Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2; Britten: Cello Sonata Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Isata Kanneh-Mason, Sinfonia of London & John Wilson

• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): Cello Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 126:
• 1 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 126: I. Largo 12:30
• 2 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 126: II. Allegretto 04:37
• 3 Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 126: III. Allegretto 14:55
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65:
• 4 Britten: Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65: I. Dialogo. Allegro 06:09
• 5 Britten: Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65: II. Scherzo-Pizzicato. Allegretto 02:24
• 6 Britten: Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65: III. Elegia. Lento 07:31
• 7 Britten: Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65: IV. Marcia. Energico 02:02
• 8 Britten: Cello Sonata in C Major, Op. 65: V. Moto perpetuo. Presto 02:31
• Dmitri Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40:
• 9 Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40: I. Allegro non troppo – Largo 12:13
• 10 Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40: II. Allegro 03:05
• 11 Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40: III. Largo 08:32
• 12 Shostakovich: Cello Sonata in D Minor, Op. 40: IV. Allegro 03:57
• Total Runtime 01:20:26

Info for Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 2; Britten: Cello Sonata

Sheku’s 2018 chart-topping debut album, Inspiration, centred around Shostakovich’s 1st Cello Concerto. Now, he’s recorded the 2nd Cello Concerto, during a critically-acclaimed tour with John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London. The work features alongside the Shostakovich Cello Sonata and Britten Cello Sonata, recorded with his sister and frequent duo partner, Isata Kanneh-Mason. Shostakovich wrote the concerto for renowned cellist, Rostropovich, with whom he also shared a mutual friendship with Britten. The sonatas on this album were recorded in Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh, the same place that Rostropovich and Britten recorded the Britten Cello Sonata for Decca in 1968 – the recording which made Sheku fall in love with the work.

Decca Classics proudly announces Shostakovich & Britten, the new album from internationally acclaimed cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, set for release on 9th May 2025. Featuring Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2, performed with John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London, alongside the cello sonatas of Shostakovich and Britten, this deeply personal recording pays tribute to cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the towering figure who inspired both composers—and Kanneh-Mason himself.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason has a long-standing connection and affinity to Rostropovich and Shostakovich. His 2018 debut album, Inspiration, featured Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto —the piece that secured his victory at the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition and launched his international career. The album made chart history, making him the youngest cellist ever, at 18 years old, to break into the Top 20 of the UK Official Album Chart. Now, seven years later, he returns to the composer’s music with Cello Concerto No. 2, an introspective masterpiece composed for Rostropovich in 1966, and the Sonata in D minor, written in 1934 for Viktor Kubatsky. “This concerto is a piece I’ve loved and studied for a long time,” Kanneh-Mason reflects. “It contains some of the most beautiful and sweetest moments in music, as well as some of the darkest and bleakest. To have all of that within one piece is very powerful.”

Following a widely acclaimed tour showcasing the concerto, his October 2024 performances with Sinfonia of London marked a triumphant culmination, earning rapturous reviews. i News hailed them as ‘bloody fantastic’ (★★★★★), while The Guardian praised his ‘thoughtful yet tense interpretation,’ adding, ‘the cello’s voice glowed all the brighter for it’ (★★★★★). The tour concluded with these celebrated performances, which were followed very shortly by sessions at St Augustine’s, Kilburn.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s performance captures the raw vulnerability and unrelenting depth of Shostakovich’s writing. Reflecting on the recording process, he recalls: “It was very intense spending seven hours in a world of emotions that have a genuine effect on me. John is always searching for more, and the orchestra was invested in every note, which is really the dream for this piece.”

John Wilson adds, “It’s been a real joy to work with Sheku on this particular piece because we both seem to have the same idea of how we want to do it, which is what is on the page. And the fact that we had several opportunities to play is particularly rewarding and gratifying because you can get closer and closer to the truth as you go.”

A tribute to the mutual connections and musical journeys shared by Shostakovich, Rostropovich, and Britten, Kanneh-Mason says of the programme: “Musically, Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto, and his and Britten’s respective cello sonatas, work well together. There’s also that connection through Rostropovich, who is the cellist I really admire in terms of his playing and his legacy of commissioning new works for the instrument. This album is a homage to him.”

Alongside the Concerto, the album features Shostakovich’s Sonata in D minor, showcasing the composer’s early style, blending classical form with deeply expressive lyricism. It also includes Britten’s Cello Sonata, composed in 1961 as a testament to his friendship with Rostropovich, which was initiated through Shostakovich himself. The five-movement work is filled with stark contrasts, from its electrifying pizzicato Scherzo to the profoundly moving Elegia, which Kanneh-Mason describes as capturing “different stages of grief with extraordinary sensitivity.”

These chamber works, recorded at the historic Snape Maltings Concert Hall that was established by Britten, hold deep artistic significance. Kanneh-Mason is joined by his sister and longtime collaborator, Isata Kanneh-Mason, whose exceptional pianism brings an added dimension to the recording. “Both sonatas are amazingly written for these two instruments,” Kanneh-Mason explains. “To record them in an acoustic that enhances the music’s intricate details—especially in a place so deeply connected to Britten’s legacy—was very special.” The venue itself carries immense historical importance, as it is where Britten and Rostropovich premiered the Cello Sonata in 1961 and later recorded it for Decca in London the same year. It also became the home of Britten’s Aldeburgh Festival in 1967. Kanneh-Mason reflects, “It’s the perfect acoustic for this music, and the perfect setting as well.”

