Isata Kanneh-Mason’s latest album evokes the magic of childhood in a charming collection of nostalgic music. The album is centered around Ernő Dohnányi’s rarely performed Variations on a Nursery Song, expanding “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” into a truly virtuosic work. From a young age, Kanneh-Mason has had a special affinity with Mozart and recalls playing the composer’s Variations on the French song Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman with the same recognizable melody transformed through twelve sophisticated and inventive variations. Debussy’s Children’s Corner is a six-movement suite written for his 6-year-old daughter that symbolizes a return to the innocent world of children. Robert Schumann’s simple and unpretentious collection of 13 short pieces, Kinderszenen (“Scenes from Childhood”), were intended as adult nostalgia.
Isata Kanneh-Mason: Childhood Tales
