Decca Classics proudly announces Shostakovich & Britten, the new album from internationally acclaimed cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. Featuring Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto no.2, performed with John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London, alongside the cello sonatas of Shostakovich and Britten, this deeply personal recording pays tribute to cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, the towering figure who inspired both composers – and Kanneh-Mason himself.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason has a long-standing connection and affinity to Rostropovich and Shostakovich. His 2018 debut album, Inspiration, featured Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto – the piece that secured his victory at the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition and launched his international career. The album made chart history, making him the youngest cellist ever, at 18 years old, to break into the Top 20 of the UK Official Album Chart. Now, seven years later, he returns to the composer’s music with Cello Concerto no.2, an introspective masterpiece composed for Rostropovich in 1966, and the Sonata in D minor, written in 1934 for Viktor Kubatsky. “This concerto is a piece I’ve loved and studied for a long time,” Kanneh-Mason reflects. “It contains some of the most beautiful and sweetest moments in music, as well as some of the darkest and bleakest. To have all of that within one piece is very powerful.”
Following a widely acclaimed tour showcasing the concerto, his October 2024 performances with Sinfonia of London marked a triumphant culmination, earning rapturous reviews. i News hailed them as “bloody fantastic” (★★★★★), while The Guardian praised his “thoughtful yet tense interpretation,” adding, “the cello’s voice glowed all the brighter for it” (★★★★★). The tour concluded with these celebrated performances, which were followed very shortly by sessions at St Augustine’s, Kilburn.
Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s performance captures the raw vulnerability and unrelenting depth of Shostakovich’s writing. Reflecting on the recording process, he recalls: “It was very intense spending seven hours in a world of emotions that have a genuine effect on me. John is always searching for more, and the orchestra was invested in every note, which is really the dream for this piece.”
John Wilson adds, “It’s been a real joy to work with Sheku on this particular piece because we both seem to have the same idea of how we want to do it, which is what is on the page. And the fact that we had several opportunities to play is particularly rewarding and gratifying because you can get closer and closer to the truth as you go.”
A tribute to the mutual connections and musical journeys shared by Shostakovich, Rostropovich, and Britten, Kanneh-Mason says of the programme: “Musically, Shostakovich’s Second Cello Concerto, and his and Britten’s respective cello sonatas, work well together. There’s also that connection through Rostropovich, who is the cellist I really admire in terms of his playing and his legacy of commissioning new works for the instrument. This album is a homage to him.”
Alongside the Concerto, the album features Shostakovich’s Sonata in D minor, showcasing the composer’s early style, blending classical form with deeply expressive lyricism. It also includes Britten’s Cello Sonata, composed in 1961 as a testament to his friendship with Rostropovich, which was initiated through Shostakovich himself. The five-movement work is filled with stark contrasts, from its electrifying pizzicato Scherzo to the profoundly moving Elegia, which Kanneh-Mason describes as capturing “different stages of grief with extraordinary sensitivity.”
These chamber works, recorded at the historic Snape Maltings Concert Hall that was established by Britten, hold deep artistic significance. Kanneh-Mason is joined by his sister and longtime collaborator, Isata Kanneh-Mason, whose exceptional pianism brings an added dimension to the recording. “Both sonatas are amazingly written for these two instruments,” Kanneh-Mason explains. “To record them in an acoustic that enhances the music’s intricate details – especially in a place so deeply connected to Britten’s legacy – was very special.” The venue itself carries immense historical importance, as it is where Britten and Rostropovich premiered the Cello Sonata in 1961 and later recorded it for Decca in London the same year. It also became the home of Britten’s Aldeburgh Festival in 1967. Kanneh-Mason reflects, “It’s the perfect acoustic for this music, and the perfect setting as well.”
A performer of remarkable versatility, Kanneh-Mason has captivated audiences worldwide. His 2022 album, Song, bridged classical and contemporary styles, while 2020’s Elgar made history as the first-ever cello album to reach the Top 10 in the UK chart. Sheku will serve as the New York Philharmonic's Mary and James G. Wallach Artist-in-Residence for the 2025/26 season. His upcoming engagements also include an Artist in Residence role at Konzerthaus Berlin, a featured spot as Artiste Étoile at the Lucerne Festival, and major tours with the Czech Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Beyond the concert hall, Kanneh-Mason is a dedicated advocate for music education. He was appointed the first Menuhin Visiting Professor of Performance Mentoring at the Royal Academy of Music and serves as a patron of UK Music Masters. In recognition of his contributions to music, he was awarded an MBE in 2020. Sheku Kanneh-Mason plays a Matteo Goffriller cello (1700), generously on indefinite loan to him.