In this week’s new releases, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason explores both Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn, Klaus Mäkelä and the Oslo Philharmonic bite off a big chunk of Shostakovich, and Sony releases Ryuichi Sakamoto’s final piano recital in an emotional farewell.
“Mendelssohn”
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
Jonathan Bloxham, conductor
London Mozart Players
Decca
Isata Kanneh-Mason knows a few things about famous siblings. In her latest album, she unleashes her blazing keyboard technique beginning with the excitement of Felix Mendelssohn’s first piano concerto and ending with the warmth and Romanticism of Fanny Mendelssohn’s “Easter Sonata.” Along the way, we get a healthy dose of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” transcribed for piano — the scherzo is as much a delight here as with a full orchestra — and “Songs Without Words.” Once again Kanneh-Mason proves she has the skills to stand admirably on her own from her famous brother.
Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6
Klaus Mäkelä, conductor
Oslo Philharmonic
Klaus Mäkelä is wasting no time establishing himself as a leading proponent of earth 20th Century classical music. After recording the complete Sibelius symphony cycle with the Oslo Philharmonic and the major works of Stravinsky and Debussy with the Orchestre de Paris, we see him now biting into Shostakovich’s symphonies from the late 1930s. Mäkelä hasn’t yet created the sensation on recordings that he has achieved in concert halls — will this be the one?
“Opus”
Ryuichi Sakamoto, piano
Milan/Sony
Ryuichi Sakamoto was an extraordinary composer and pianist whether he was writing the Academy Award-winning score to the film “The Laster Emperor,” collaborating with experimental electronic music producers Alva Noto and Fennesz, or releasing his solo albums such as “async” and “12.” This album, which is paired with a film released June 30 on The Criterion Channel, captures his emotional final performance in March 2023 at age 71. A true icon.
