My colleagues and I often try to provide context for our staff picks, but in this instance, the name Florence Price speaks for itself! Seeing her name in the program of Jeneba Kanneh-Mason’s recital at the Ruhr Piano Festival was enough to make me watch, and I was not disappointed…
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A recital is a very special format that offers the artist the chance to perform a tailored program of works that are meaningful to them, and the audience a chance to gain a deeper understanding of the performer and their musical interests. As Marc-André Hamelin, another 2025 Ruhr Piano Festival artist, puts it: “my programs always offer the opportunity to discover one or two things that are relatively unknown but [which] deserve to be heard and shared.”
In her recital, British pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason takes us on a journey through the depths of the piano repertoire, from the fabulous counterpoint of Bach’s Partita No. 5 in G Major, to the frenzied 3rd movement of Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, via the one work that stood out to me from the start: Florence Price’s Fantasie Nègre No. 1. What I love about Price’s work is the feeling of joyful, confident nostalgia that flows from her melodies. It’s what I always look for and enjoy the most when listening to her music. I’m very familiar with Price’s orchestral works — such as her Violin Concerto No. 2 — and I was curious to see whether, without strings, her music would still contain the same striking melodies, joyful nostalgia, and soaring moments of grandeur that I find so moving, and it absolutely does. The main melodic motif is played in both the left and right hands, the alternation adding satisfying textural depth to the piece.
The main melody moves from the right to the left hand, creating an incredible sense of depth.
Writing a staff pick is an engaging exercise that allows us to dive deeper than ever into the works we enjoy, as we try to hear them in new ways and understand what makes them resonate so well with us as individuals. It is also an opportunity to share our thoughts, not just with you, our readers, but also among colleagues here at medici.tv! We’re always discussing concerts, jokingly judging each other’s tastes, and helping each other to understand the incredible art form of music. I enjoyed writing this staff pick as much as I enjoyed watching and listening to Jeneba’s concert, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
