Expressive, virtuosic cello sonatas from Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason

By Nick Boston, 29 May 2024

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“it was the sad, lyrical Largo that sat at the heart of this performance”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 28 May 2024

Mendelssohn, Cello Sonata no. 1 in B flat major, Op.45

Beethoven, Cello Sonata no. 5 in D major, Op.102 no.2

Fauré, Cello Sonata no.1 in D minor, Op.109

Chopin, Cello Sonata in G minor, Op.65

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Cello

Isata Kanneh-Mason, Piano

Exciting but inconsistent playing from the EUYO at Carnegie Hall

Cameron Kelsall, 6th August

Under Iván Fischer's direction, Mahler's First Symphony is notable more for bombastic passion than subtle artistry.

***11

The Kanneh-Masons and friends at the Aldeburgh Festival

Roy Westbrook, 21st June

Some chamber concerts, like this one at Snape Maltings, can turn a public hall into a large drawing room.

***11

Isata Kanneh-Mason makes a glittering Proms debut in Prokofiev

Dominic Lowe, 1st August

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Ryan Bancroft joined Kanneh-Mason as she tackled Prokofiev's most popular piano concerto with easy dexterity, then delivering a powerful performance of Tchaikovsky.

***11

Colour and thrills from Hindoyan, Kanneh-Mason and the RLPO

Peter Connors, 27th April

Isata Kanneh-Mason thrills with sparking fingerwork in Prokofiev, while the RLPO and Domingo Hindoyan are just as dazzling in Falla and Stravinsky.

****1

Hiding in plain sight: Ilan Volkov steals the show at Symphony Hall

Simon Cummings, 22nd February

A self-effacing, literal approach from conductor Ilan Volkov brings marvellous transparency to works by Sibelius and Prokofiev, while highlighting the flaws in a new work by Freya Waley-Cohen.

****1

Domingo Hindoyan waltzes into Liverpool

Peter Connors, 9th September

The RLPO with their new chief conductor herald a return to full-scale orchestral performances with an evening of dances, plus Clara Schumann's far too rarely heard Piano Concerto.

****1

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Nick Boston

Nick has an MA in Music, specialising in performance and repertoire. His particular passions are choral music, chamber music and opera, with a particular interest in early music. He sings in a number of choirs in the south east of England, plays the piano and occasionally dusts off the violin. He writes about music here.

Deeply expressive, virtuosic cello sonatas from Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason