When cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason played at Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, he became a global celebrity in a way that classical musicians rarely achieve. He comes from a talented musical family: there were no fewer than seven Kanneh-Mason siblings on their recording of Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals.
Sheku remains the most prominent family member, the brand leader if you like; he’s even become a model for designer Paul Smith’s menswear. Public profile helps, of course, but it’s his playing that brings in the audiences. He is the Philharmonia Orchestra’s artist-in-residence for the 2022/23 season, and this was the first of several performances they’re giving of Ernest Bloch’s Schelomo (the title is the Hebrew word for “Solomon”).
