Jeneba Kanneh-Mason performs Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Still, Price, Debussy, and Prokofiev

Following in the footsteps of her musically gifted brothers and sisters, the extraordinary Jeneba Kanneh-Mason now takes to the iconic colliery at Zeche Zollern for a captivating program at the 2025 Ruhr Piano Festival. As part of the Youngsters series launched by the festival in 2024, the young pianist first presents exquisite classics by Bach, Chopin, and Beethoven, including the latter’s “Tempest” Sonata, known for its Shakespearean drama and emotional intensity that Jeneba delivers with artistry beyond her years. The second half of the program features works by African American composers William Grant Still and Florence Price, artists who were long overlooked due to racial prejudice but are now finally receiving the recognition they deserve on concert stages. Harlem Renaissance composer Still paints a lyrical portrait of beauty in the afterlife with Summerlands, and Florence Price’s Fantasie Nègre blends Romantic-era virtuosity with elements of African American musical traditions such as folk song and call-and-response textures.