麻豆社

The 麻豆社 Proms are back in the Royal Albert Hall in London with a six-week season of concerts featuring leading British orchestras as well as international soloists and conductors.

Broadcast programme:
Fela Sowande - African Suite
Florence Price - Piano Concerto in One Movement

Jeneba Kanneh-Mason (piano)
Chineke! Orchestra
Kalena Bovell (conductor)

Musicians of Chineke!, UK鈥檚 first professional orchestra with a majority of ethnically-diverse players, are joined by the young pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason for the Proms premiere of the Piano Concerto in One Movement by Florence Price. The first female African-American composer to earn a national reputation, Price was the soloist in the 1934 first performance of the Concerto but it is only in recent years that the work has found a new popularity.

The Nigerian composer Fela Sowande came to London at about the same time as Price's Concerto was first performed. He earned his living by accompanying pop musicians and choirs on the piano and organ in concerts, churches and on 麻豆社 radio but he also wrote music that combined European forms and orchestration with West African rhythms and melodies. His African Suite is a good example of this and an early version of the work had its first broadcast on the World - then Overseas - Service in 1944.

Presenter Andrew McGregor is joined by vibraphone player, musicologist and broadcaster Corey Mwamba.

[Image: Pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason at the 2021 麻豆社 Proms. Credit: Mark Allan/麻豆社]