Tickets from £31.50
Sinfonia Viva
Jonathan Bloxham conductor
Isata Kanneh-Mason piano
Braimah Kanneh-Mason violin
Sheku Kanneh-Mason presenter
Nottingham Harmonic Choir
Mozart Overture to The Magic Flute
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4
Brahms Schicksalslied
Beethoven Romance for Violin No. 2
Vaughan Williams Toward the Unknown Region
Mozart’s Overture to the Magic Flute launches the concert with both the Masonic solemnity and the comedic high spirits of his opera before concluding with energy and bravado. Premiered alongside his legendary Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, Beethoven, typically innovative, distinctively introduces the first movement of his Piano Concerto No. 4 with the only the piano, soon joined by the orchestra with grandeur and lyricism. The slow movement beautifully contrasts agitated orchestral motifs with the gentle and poignant solo piano, leading into a determined, graceful, and proud finale.
Brahms’s dramatic cantata Schicksalslied (‘Song of Fate’) was inspired by Friedrich Hölderlin’s poem concerning the Greek mythical titan Hyperion, and the contrast it makes between the blissful lives of the Immortals and the restless existence of human beings, buffeted by fate. Composed only two years before his Piano Concerto No. 4, Beethoven’s Romance for Violin No. 2 is delicate and light, with refined phrasing and balance, a youthful escape as he came to terms with his hearing loss.
The final choral item forms a fascinating contrast to Schicksalslied. There’s a more optimistic mood embraced by Vaughan Williams’ Toward the Unknown Region, as you might expect from a work reflecting the composer’s admiration for Walt Whitman’s transcendent poetry. The spirit of adventure reigns throughout, Whitman’s visionary words unleashing wave after wave of musical elation.
Change to programme
As a result of Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s recent finger injury, we have needed to change this programme. Sheku and his siblings were due to be performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto.
Sheku has been advised to refrain from playing his cello to allow it to heal and consequently has withdrawn from all engagements for the remainder of 2025. He will make a gentle return to playing in the new year as part of the rehabilitation process, but this means that there is insufficient time to rehearse the Beethoven work adequately with his siblings. Whilst he is very disappointed not to be able to perform as planned, we are pleased to confirm that Isata and Braimah will be performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 and Romance for Solo Violin No. 2 respectively. Sheku will join his siblings on stage during the evening of the concert to introduce these pieces and he looks forward to returning to the concert platform for his European engagements in spring 2026.
Free pre-concert talk, 6.20pm in the auditorium: Braimah, Sheku and Isata Kanneh-Mason in conversation.