A performer of remarkable versatility, Kanneh-Mason has captivated audiences worldwide. His 2022 album, Song, bridged classical and contemporary styles, while 2020’s Elgar made history as the first-ever cello album to reach the Top 10 in the UK chart. Sheku will serve as the New York Philharmonic’s Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence for the 2025/26 season. His upcoming engagements also include an Artist in Residence role at Konzerthaus Berlin, a featured spot as Artiste Étoile at the Lucerne Festival, and major tours with the Czech Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Beyond the concert hall, Kanneh-Mason is a dedicated advocate for music education. He was appointed the first Menuhin Visiting Professor of Performance Mentoring at the Royal Academy of Music and serves as a patron of UK Music Masters. In recognition of his contributions to music, he was awarded an MBE in 2020. Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays a Matteo Goffriller cello (1700), generously on indefinite loan to him.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason, cello
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Sinfonia of London
John Wilson, conductor

Sheku Kanneh-Mason
one of the brightest young stars on the classical music scene, became a household name worldwide in May 2018 after performing at the Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at Windsor Castle. His performance was greeted with universal excitement after being watched by nearly two billion people globally.

The winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition, Sheku is already in great demand from major orchestras and concert halls worldwide. In January 2018, his debut recording for Decca Classics, Inspiration, was released, featuring the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. The phenomenal success of the album propelled Sheku to a debut spot at number 18 in the Official UK Album charts, and number 1 in the Classical chart. Alongside short works by Shostakovich, Offenbach, Casals, and Saint-Saëns, Sheku’s own arrangement of Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry was also featured on the album, and went viral on social media, clocking 1 million streams in its first month on Spotify alone. In June 2018, Sheku received the Male Artist of the Year and the Critics’ Choice awards at the re-launched Classic BRIT Awards, and in July 2018 became the first artist to receive the new BRIT Certified Breakthrough Award, having sold over 30,000 copies of his debut album in the UK and surpassing 100,000 album sales worldwide.

Sheku has already performed with a number of the major UK orchestras and made debuts in the 18/19 season with the Seattle Symphony, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra at the Concertgebouw, the Atlanta Symphony, the Japan Philharmonic as well as returning to the BBC Symphony Orchestra to perform the Elgar Concerto in his hometown of Nottingham.

In 19/20, he opens the London Philharmonic season and makes debuts with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra among others. He also makes his debut in a number of major German cities performing Elgar with the CBSO.

Recital performances in 18/19 and 19/20 have included and will include debuts at the Barbican Centre’s Milton Court, Wigmore Hall, Zurich Tonhalle, Lucerne Festival, as well as a major tour of North America to include concerts in Boston, Los Angeles, Berkeley, Ann Arbor, Minnesota and Sheku’s recital debut at Carnegie Hall New York.

In 2017, Sheku made his BBC Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall as soloist with the Chineke! Orchestra, an ensemble with which he enjoys a special relationship, having taken part in their debut concert at the Royal Festival Hall in 2015 and returning as soloist to perform the Haydn Concerto in September 2016. He returned to the Albert Hall to perform the Elgar Concerto at the Proms in Summer 2019. Sheku is passionate about the importance of making classical music accessible to all and is currently the first London Music Masters Junior Ambassador. In 2018/19, he began a two year role as ‘Young Artist in Residence’ at the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic taking part in the orchestra’s education programme as well as performing in Liverpool a number of times across the two seasons.

In February 2018, Sheku performed ‘Evening of Roses’ at the BAFTAS Awards show at the Royal Albert Hall. He was joined on stage by four of his six siblings, all of whom perform classical music to an exceptional standard. This was the first time any artist has been invited to perform during the ceremony two years running and followed his memorable performance of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ at the 2017 BAFTAs, the subsequent recording going viral on YouTube.

In July 2019, Sheku was awarded the prestigious 2019 PPL Classical Award at the O2 Silver Clef ceremony in support of independent music therapy charity, Nordoff Robbins. In 2017, he was awarded the South Bank Sky Arts Breakthrough Award, given by the judges to the most promising young Artist across all genres, following recent winners Billie Piper and Stormzy. He has performed alongside Hollywood A-listers in ‘The Children’s Monologues’ directed by Danny Boyle at Carnegie Hall New York and has played at No. 10 Downing Street in front of an illustrious guest list for Black History Month.

Sheku is currently a full-time ABRSM Scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Hannah Roberts. He began learning the cello at the age of six with Sarah Huson-Whyte and then studied with Ben Davies at the Junior Department of the Royal Academy of Music where he held the ABRSM Junior Scholarship. He has received masterclass tuition from Guy Johnston, Robert Max, Alexander Baillie, Steven Doane, Rafael Wallfisch, Jo Cole, Melissa Phelps and Julian Lloyd Webber and in July 2017, participated in the Verbier Festival Academy in masterclasses with Frans Helmerson and Miklos Perenyi. A keen chamber musician, Sheku performs with his sister, Isata and brother, Braimah, as a member of the Kanneh-Mason Trio. He plays an Antonius and Hieronymus Amati cello c.1610, kindly on loan from a private collection.

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.