When a new voice hits the scene that brings exciting perspectives to the often-uniform set-up of classical music, people begin to take notice. That is emphatically the case with string star Sheku Kanneh-Mason, whose first-place win at the 2016 BBC Young Musician competition launched him into a high-profile career that’s since cascaded into an international touring, recording, and teaching career. Likewise impressive is how Kanneh-Mason has evaded the pretentiousness that is often inaccurately attributed to classical musicians. He is intensely in love with the music, an affair that supersedes the pomp and ceremony that accompanies life as a celebrity soloist.

It is this devotion to music, and its tremendous variety, that animates his latest album, Song. This deeply personal album combines classical favourites with folk and jazz tunes, and platters collaborations with friends and colleagues such as jazz pianist Harry Baker, singer-songwriter Zak Abel, and soprano Pumeza Matshikiza. Genres of music other than classical have had a...