World news and discussion on TalkFuse.
BBCPhil/Noseda/Selaocoe review – a proms concert that was everything the festival does best
The Guardian's review praises a BBC Philharmonic Proms concert at the Royal Albert Hall, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, which paired Bach and Beethoven with the UK premiere of Jessie Montgomery's new cello concerto. Though the programme looked mismatched on paper, the critic found it cohered brilliantly in performance, calling it emblematic of everything the Proms festival does well, with the concert's timing lending Beethoven's Ninth an unexpected topical resonance around themes of unity and fellowship.
The highlight was Abel Selaocoe's performance in Montgomery's "These Righteous Paths," a concerto shaped around the composer's late mother, playwright Robbie McCauley, whose poems inspired its three movements. Selaocoe employed wordless vocalise, mouth percussion, throat singing and African song alongside the cello, described as more storyteller than conventional soloist. The concert opened with Andrew Davis's orchestral arrangement of Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in G minor and closed with a fleet, classically driven account of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, featuring the Philharmonia Chorus and a strong vocal quartet.
In short
- Guardian reviews BBC Philharmonic's Proms concert under Gianandrea Noseda
- Abel Selaocoe stars in Jessie Montgomery's new cello concerto premiere
- Programme mixed Bach, Beethoven's Ninth and new work to strong effect
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
This concert exemplifies how contemporary classical music gains vitality by embracing innovation and diverse traditions. Montgomery's concerto uses Selaocoe's complete expressive toolkit – vocalisation, throat singing, African song – as authentic artistic expression honouring her mother's legacy and heritage. The Proms' role is to showcase classical music as a living tradition that strengthens by respectfully incorporating new voices and expanding what forms like the concerto can encompass and express.
The case against
Whilst respecting the composer's intentions, one might argue that the cello concerto tradition serves important purposes through formal focus and clarity, and that blending vocalisation, throat singing, mouth percussion, and orchestral accompaniment risks diffusing rather than concentrating emotional impact. Each musical tradition develops specific conventions for aesthetic reasons; conflating them without clear artistic focus might undermine rather than enrich both. The Proms might better serve audiences and musical traditions by programming innovation within clearer boundaries rather than fusing diverse elements that might prove more powerful if kept distinct.
Explained simply
The Proms is Britain's largest annual classical music festival, held across London venues with the Royal Albert Hall as a principal stage. This concert featured the BBC Philharmonic orchestra, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda, performing works by Bach, Beethoven and American composer Jessie Montgomery. Montgomery's new cello concerto, "These Righteous Paths," had its British premiere at this performance.
The concerto was written in honour of Montgomery's late mother, the playwright Robbie McCauley, and is based on poems that McCauley wrote. The soloist was South African cellist Abel Selaocoe, who combines classical cello playing with African vocal techniques including wordless singing and throat singing. Rather than a conventional virtuoso performance, Selaocoe performed the work as a storyteller, with the three movements reflecting the poems that inspired the composition.
The concert brought together orchestral works from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with contemporary music. The programme featured both Bach and Beethoven alongside Montgomery's new cello concerto, bringing together works spanning centuries.
Americas Culture Entertainment Music World