Volume 27 Issue 6 | April 15 - May 27, 2022

CRISTOPHE KOSTLIN She

CRISTOPHE KOSTLIN She now forms a more or less official duo with Sheku. “My brother Braimah is a violinist and we sometimes play with him as a trio, but he also likes to play with his younger sisters Konya and Jeneba. Funny actually, for us our musical family life is the most normal thing in the world, there is nothing special about it. Only when Sheku was the first to become more famous did we become interested in us as a family.” Their participation in the popular TV show Britain’s Got Talent has also contributed to this. “We liked introducing classical music to a wider audience, I think a lot of people have seen that. But if we all make music at home, it’s really normal for us.” Rachmaninoff is her favourite composer. “As a six-year-old I could listen to the CD with the second piano concerto [with Vladimir Ashkenazy] for hours. But I also liked to listen to Elgar’s cello concerto with Jacqueline du Pré and Beethoven’s violin concerto. And I was obsessed with La Traviata. I don’t go to the opera very often, but I think it’s fantastic. I like a lot of different things.” As she told The Big Issue on October 18, 2021: “I think when you grow up surrounded by music, you understand it. Our house was full of so much richness in that sense. We grew up with music always there. I think it really does shape you. I feel everyone should have that – whether or not you want to grow up to be a musician, you should have music in the household.” Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Isata Kanneh-Mason make their Toronto debut in Koerner Hall on May 6 at 8pm with a program that includes Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No. 4 in C Major, op. 102, no. 1; Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata in D Minor, op. 40; Frank Bridge’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor; and Britten’s Cello Sonata in C Major, op. 65. Jan Lisiecki AND BRIEFLY Three questions for Jan Lisiecki Jan Lisiecki has expanded his repertoire to include Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.2 which TSO music director Gustavo Gimeno has paired with Tchaikovsky’s fervid Symphony No.5, April 22 to 24. Lisiecki was kind enough to answer three brief questions about it: How long has Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.2 been in your repertoire? What drew you to it? And Have you worked with Gustavo Gimeno previously? JL: The first time I performed it was only in February of this year, and I have played it in three cities since. I am always curious to explore new musical worlds – a different “language”, so to speak – and this has been my portal to Prokofiev’s sphere. And yes: I have worked with Gustavo previously, in Luxembourg – and I am looking forward to meeting him once again in his new role! Following his TSO appearance, on April 26, Bravo Niagara! Festival of the Arts hosts Lisiecki in a program titled “Jan Lisiecki: Poems of the Night” – a revelatory collection of Chopin’s Nocturnes and Études Op.10. Be prepared for some magical juxtapositions at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, Robertson Theatre, 250 St. Paul St., St. Catharines. QUICK PICKS APR 28, 1:30PM: The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto’s season concludes with the Viano String Quartet, winner of the first prize in the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition. The program includes Borodin’s ravishing String Quartet No.2 and Prokofiev’s String Quartet No.2, composed in 1942 after Prokofiev was evacuated to the southern Soviet Union, as the German army approached Moscow. Clearly stimulated by his new environment, he filled his string quartet with the exotic folk-songs, dance rhythms and harmonies of the region. APR 28, 8PM: Music Toronto presents the Penderecki String Quartet, now in the third decade of an extraordinary career, having become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of their generation, performing a wide range of repertoire from classical to contemporary. Their Jane Mallett Theatre concert features works by Haydn, Mozetich, Penderecki and Dvořák. MAY 1, 2:30PM: Versatile Canadian violinist Mark Fewer leads the Niagara Symphony Orchestra strings in Vivaldi’s beloved The Four Seasons. Then the full orchestra led by Bradley Thachuk takes the stage for Respighi’s The Pines of Rome. The world premiere of Kevin Lau’s Concert Suite No. 2 from his ballet, Le Petit Prince, offers a tantalizing taste of the timeless French fable. Mark Fewer MAY 8, 8PM: French cellist Gautier Capuçon returns to Toronto (with French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet). This will be his third visit to the Koerner Hall stage since two previous sold-out concerts with Yuja Wang and Jérôme Ducros. The appealing program includes Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 73; Brahms’ Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 38; Debussy’s Sonata for Cello in D Minor; and Shostakovich’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in D Minor, Op. 40. MAY 15, 7PM: INNERchamber Ensemble presents “Theme & Evolutions.” Common ground is the starting point for musical fusion. Using Bach’s Goldberg Variations as a starting point, the performers will tackle the theme of connection. Graham Hargrove, percussion; Daniel Ramjattan, guitar; Joe Phillips, bass; Andrew Chung, violin. Revival House, 70 Brunswick St., Stratford. Pre-show 6:30pm. A light meal is available for patrons in Stratford. LIVE & LIVESTREAM MAY 21, 8PM: Kindred Spirits Orchestra. “Love and Turmoil.” Inspired by the 16th-century fresco by Raphael, Hindemith paints his own endearing musical picture depicting the myth of Amor and Psyché. Internationally renowned award-winning Spanish-Bulgarian pianist Ludmil Angelov takes centre stage with Rachmaninoff’s colourful and jazz-flavoured Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No.4. Written during the years of postwar Stalinist Russia, Prokofiev’s Symphony No.6 is a tragically ominous reflection of society and the composer’s own inner turmoil. Kristian Alexander, conductor. Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, 10268 Yonge St.,Richmond Hill. $15-. LIVE, ONLINE OR RECORDED Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote. BO HUANG 10 | April 15 - May 27, 2022 thewholenote.com

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