Page 92 - FULL BOOK Isata Kanneh-Mason Childhood Tales

Isata Kanneh-Mason: Childhood Tales (Decca)

Ernst von Dohnányi’s Variations on a Nursery Song is one of the great concertante
works for piano and orchestra, rightly compared to a full-scale concerto by soloist
Isata Kanneh-Mason. You’ll struggle to hear a live performance though in the UK,
though; hopefully this high-profile release will give the work a leg up. My favourite
joke comes at the very start, with Dohnányi’s portentous, brilliantly scored intro
dragging us into the depths before a naïve, familiar tune enters as if nothing
untoward has happened. This big-hearted piece is genuinely funny, the successive
variations cleverly pastiching a selection of composers who Dohnányi’s audience
would have instantly recognised at the 1914 premiere. Brahms, Tchaikovsky and
Dukas are among the more obvious ones, Variation 9’s lolloping bassoon solos lifted
from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. I love Variation 10’s slow passacaglia and the brilliant
closing fugato. Kanneh-Mason’s performance is excellent, the playing sharp, witty
and affectionate. And she’s given colourful accompaniment by the Royal Liverpool