Image: ©️ Robin Clewley
Summertime is Isata Kanneh-Mason’s follow up to her successful 2019 debut, Romance. This new album reveals her perspective of American 20th-century music. She includes what is quintessentially ‘American’: Gershwin’s Three Preludes with their infectious roaring ‘20s vibe along with some of Earl Wild’s Gershwin transcriptions, among others. But the album also explores what she describes as a more “modern” dimension. Barber’s Piano Sonata, the album’s centerpiece, rounds out a trio of great American sonatas of the time (the others being by Elliott Carter and Aaron Copland).
The Gershwin Preludes are polished and suave in their careful dynamic shading. This amount of precision, while pianistically admirable, can be a drawback where vitality relies on an element of rawness. The first Prelude (track 9), for instance, with its lurching rhythm and jazzy slides, just asks for a boisterous sense of fun that feels much too controlled in the interpretation. The second Prelude’s dreamy Impressionism works well in the outer sections. The middle, however nostalgic, has its difference in melodic material as well as a hint of playfulness. This is something I felt could have been given more distinction.
Detailed nuances pay off, however, in the Barber Sonata. The work is a compositional paragon of balanced complexity. Sprawling chromaticism counterbalances appearances of tonal melodies and serialism; ominous and cataclysmic peaks complement ghostly whispers. A successful performance not only requires an understanding of these elements but also a level of meticulous execution in articulation and tone quality. It’s clear that Kanneh-Mason succeeds in these undertakings. In the Allegro Energico (track 4), for instance, her consonant melodies are eerie and gossamer against the arpeggiated tone rows (0’48” onwards).
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The sinister Adagio Mesto (track 6) is perhaps the Sonata’s most stirring movement. At its heart lies instability, a constant anticipation that something will boil over at some point. Kanneh-Mason’s strengths in subtlety are evident in a highly introspective interpretation. Dirge-like and chilling, this quiet approach is ironically what highlights the movement’s innate disquietude.
The massive, fugal Finale moves a bit too quickly to really experience the contrapuntal intricacy of Barber’s writing. The work certainly has a natural momentum that needs to be managed lest it gets out of hand; there are a few moments where this control slips, and it seems that the pianist pushes through the notes. The middle section, however, is well done. Secondary voices make a nice appearance and a lighter character lets us catch our breath amidst the gravity in the rest of the work. As for Barber’s Nocturne (track 3), while short, is as masterful as his Sonata. The pace is again fairly brisk, but the performance is nonetheless lovely.
In Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” (track 17), Kanneh-Mason really lets her full sound emanate in all aspects: the moments of rousing sentiment are as beautifully captured as the doleful beauty of the opening, with an impeccably well-voiced melody.
Recorded at Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall, the album has excellent sound engineering that amplifies Kanneh-Mason’s warm tone and a very well-regulated piano. For all the works present, the liner notes are a bit short but do give her insightful first hand perspective. This is an album thoughtfully put together and an enjoyable listen.
“Summertime“
Works by Gershwin, Barber, Beach, Copland, Coleridge-Taylor
Isata Kanneh-Mason – Piano
Decca Classics, CD 4851663
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