Elgar (2020)

performed by Alinka Rowe (viola), Ashok Klouda (cello), Ayla Sahin (violin), Ben Davies (cello), Braimah Kanneh-Mason (violin), Caroline Dearnley (cello), Chris Murray (cello), Desmond Neysmith (cello), Hannah Roberts (cello), Heath Quartet, Jo Cole (cello)
composed by Edward Elgar, English Traditional, Ernest Bloch, Frank Bridge, Gabriel Fauré, Julius Klengel

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, just 20 years old when this album was recorded in 2019, can be forgiven for taking a bit of a breather with this, his sophomore release. After all, he had been riding a wave of celebrity nearly unprecedented for a young classical musician: an appearance with his siblings on "Britain's Got Talent" in 2015, the BBC Young Musician award (the first black player so honored) the following year and a performance before an audience of three billion at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018 ... Read More

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, just 20 years old when this album was recorded in 2019, can be forgiven for taking a bit of a breather with this, his sophomore release. After all, he had been riding a wave of celebrity nearly unprecedented for a young classical musician: an appearance with his siblings on "Britain's Got Talent" in 2015, the BBC Young Musician award (the first black player so honored) the following year and a performance before an audience of three billion at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. The Elgar album largely follows the pattern of Kanneh-Mason's debut, Inspiration, which featured a 20th century repertory concerto (there, the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 107, here, the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85) surrounded by smaller works. Here, the encore-type pieces are laid on a bit thick: most are arranged from their original form. It's true the cello repertory is a bit sparse, but the chamber cello arrangements on this album have a... Read Less