Childhood Tales Isata Kanneh-Mason

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791): 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265:
• 1Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Theme00:34
• 2Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 100:28
• 3Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 200:27
• 4Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 300:27
• 5Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 400:27
• 6Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 500:29
• 7Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 600:25
• 8Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 700:28
• 9Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 800:38
• 10Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 900:27
• 11Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 1000:28
• 12Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 11. Adagio02:20
• 13Mozart: 12 Variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je Maman", K. 265: Var. 12. Allegro01:03
• Ernő Dohnányi (1877 - 1960): Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25:
• 14Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Introduction. Maestoso03:34
• 15Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Theme. Allegro01:00
• 16Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 1. Poco più mosso00:38
• 17Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 2. Risoluto00:32
• 18Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 3. L'istesso tempo01:26
• 19Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 4. Molto meno mosso (Allegretto moderato)01:07
• 20Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 5. Più mosso00:59
• 21Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 6. Ancora più mosso (Allegro)00:40
• 22Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 7. Walzer (Tempo giusto)02:12
• 23Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 8. Alla marcia (Allegro moderato)01:30
• 24Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 9. Presto - Andante rubato01:52
• 25Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 10. Passacaglia (Adagio non troppo)04:22
• 26Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Var. 11. Choral (Maestoso)01:38
• 27Dohnányi: Variations on a Nursery Song, Op. 25: Finale fugato. Allegro vivace03:30
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Children's Corner, CD 119:
• 28Debussy: Children's Corner, CD 119: I. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum02:18
• 29Debussy: Children's Corner, CD 119: II. Jimbo's Lullaby03:20
• 30Debussy: Children's Corner, CD 119: III. Serenade for the Doll02:41
• 31Debussy: Children's Corner, CD 119: IV. The Snow Is Dancing02:39
• 32Debussy: Children's Corner, CD 119: V. The Little Shepherd02:35
• 33Debussy: Children's Corner, CD 119: VI. Cakewalk03:03
• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Kinderszenen, Op. 15:
• 34Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 1, Von fremden Ländern und Menschen01:41
• 35Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 2, Kuriose Geschichte01:03
• 36Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 3, Hasche-Mann00:31
• 37Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 4, Bittendes Kind00:53
• 38Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 5, Glückes genug00:39
• 39Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 6, Wichtige Begebenheit00:47
• 40Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 7, Träumerei02:36
• 41Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 8, Am Kamin00:53
• 42Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 9, Ritter vom Steckenpferd00:39
• 43Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 10, Fast zu ernst01:46
• 44Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 11, Fürchtenmachen01:53
• 45Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 12, Kind im Einschlummern01:45
• 46Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 13, Der Dichter spricht02:35
• Total Runtime01:07:58

Info for Childhood Tales

Isata Kanneh-Mason evokes the magic of childhood in this charming collection – nostalgic music written for grown-ups, about childhood.

The eldest of the famous musical siblings, Isata’s first memory of playing the piano was as a five-year-old on holiday in the Caribbean and sitting in front of her grandparents’ instrument. With a reputation for inventive programs, expressive performance and accomplished technique, Isata is in increasing demand nationally and internationally.

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.

Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Domingo Hindoyan, conductor

Isata Kanneh-Mason
A postgraduate student at London’s Royal Academy of Music, Isata Kanneh-Mason has embarked on a successful and increasingly busy concert career as a solo artist, with concerto appearances, solo recitals and chamber concerts throughout the UK and abroad. Isata also continues to perform with her siblings, including regular duo recitals with her brother, the cellist, Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Highlights this season include appearances at the Lucerne Festival, the Zurich Tonhalle, Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Saint-Denis Festival in Paris, and an extensive US tour, including their debut recital at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Isata has also performed in the Portland Piano Series in Oregon, the Barbican Centre’s Sound Unbound Series, The Color of Music Festival in South Carolina, in Amsterdam, the Caribbean, the Cayman Islands, and Canada.

Isata reached her category final in the 2014 BBC Young Musician competition, winning the Walter Todds Bursary for the most promising musician before the Grand Final. She has since performed several times on television and radio, including BBC Radio 3 In Tune, the Radio 3 RPS Awards, BBC2 Proms Extra, Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, Al Jazeera TV, BBC World Service, Channel 4, The One Show, ITV Born To Shine, BBC2 Classroom Heroes, and a feature for CBS’s Sunday Morning.

A highlight of 2019 will be the release in the summer of Isata’s first recording for Decca Classics, an album of Clara Schumann’s piano music in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth. At the centre of the album is the piano concerto, recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Holly Mathieson.

Having been awarded the Gwendolyn Reiche scholarship for postgraduate study, Isata continues to learn with Carole Presland at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She previously completed her undergraduate degree at the Academy as an Elton John scholar, and performed with Sir Elton in 2013 in Los Angeles.

Isata is grateful to Nottingham Soroptimist Trust, Mr and Mrs John Bryden, Frank White, Awards for Young Musicians, and Sir Elton John.

This album contains no booklet.