
Al Hakawati
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Cologne, Germany
Featuring Canadian: Miriam Khalil
Text from the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln website:
Karim Al-Zand
Al Hakawati
Composition commission from WDR, the Orchestre National de France and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music
German premiere
Dmitri Shostakovich
Concerto No. 1 in E flat major for violoncello and orchestra op. 107
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Sheherazade op. 35
Miriam Khalil soprano
Sheku Kanneh-Mason cello
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Cristian Măcelaru conductor
At just 17 years old, Sheku Kanneh-Mason won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2016 and has since become one of the rising stars of the international classical music world. Shostakovich’s first cello concerto is tailor-made for the young Brit’s virtuoso, sensual playing, with many moments of great emotional depth hidden behind its dancing joy. The gripping work with its dazzling timbres fits wonderfully with the musical fairy tales from One Thousand and One Nights by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, in which the adventures of Sinbad and other heroes pass by in a brilliant sound painting.










