Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason on the music that formed him

‘I listened to the Jacqueline du Pré recording continuously and once I was youthful I suppose I attempted to repeat it, however her means of enjoying and her interpretation are so person who I learnt extra from her method to the music than from particular issues she does with the piece.

‘We grew up listening to recordings of the Elgar Cello Concerto, Beethoven Violin Concerto with Itzhak Perlman, and Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with Vladimir Ashkenazy. My brother Braimah performs the violin, my sister Isata performs the piano, and I play the cello so I’m certain it’s no coincidence – that this was the music we had been uncovered to!

‘Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet is one other piece from my childhood, which I keep in mind listening to significantly on automobile journeys. My mum signed us as much as a week-long swimming course one half time period, and the journey was about half an hour, precisely the size of the ‘Trout’. We listened to it twice a day for per week and I actually acquired to comprehend it. It’s such a joyful piece. We needed Jeneba, our fifth sibling, to study the double bass purely so we might play this piece, however my mum mentioned, ‘No, it’s too huge.’ Jeneba now performs the piano!

‘I had an opportunity to work intensively on Dvorak’s String Quartet No. 13 in G main once I was about 15 or 16, on an Easter chamber music course run by MusicWorks. It’s filled with character, selection, vary, with some extremely darkish moments and a few extremely joyful ones. It’s fairly excessive. I’ve solely performed it that after as a result of I don’t have a quartet that I play commonly with.

‘I performed Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1 for the BBC Younger Musician competitors in 2016, so you would say it modified my life, however I do know Shostakovich extra via his symphonies and his string quartets. The dimensions of his symphonies has such an influence on me, significantly No. 11. It’s a must to give it your full consideration, to expertise it together with your complete being. It may be exhausting to take heed to, however extremely transferring.

‘My expertise of symphonies is generally from listening as a result of I haven’t performed a lot in orchestras. I performed within the cello part of Chineke! once I was 16 or 17. It was my first skilled live performance and we carried out Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony – I learnt a lot from being with this glorious orchestra. In 2017 I used to be the soloist of their BBC Proms live performance, enjoying Dvořák’s Rondo in G minor.

‘The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) and Simon Rattle are a tremendous crew – we recorded the Elgar Concerto collectively in 2020 and I not too long ago performed my first stay live performance with them in Trafalgar Sq..

‘Mozart’s Requiem has at all times been my mum’s favorite piece and at the same time as a small youngster I beloved it too. I might inform that it was filled with tragedy, however some bits are so stunning and touching, it’s only a masterpiece. My new album, Track, comprises music that’s private to me and clearly my household has been a robust affect – the folks tune, ‘Myfanwy’ – which I’ve organized for 3 cellos, is my Welsh grandmother’s favorite tune. It’s good to have the ability to put collectively an album of all of the music I’ve been listening to and considering of for a few years.’