. He often visited the city and had a warm relationship with Shostakovich.
First performed in Coventry in 1961, to mark the opening of the new cathedral, the requiem combines words from the Latin -- Missa pro Defunctis -- and excerpts from several Owen poems.
Britten's desire for peace between nations is reflected by the fact the requiem requires a Russian soprano, British tenor and German baritone.
The St Petersburg performance will feature Yelena Ustinova, Nigel Robson and Andreas Schmidt in these roles supported by the St Petersburg Philharmonia's Academic Symphony and Chamber orchestras and the St Petersburg Television and Radio Choir.
Britain's Sian Edwards and Russia's Vladimir Altschuler will conduct the performance.
Ms Edwards is no stranger to the city having studied with Ilya Musin, legendary professor of conducting at the St Petersburg Conservatoire.
"I am the enemy you killed, my friend," Owen wrote in perhaps his strongest and most moving poem, "Strange Meetings."
How long before such meetings are no more?
Owen himself said in the conclusion of the opening quote, "All a poet can do today is warn."