Page 7 - FULL BOOK Isata Kanneh-Mason Childhood Tales

Isata evokes the magic of childhood in this charming collection of nostalgic music. The
album is centred around Ernő Dohnányi’s rarely performed Variations on a Nursery Song,
expanding the well-known ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ into a truly virtuosic 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
recognisable 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 symbolises 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. More information and
tickets here.