Kanneh-Mason, Jeneba - Fantasie CD

On her debut album "Fantasie", pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, born in 2002, demonstrates the extraordinary range of her musical talent. She combines works by Claude Debussy, Frédéric Chopin and Alexander Scriabin with compositions by Florence Price, Margaret Bonds and William Grant to create a poetic whole. "I've always loved putting together programs that flow from one piece to the next, and all of these works mean a lot to me," says Jeneba Kanne-Mason. "By bringing them together here for my debut album, I'm not only showing more of myself as a musician, but also sharing the very different styles of music I grew up with." Frédéric Chopin plays a central role in Jeneba Kanneh-Mason's repertoire, and she opens the album with his Second Piano Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 35, one of his most powerful works, renowned for its emotional depth and urgency as well as technical brilliance. This is followed by the Nocturnes Op. 27, two contrasting pieces that demonstrate Chopin's mastery of expressing complex emotions in music. "These pieces have to sound like they're being improvised," she reveals. "I had to internalize the notes down to the smallest detail so that I'm free to play and see what happens." From Chopin, she leads the listener into the sound world of Claude Debussy with his Préludes - La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair from Book 1) and Bruyères (Heather from Book 2). Then Jeneba Kanneh-Mason plays three works by Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) - namely two of his Préludes op. 11, youthful works, and his Sonata No. 2. "Chopin and Scriabin both have a wonderful way of making the piano sing," she comments. "What I also love about Scriabin's music is its colorfulness. When he chooses a certain key, it is exactly that key and no other." At the heart of her program are three African-American composers who are particularly close to Jeneba Kanneh-Mason's heart - Florence Price (1887-1953), Margaret Bonds (1913-1972) and William Grant Still (1895-1978) - each in their own way a pioneer of new forms of musical expression. Her affinity with Florence Price is palpable, dating back to her 2021 BBC Proms debut with Price's Piano Concerto. "I was very grateful to play Florence Price's music at the BBC Proms and am delighted to have it on my album. At many concerts where I've played her Fantasia in E minor, people have come up to me after the performance and said, 'That was my favorite piece; I really liked that I think it's because her music is very vulnerable and speaks directly to the heart." Troubled Water by Margaret Bonds - a student and friend of Florence Price and promoter of her music, who played Price's concerto at the premiere in 1934 - is based on the spiritual Wade in the Water and combines syncopation, jazz influences and virtuoso challenges. "I listened to it a lot as a child. It was an easy decision for me to include it in my debut album," explains Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, referring to the rhythmic intensity in Bonds' work. William Grant Still's Summerland is a vision of paradise and suggests a similar musical world to Debussy's Préludes for the pianist.