Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s third solo album, Song, is his most personal yet. The star British cellist joins host Oliver Camacho to discuss the diverse influences and inspirations for the album which include Klezmer, J.S. Bach, and Burt Bacharach. Kanneh-Mason also responds to the expectations put on his career as a young Black man in the classical music industry.
Watch a recording session of Mendelssohn’s Song without Words, Op. 109, with pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason below.
All performances feature cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason.
Joseph Parry arr. Sheku Kanneh-Mason: Myfanwy
Dmitri Shostakovich: Cello Concerto in E-flat Major, Op. 107
I. Allegretto
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, conductor
Edmund Finnis: Five Preludes for Cello (I & V)
Ludwig van Beethoven: 12 Variations on “Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” from W.A. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Op.66
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Ernst Bloch arr. Braimah Kanneh-Mason: From Jewish Life
I. Prayer
Braimah Kanneh-Mason, violin
Nigel Kennedy and Kroke: Lullabye for Kamila
Arranged and performed by Sheku Kanneh-Mason and pianist Harry Baker
Johann Sebastian Bach arr. Sheku Kanneh-Mason: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 61
Hannah Roberts, Ben Davies, and Max Ruisi. cellos
Burt Bacharach arr. Sheku Kanneh-Mason: I say a little prayer
