UK orchestras pay homage to the Kanneh-Mason family
NewsThe Association of British Orchestras has presented its annual award to the Kanneh-Mason family of Nottingham, who have raised several children as soloists.
ABO chair Simon Webb said: ”The membership of the ABO took the opportunity to thank the remarkable Kanneh-Mason family and marked their unique and extraordinary role in inspiring us all.’
Delighted, excellent news.
What a boringly predictable decision. They certainly do not inspire me in any way. In fact, I’m rather tired of hearing the name now. They’re no more talented than any other musical young people you would find if you looked hard enough. Certainly, other ‘cellists are available.
Yep you will have to look VERY HARD to find a similarly talented multi instrumentalist family I’m the UK or Europe. Tell me who is comparable?
Here, here!! Corno di Caccia speaks a lot of sense. Too much is being made of a family of moderately skilled people. Perhaps the reason they are being touted as such a wonderfully talented isn’t actually because of their musical skills?
What are you implying, that “the reason they are being touted as such a wonderfully talented” family is because of their skin color? Go on, be bold. Have the courage of your convictions. Say it loud, say it proud, so that you will leave no doubt in anyone’s mind of your true character: that you are a knuckle-dragging racist and a despicable worm.
Fortunately your views won’t prevent them from receiving even more awards – well deserved or not. That’s such a relief
I’m blacker than they are but I completely agree. There’s something creepily insincere and patronising about this constant fawning.
I agree. I am fed up with all the fuss being made about them because they are black. Music does not care about the colour of skin.
It may not, but music administrators sure do.
This family, which is being acknowledged as a whole, has done something pretty remarkable, whether any one of the clearly talented offspring is the most outstanding member of his/her field notwithstanding.
At a time when most young people bury themselves in rap or some other popular music, they have become accomplished classical artists.
Everyone is always saying that the way to achieving better inclusion of the entire population in classical music starts with education. A young, thriving, cool and attractive black family of classical musicians may well generate some interest in their peers, and that, surely, can only be a good thing? The example of any one of the K-M kids could pull a few more, and then a few more, black kids at least to the concert hall and maybe even to the lesson room.
The wokeness controversy involving a professor at the University of North Texas (covered extensively by SlippeDisc) was in part due to sensitivity to language in his rebuttal.
He wrote that minority representation among the faculty within university music departments will only come if those families make sacrifices and take responsibility for their children’s education.
Well, here’s an example. Let’s celebrate! It does seem strange that they shoehorned all their kids into music study, but it’s also odd that anyone would be irritated with others for celebrating what they got right.
“Pay homage”? The Kanneh-Masons said in The Guardian that they wanted to demystify classical music.
How patronising.
Suggested is that the reason of discrimination in classical music is its ‘mystique’. This goes for thinking in woke circles.
Following this family
for 6 years. Thank you Stewart for posting videos. I listen whenever I need inspiration.
‘Raised several children as soloists’? So what has that got to do with the ABO? Has anybody read the autobiography of Dr Ben Horsfall – a D Mus (Durham) from Todmorden
who, however, preferred to spend most of his career as an orchestral violinist. He highlighted the problem of scores of young players being trained in the music colleges as soloists, then finding themselves in orchestras for which role they were totally unprepared. This situation,which I have seen first hand, has not got any better since Ben’s day – possibly it is worse.
I blame the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Do you blame the Prince of Wales for Kiri te Kanawa?
I blame those damn kids for practising so much, and the parents are no better, with their insistence on filling the house with instruments and educational materials, finding them teachers, constantly driving them to lessons, auditions, festivals and competitions, back and forth between Nottingham and London and God knows where else, giving up all their time and energy and money like that, ugh!
My comments are not racially motivated. Merely stating a fact. There are hundreds of talented young musicians in the UK alone who deserve similar encouragement and are not getting it. Music has always thrived on sycophancy and the obvious Wokists on here are easily spotted. @TJ: Worms thrive in darkness, I made my thoughts clear and like other contributors who disagree with you and others we are also entitled to our opinions.
@Paul Johnson: I had not read or heard about the comment made by said KM family implying that Classical music needs ‘demystifying’. This is a very revealing statement for them to make. If you think that Classical music NEEDS demystifying then, clearly, you don’t really get it yourself and are ignorant of the work done by conductors like Andre Previn, Leonard Bernstein, Michael Tilson Thomas, Andrew Davis, Leonard Slatkin, Mark Elder – et al – to bring such music to the general public through television and radio. It’s all out there on YouTube if you look. To make such a crass and – I agree – ‘patronising’ statement indicates a need for a bit of research and musical education.
The only controversial thing in NLs piece above is the description of the ABO as “UK orchestras”.
UK orchestras are made up of an abundance of musical and intellectual talent; the ABO is a puffed up self-appointed club of executive windbags, styling themselves as some kind of ‘star chamber’ of overarching wisdom, when in point of fact they are an out of touch, shape shifting ambitious club of pointy headed privately educated former mediocre/failed muso never-wasers, who pointlessly genuflect before anyone they perceive more powerful whilst profoundly patronising the profession they claim (without any mandate) to represent.
Any questions?