SHEKU KANNEH-MASON CONTINUES TO AWE AND DELIGHT IN HIS RETURN VISIT
Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Isata Kanneh-Mason (piano): Works by Beethoven, Lutoslawski, Barber and Rachmaninoff, Orpheum, December 8, 2019.
One owes a large debt to the Vancouver Recital Society for inviting cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and his pianist sister Isata to play here in 2017, the year after the former had won BBC's Young Musician of the Year award. If Sheku’s star was dramatically rising then, it is well beyond that now – and he just reached the age of 20. The cellist has reached full celebrity status, which has meant invitations to perform at innumerable important festivals and galas and, as has been well documented, Prince Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding. His first Decca album Inspirations received a phenomenal response and he is on the verge of releasing a second one, Elgar. Sheku impressed last time not only for his technical and tonal splendour but also his emotional sensitivity (review) and, in this Canadian stop on his current 9-concert North American tour, he revealed an even greater maturity. His sister also displayed more character at the piano. The programme was imaginative and engaging, running from Beethoven to Lutoslawski, with the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata being the principal work. Setting the concert in the massive Orpheum served the wonderful purpose of allowing many diverse groups to share Sheku's inspiration, though there were understandably some sonic limitations.
The cornerstone of Beethoven’s writing for the cello are his five Cello Sonatas, though many celebrated cellists have been fond of his cello variations too. The Variations on ‘Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen’ Op. 66 (1798), from Mozart's The Magic Flute opened the concert. The piece was written just before Beethoven’s 3rd Cello Sonata and in the wake of a surge in popularity of Mozart's works in the years following his death. This performance by Sheku and Isata was very musical. The cellist revealed breadth of character and tone within the first minutes of the piece: his tone was wonderfully sweet and round in the principal theme, with each variation carefully crafted and elegantly presented. Sheku’s engaging personality and his obvious love for the music added to the experience. Isata was equally illuminating, and shone during her solo moments in a way that pianists often do not.
Witold Lutosławski’s Grave (‘Metamorphoses for cello and piano’), written in 1981, offered the strongest possible contrast. This brief, single-movement work takes the form of a composed accelerando, rising in pitch from bass to soprano register as it gathers momentum. It is mostly subdued in character, punctuated ultimately by aggressive outbursts. The piece has an improvisatory feel and, in my opinion, was most successful during the solo cello moments. This was due to Sheku’s estimable ability to grab the audience and hold the tension in the hall. That is not to downplay Isata’s contribution, but the piano often takes on a modest role, rumbling below the cello, adding only subsidiary texture and colour. The aggressive moments had clear emotional and technical reach but, from a sonic perspective, some of their clarity was lost in this acoustic. It is an accomplishment that this type of work was well appreciated by the full house.
Thoroughly fitting for a North American tour is the music of American Samuel Barber. His Cello Sonata Op. 6 is a very early work, written in 1932 when the composer was studying at the Curtis Institute, a collaboration with his fellow student William Cole. The piece starts from rich Brahmsian hues before turning to more playful material, and the cellist found an interesting feeling of anxiety at the start, achieving intensity through his use of a tight, fast vibrato while securing tremendous power at the tip of his bow. The piano brought an icy, hollow sound in contrast. The Adagio displayed Sheku’s beautiful tone colour and control of vibrato. The Allegro appassionato returned to some of the joys of the cellist’s intensity and control witnessed in the opening movement. I thoroughly enjoyed this performance, yet I had some minor issue with the ‘tightness’ in Sheku’s sound in the upper octave. Though possibly unreasonable to expect from a young impassioned artist, some moments of reserve might also have been appropriate: he sometimes seemed to over-push the cello and the hall. Nonetheless, the audience ate up his ‘performing’ style, so all to the better perhaps.
The only work in the second half was Rachmaninov’s long Cello Sonata Op. 19, probably his greatest chamber music composition. In moving from the Lento to the Allegro of the opening movement, Sheku’s approach revealed tremendous control over vibrato in the top octave, coupled with an estimable bow technique that enabled quick changes colour and contour. In this, and his close engagement with his sister’s playing, he reminded me of great cellists such as Yo-Yo Ma. Isata in turn contributed beautiful moments of rubato, both delicate and elegant. The second movement always reminds me of Schubert’s song ‘Erlkönig’, while the cello theme takes me to Schumann’s Cello Concerto: a long, slow, controlled line that floats above the accompaniment. The piano part really showed off Isata’s technique: finding twinkly, bell-like tones that affirmed some of the more mystical qualities of the work. The third movement received a nicely ‘spun’ sound from Sheku while the finale displayed his left-hand technical mastery. The closing movement was genuinely exciting and what impressed throughout was Sheku and Isata’s sheer comfort both in their instruments and in expression. It was wonderful to watch such accomplished young musicians not only deliver technically on this work but also musically and emotionally.
The duo received an extended standing ovation at the end, much deserved and wrapping up a most stimulating second visit. So what date is set for the third?
© Laine Longton 2019