CD REVIEW
– ISATA
KANNEH-MASON
CHILDHOOD TALES
ROYAL LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC
ORCHESTRA DOMINGO HINDOYAN
Decca 485 4180
[67:56]
'This is the fifth
album from the brilliant
27-year-old pianist: a member of
the famed Nottingham musical
family. There have been reviews
of 'Summertime' and 'Carnival' (involving all
the Kanneh-Mason's) on this
website. Another, 'Muse'
(not reviewed here), is with her
celebrated cello-playing brother,
Sheku.
The great Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) was
around the pianist's own age when
he wrote the first work here: Variations
on "Ah Vous Dirai-Je,
Maman" ("Oh! Shall
I tell you, Mama"), which he
would have known as an 18th
century French children's song.
The English
version of this is, of course,
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star". The theme and ten of
the 12 unnamed variations are all
under one minute in length. A
case of quality over quantity.
When I was much
younger, I recall Variations
on a Nursery Song for Piano and
Orchestra, by the Hungarian
composer and pianist Ernö
Dohnányi (1877-1960), often
being played on "the
wireless" but I have not
heard it for years. It inspired
this album and comprises an Introduction,
Theme and a dozen named
variations, also on
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little
Star". A delightful
rediscovery.
For the above work
the RLPO supports Isata under its
Armenian-Venezuelan chief
conductor since 2021, Domingo
Hindoyan (born 1980). Apart from
Miss Kanneh-Mason's childhood
memories, unusually, there is no
information in the booklet notes
about any of the performers.
Children's
Corner, by Claude Debussy
(1862-1918), provides six more
variations, written for his
3-year-old daughter, the last
being a familiar piece, Cakewalk.
The album is completed by Robert
Schumann's (1810-56) Kinderszenen,
composed when he was a year older
than Isata. There are 13
variations, with only two over
two minutes long, the best-known
being Var. 7, the charming Träumerei.
As Classic FM's
Tim Lihoreau* points out in his
booklet notes, most of the works
on the album were written for
grown-ups about children.
Although not specifically aimed
at children, Isata would love it
if children listened to it. I am
sure she will appreciate us doing
likewise!
This 46-track
release enhances the pianist's
fast-growing reputation and is an
imaginative selection with
sparkly sound. Like an increasing
number of recordings nowadays it
is also available on vinyl.
*Interestingly, on
10 January 2023, Tim invited
Isata to play a duet with him on
the famous rail station piano in
St Pancras International.
©
Peter Burt, June 2023
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