- Kazushi Ono conductor
- Abel Selaocoe cello
- Marta Fontanals-Simmons mezzo soprano
Anyone who has witnessed one of Abel Selaocoe's electrifying concerts, knows that for this South-African cellist, the meaning of music reaches far beyond the notes. His compositions transcend genre, time and culture. They speak of identity and home, of origin and connection, in the spirit ...
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Anyone who has witnessed one of Abel Selaocoe's electrifying concerts, knows that for this South-African cellist, the meaning of music reaches far beyond the notes. His compositions transcend genre, time and culture. They speak of identity and home, of origin and connection, in the spirit of the ubuntu philosophy: “You are because I am; I am because you are.”
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American composer Jessie Montgomery combines vibrant musical energy with a deep social awareness. For festival artist Abel Selaocoe, she wrote the cello concerto These Righteous Paths, a work shaped by her grief for her late mother. At once looking back and forward, the composition reflects on the ancestral influence of the African diaspora on the Afro-American world, while opening a space for hope and remembrance.
Alongside the Belgian premiere of this brand-new concerto, the Brussels Philharmonic performs Montgomery’s sparkling Coincident Dances, as well as musical narratives by Florence Price and Carlos Simon. The Symphonic Dances from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story bring this orchestral highlight to a thrilling close.
