ConcertPulse
Aurora Orchestra / Abel Selaocoe / Nicholas Collon
Elbphilharmonie, Großer Saal (Hamburg)
The South African cellist and composer Abel Selaocoe has an irrepressible energy and stage presence that has propelled him from a township near Johannesburg to the top of the music world. Together with London’s Aurora Orchestra, whose Elbphilharmonie debut was hailed by the press as a »boldly creative orchestra« with »extravagantly sparkling interpretation«, an explosive evening is guaranteed. Selaocoe transcends genre boundaries with ease in his Cello Concerto. He combines Western music from classical to soul with the sounds and traditions of his homeland – including intense, throaty singing, which plays just as big a role in the concerto as the cello does. In the second half of the concert, the Aurora Orchestra presents its trademark: a major symphonic work, played entirely from memory without sheet music. Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, which the composer himself described as a »sheer expression of joy, happiness and the affirmation of life«, should be a perfect fit for the enthusiastic young orchestra.
