Bold Tendencies continue their sell-out series of concerts in Peckham with Isata Kanneh-Mason playing Beethoven, Barber, and Jazz-inspired Gershwin.

the performer:

Isata Kanneh-Mason

the programme:

Beethoven Sonata in A major + Gershwin Three Preludes + Chopin Nocturne No. 13 + Barber Piano Sonata in E-flat minor

the music:

Isata Kanneh-Mason will kick off this great concert with Beethoven’s second piano sonata. I’ve always really liked the way this piece moves quickly from angsty tension-building to optimism and fun.

At the point this clip starts the music is getting increasingly tense. Watch and listen out for the left hand quickly playing the chord underneath the tune - often associated with intensity. This section builds until it suddenly breaks off, but the angst is still there. Listen out for the moment when, with dramatic flourishes, the tension is released and the music becomes joyful and fun.

Next up Gershwin, and Jazz. Gershwin wrote his Three Preludes in the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan in 1926. It’s easy to hear blues, jazz and even Brazilian influences in these three pieces.

Listen to the opening of the the first one here - you can almost imagine Louis Armstrong playing that first little phrase. When the Brazilian dance rhythm kicks off after that, it’s pure happiness. It’s not all rhythmic and fast though, the second prelude is a beautiful slow blues that wouldn’t be out of place in a smoky NYC jazz club…

Then to Chopin, for a short and beautiful nocturne. This music is so intimate and expressive - it’s hard not to get hypnotised.

Listen to Valentina Lisitsa play it in a packed Royal Albert Hall at the beginning of this clip.

Finally, the American composer Samuel Barber’s Piano Sonata from 1949. This is F I R E. It’s not always easy listening, but it’s vibrant, vital and, at times, challenging. There’s a hauntingly beautiful third movement, lots of bouncing, playful and jagged rhythms, and a genius finale.

The last movement is what’s called a ‘fugue’ (skip to 14.21). A fugue is one of the most difficult types of music to write, but will make your brain bend when you start to get how it works. It starts with a tune without any accompaniment. Then that same tune is harmonised by… the other hand playing the same tune. Eventually it sounds like there are lots of different versions of the original tune weaving in and out of each other.

It’ll be a really showy and powerful way to end this amazingly varied concert.

the performer:

Isata Kanneh-Mason is only 24, but is already a big name. She’s performed with Elton John in LA and won loads of prizes, all while still studying at the Royal Academy of Music. Even when she did her Grade 8 piano exam age 10, she got the highest mark in the UK… some people have always been headed for fame.

the venue:

This isn’t just any car park. Bold Tendencies have been running this multi-storey in Peckham as an art, music and dance venue since 2007. Over the last 13 years they’ve converted one of the floors into a concert hall and another into a rooftop bar and restaurant called Frank’s Cafe…

the price:

£16.80