Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason Makes Solo Baltimore Recital Debut At Shriver Hall

Shriver Hall Concert Series kicks off its 2024-25 and 59th concert season with acclaimed pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason in her solo Baltimore Recital Debut on Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 5:30pm.

This will mark Isata Kanneh-Mason's third appearance with Shriver Hall Concert Series, after performing with her brother, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, in 2019 on the free Discovery Series and in 2022 on the Subscription Series. As a solo performer and chamber musician, Kanneh-Mason – “A profound and greatly gifted artist who radiates warmth, joy, and much-needed musical sunshine” (Gramophone) – is in great demand internationally, offering eclectic and interesting repertoire with her recital programs. 

Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 serves as the anchor of her October 6 program, a treat for Baltimore audiences as the composition makes a powerful return to the Shriver stage after 20 years. Also featured on the program are works by Haydn (Sonata No. 50 in C major, Hob. XVI:50), Clara Schumann (Nocturne in F major, Op. 6, No. 2), Carl Nielsen (Chaconne, Op. 32), and Sofia Gubaidulina (Chaconne).

As a Decca Classics recording artist, Isata recently released her fourth solo album, Mendelssohn, on August 9, 2024, presenting music from two Mendelssohn siblings, including the First Piano Concerto by Felix and the long-lost ‘Easter Sonata' by his elder sister Fanny. She also recently performed during the opening night of the 2024 BBC Proms, London's 8-week classical music festival. In 2021, she was awarded the Leonard Bernstein Award, an internationally coveted prize for young musicians, and is also an Opus Klassik award recipient.

The next mainstage concert in the SHCS 2024-25 season features the “gutsy” (The Guardian) Escher String Quartet and the “dazzling” (New York Classical Review) violist Jordan Bak on Sunday, October 27, 2024 at 5:30pm, as they perform works by Mozart, Dvořák, and Brahms. The Escher String Quartet has received acclaim for its profound musical insight and rare tonal beauty. A former BBC New Generation Artist and recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Quartet has performed at the BBC Proms at Cadogan Hall and is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall, both in London. In its hometown of New York, the ensemble serves as 2024-25 Season Artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Award-winning Jamaican-American violist Jordan Bak has achieved international acclaim as a trailblazing artist, praised for his radiant stage presence, dynamic interpretations, and fearless power. He returns to SHCS after making his Baltimore Debut in 2022 on SHCS's free Discovery Series.

Shriver Hall Concert Series opens its 2024-25 free Discovery Series with guitarist Raphaël Feuillâtre's Baltimore Debut on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 3pm at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Hailed as “A tremendously versatile and sensitive player” by Classical Guitar, Feuillâtre has made international waves as a competition winner and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist. In his Baltimore Debut, Feuillâtre shares his passion for Baroque music with works by J.S. Bach and his French contemporaries and shines in exuberant selections by South American composers spanning the centuries.

Shriver Hall Concert Series' season is made possible through generous support from the Maryland State Arts Council, Baltimore County Commission for Arts & Sciences, and Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts.

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Concert Information
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano (Solo Baltimore Recital Debut)
Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 5:30pm
Shriver Hall | 3400 N. Charles Street | Baltimore, MD 21218
Tickets: $46 Single Tickets, $10 Students
Link: shriverconcerts.org/kanneh-mason 

Joseph Haydn: Piano Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI:50 
CLARA SCHUMANN: Nocturne in F major, Op. 6, No. 2
CARL NIELSEN: Chaconne, Op. 32
SOFIA GUBAIDULINA: Chaconne
FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58

The Yale Gordon Young Artist Concert

About Isata Kanneh-Mason

Pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason offers eclectic and interesting recital programs with repertoire encompassing Franz Joseph Haydn and W.A. Mozart, Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann, Frédéric Chopin and Johannes Brahms to George Gershwin and beyond. In concerto, she is equally at home in Felix Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann as in Sergei Prokofiev and Ernő Dohnányi.  

Kanneh-Mason is in high demand from concert halls and orchestras worldwide. Following her phenomenally successful concerto debut at the BBC Proms in 2023, she was invited to open the festival in July 2024 with the BBC Symphony and conductor Elim Chan, a performance which resulted in stellar reviews in the mainstream press. She appears as concerto soloist with the European Union Youth Orchestra and Iván Fischer in summer 2024 performing Dohnányi's Variations on a Nursery Tune at Carnegie Hall, the Grafenegg Festival, and Bolzano Festival Bozen.  

Highlights of the 2024-25 season include Ludwig van Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto at the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie's FREISPIEL festival and at the Ulster Orchestra's season opening concert; and Prokofiev's Third Concerto with the Chineke! Orchestra on tour at Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, the Berliner Philharmonie, Brussels's BOZAR, and London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Solo recital appearances include the Lucerne Festival, Piano aux Jacobins Toulouse, the Schumann-Haus Düsseldorf, PHIL Haarlem, and on tour across the U.S. In concerto performance, Kanneh-Mason appears with the London, Bergen, Bremen, and Duisburg philharmonics, the North Carolina Symphony, and on tour with the Staatskapelle Weimar, and the Residentie Orkest. 

Kanneh-Mason continues her longstanding duo collaboration with her cellist brother, Sheku, with performances in the U.K. and on tour across Europe, the U.S., and Canada. She also gives performances with bass-baritone Gerald Finley in the Czech Republic and Germany. 

In 2023-24, Kanneh-Mason gave performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, NCPA Orchestra Beijing, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on tour in the U.S. and Germany, Cleveland Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, and Stockholm Philharmonic among others. She appeared in solo recital at the Beethoven Bonn and Rheingau festivals, and venues around the globe such as London's Wigmore Hall, New York's Carnegie Hall, Boston's Jordan Hall, and the Konzerthaus Dortmund. 

Kanneh-Mason is a Decca Classics artist and has recorded four solo albums for the label – Romance (2019), Summertime (2021), Childhood Tales (2023), and Mendelssohn (2024). Her latest release presents music from two Mendelssohn siblings, including the glittering First Piano Concerto by Felix and the long-lost Easter Sonata by his exceptionally talented but overlooked elder sister Fanny, alongside transcriptions of some of Felix's most famous music by Serge Rachmaninoff and Franz Liszt. 

Kanneh-Mason has received many awards, including the coveted Leonard Bernstein Award from the Schleswig-Holstein Festival and an Opus Klassik award for best young artist. She also enjoys composing and arranging and released two albums of her favorite works for intermediate and advanced piano students through ABRSM Publishing in 2023. 

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