Page 10 - FULL BOOK Isata Kanneh-Mason Childhood Tales

work which takes the theme through eleven musical variations and a fugal finale.
Subtitled “for the enjoyment of friends of humour, to the annoyance of others”, it saw
great success when it was introduced in the UK in the 1910s, with its witty,
kaleidoscopic mix making this a concert favourite for many years afterwards before
falling out of fashion – it was subsequently performed almost every year at the Proms
from 1920s to 1950s. Isata is joined by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra,
with whom she previously recorded Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto for her 2019
album “Romance” on Decca.

From a young age, Isata 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. Composed by Mozart when he was around Isata’s age, it is the perfect
showpiece to pair with the Dohnányi.

Debussy’s enchanting 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, featuring
familiar tunes like Cakewalk and the playful Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum. The suite is
full of child-like charm and sentiment and portrays the experiences of childhood.
Robert Schumann’s simple and unpretentious collection of 13 short pieces,
Kinderszenen (‘Scenes from Childhood’), were intended as adult nostalgia. The most
well-known of which is Träumerei (Dreaming), a touching tribute to memories and
experiences of childhood from an adult perspective, portrayed through the rich and
poetic musical lens of Schumann.

Isata Kanneh-Mason commented: “It was in childhood where my love of classical music
first blossomed. The pieces in this album carry with them a certain nostalgia, and I feel
almost a sense of longing for childhood in some of them. That wistfulness for childhood
is something that I wanted to express, as I think it’s a time when one’s love of music is at
its most uncomplicated. Games were as big a part of my childhood as music. It was
musical…very vibrant…and very noisy. We also came up with lots of games together!
Long, elaborate games, often involving running around the house and making up stories.
Dohnányi’s ‘Variations on a Nursery Tune’ is where this album all began. I heard it live
in a concert, years ago, but knew nothing about it, not even its name: I thought it must
be a Dohnányi concerto, so it was such a surprise finding out what it was. I had to play
this piece. It’s so humorous, so exciting. I had such a strong reaction to it! Mozart’s
Twelve Variations on ‘Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman’ was a natural twinning and it’s also a
piece that I played in my childhood. It fitted very naturally, and it was lovely re-learning
it.”

Bringing new life to treasured works and shining a light on the nostalgia of childhood in
music, Isata’s artistry carries the flame for a new generation of concert pianists at the
forefront of recorded music.

Live Performances
On 3 May Isata will perform Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Song with the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra and Antony Hermus at Cadogan Hall.

Isata Kanneh-Mason: Childhood Tales