Jeneba Kanneh-Mason speelt Chopins Ballades

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, a scion of the famous English musical Kanneh-Mason family, makes her debut in the Kleine Zaal. The English pianist was raised with music: all six of her siblings play an instrument, some of them even on world stages. Kanneh-Mason won an Edison for her album Fantasie , which also features music by Chopin, whose Four Ballades she performs tonight. Fresh, original, and with a remarkably profound insight for a twenty-something, Gramophone judged her Chopin playing. Her goal during a performance? To ensure that the listener feels inspired afterwards and falls in love with the music she has just played.

Chopin

Frédéric Chopin, the frail 'beau garçon' whom the aristocratic ladies of Paris looked up to with swooning admiration, opens the depths of his soul in the Four Ballades . Just as medieval troubadours sang of chivalrous deeds, so too do Chopin's ballades tell a story, but with his own emotions as heroes. Each work is a marvel of mysterious introspection; the music sounds alternately dance-like and monumental. Chopin never wanted to perform the ballades in a single concert, as the pieces moved him too deeply. Jeneba Kanneh-Mason will perform the cycle, which inspired Liszt and Brahms, in its entirety tonight.