On Friday, December 5, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will perform under the baton of conductor Kirill Karabits, with percussionists Aleksandar Radulović and Ivan Marjanović appearing as soloists (Kolarac Hall, 8 p.m.). The audience will enjoy a rich program full of rhythm, color, and folklore, featuring works by Saint-Saëns, Séjourné, Karayev, and Khachaturian.

The stars of the Friday night concert are the orchestra’s very own percussion duo, Aleksandar Radulović and Ivan Marjanović, who will perform as soloists in a piece by contemporary French composer Emmanuel Séjourné. His Concerto for Marimba, Vibraphone and Orchestra combines elements of classical and popular music and stands as a quintessential example of percussion repertoire created for pure listening enjoyment.

The work’s appeal inspired the Belgrade Philharmonic to invite teenagers from Belgrade high schools to a special open rehearsal the day before the concert, where, together with the percussion duo, they will be introduced to classical music from a fresh and engaging perspective.

Séjourné’s love for a wide palette of rhythms, harmonies, and orchestrations is evident in this piece, which is very appealing to wider audiences. Moving from one movement to the next, he inspires the soloists to leave their emotional mark. From oriental melodies and rhythms reminiscent of the Balkans, to jazz and waltzes that ‘smell’ of France, all the way to mixed Latin rhythms – the piece holds the listener’s attention at every moment. Full of lush melodies, emotion, and of course prominent solo passages, this concerto is truly something special, says Aleksandar Radulović.

The performance of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will be led by Kirill Karabits, a conductor with a distinguished career who has collaborated with many leading ensembles across Europe, Asia, and North America. He describes the concert program he is preparing with the Belgrade Philharmonic as very audience-friendly, promising listeners an evening of carefree enjoyment. The program opens with Saint-Saëns’s overture Orient et Occident, a fusion of Western and Eastern influences, while the second half of the concert highlights dance-inspired folkloric elements. While the music from Gayane, the ballet by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, has long had a secure place in the repertoire of Western ensembles, the performance of the suite Seven Beauties by his contemporary, Azerbaijani composer Kara Karayev, is a true rarity.

Tickets are available at the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra’s box office, as well as online.