He performed at Harry and Meghan’s wedding. At the TSO, British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason proves he’s not a one-hit wonder

Comparisons are unfair, but it’s hard not to draw parallels between the careers of Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Jacqueline du Pré. The latter captivated audiences with her preternatural abilities and larger-than-life musical personality, tragically cut short by multiple sclerosis. The former, who appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Friday and Saturday, rose to fame after performing at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Both are British cellists. Both achieved mainstream success at an early age. Both, somewhat coincidentally, recorded Edward Elgar’s “Cello Concerto” at the age of 20.

While du Pré, throughout her short career, was considered by many to be the standard-bearer of British classical music, today it’s Kanneh-Mason, now 23, who holds that position.

It’s fitting given that he supposedly fell in love with classical music after listening to du Pré’s recording of the Elgar concerto — the definitive version, as far as I’m concerned. Piers and Hilary du Pré, the late cellist’s siblings, even said that Kanneh-Mason is the first cellist since their sister, who died in 1987, to possess a “natural and vibrant abandonment when playing.”

Those qualities were on full display Friday. Kanneh-Mason, who gained a significant social media following after the royal wedding in 2018, offered a skilled performance of Elgar’s “Cello Concerto” on Friday alongside the TSO.

The piece is one of the staples of the classical cello repertoire, but Kanneh-Mason’s interpretation was different enough from those that have preceded him that it will likely quell any urge to draw comparisons.

His “Cello Concerto” was tender and introverted. The recitative in the opening movement shimmered hauntingly as it floated above the bed of string accompaniment.

Given that Elgar composed this concerto after the Great War, using it as a release for his wartime pain and cynicism, it’s refreshing to hear a rendition that so wholly yields to the piece’s introspective qualities.

This extends to Kanneh-Mason’s onstage personality as well. He’s not a flashy musician by any means, performing instead with a quiet poise, allowing the music to sing freely and only occasionally lowering his head to the body of his instrument, as if pulling every last note from his 18th-century Venetian cello.

It’s also clear that Kanneh-Mason has strong technical command of his instrument, navigating the pizzicato passages and the 16th-note motifs with panache.

There were times during the performance, however, when the tempi felt ever so rushed. Throughout, I wished Kanneh-Mason took a few more liberties — some rubato — to push and pull the musical phrasing. And the TSO, under the direction of the orchestra’s conductor emeritus, Peter Oundjian, sounded rather thin in certain sections of the concerto, not entirely drawing out the brooding and foreboding qualities tucked in the orchestral accompaniment.

But these are minor nitpicks for what was otherwise a competent performance, which in the end earned a sustained standing ovation for Kanneh-Mason.

Before intermission, the TSO performed the world premiere of Gary Kulesha’s “Fourth Symphony.” One of Canada’s foremost composers, Kulesha premiered his first two symphonies at the TSO. His third received its premiere more than 15 years ago courtesy of the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

This long-awaited “Fourth Symphony,” a TSO commission, is a sensory feast for the ears, packed with dense lyricism, soaring solos and sweeping thematic climaxes. It’s a four-movement symphony but feels like a three-movement work as the first and second sections are seamlessly connected.

The first movement sizzles with tension, built upon a series of chords performed by the strings. This tension is released in the next section, a spry scherzo that still contains undertones of latent darkness, ending with an unsettling duet between the flute and viola.

The third movement, perhaps the most successful, contains a resplendent trumpet solo that gently grazes over a string accompaniment. It’s followed by a less successful finale that relies too heavily on climactic moments of release that feel like an ending but give way to more of the same chords.

On balance, however, this is a commendable work that should be celebrated, as it was on Friday, with Kulesha joining the TSO onstage.

It should also be noted that it’s exceedingly rare to experience a symphonic world premiere of this magnitude. Most Canadian premieres are slotted into programs as concert overtures, known in some circles as “parking overtures”; put plainly — if a bit harshly — these often unmemorable premieres are placed at the top of the concert, when latecomers are scrambling to find parking in the basement.

But Kulesha’s new work rightfully earns its billing as the centrepiece of the first half. Hopefully, this symphony, like the ones that have come before it, will continue to be programmed in the years to come.

That’s not to say the first piece programmed for Friday’s concert was a writeoff. Far from it. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ timeless “Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis” was an incredible showcase for the TSO’s string section, particularly principal viola Michael Casimir. It’s a majestic work, conducted with fervour by Oundjian and kicking off what was, from head to toe, yet another solid concert in the TSO’s centennial season.

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