Dazzling cellist Abel Selaocoe teams up with the Britten Sinfonia for a journey from darkness into light.
Born outside Johannesburg but now based here in Manchester, Abel Selaocoe is a superstar in the making – a multi-award-winning musician just at home in Western classical music as he is in the sounds and traditions of his native South Africa.
Two years on from his unforgettable Bridgewater Hall debut, Abel is back with the brilliant Britten Sinfonia. And they’re kicking off with one of the most controversial works in music: Beethoven’s gripping Grosse Fuge, which baffled 19th-century listeners but was later praised by Stravinsky as ‘music that will be contemporary forever’.
From here, we’re transported to Europe on the cusp of war with Béla Bartók’s fevered 1939 Divertimento. But then we’re gliding up to heaven with Sir John Tavener’s profoundly beautiful modern classic – a spellbinding showcase for this most magnetic of musicians.
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