Isata Kanneh-Mason’s first memory of playing the piano is as a five-year-old in the Caribbean.

“I was on holiday in Antigua and we were staying at my grandparents’ house. They had a piano and I was trying to play the theme tune to the Rugrats TV show. I remember my auntie coming out and saying it sounded beautiful and feeling really excited by that!” she tells Limelight.

Isata Kanneh-Mason

Isata Kanneh-Mason. Photo © David Venni

Isata is the eldest of the famous Kanneh-Mason siblings, all seven of whom are classical musicians. They include cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who shot to international fame when he played at the 2018 royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Isata is increasingly in demand internationally and has just released her third album, Childhood Tales, on Decca Classics, accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, which also performed with her when she recorded Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto for her 2019 Decca album Romance.

Asked why she was inspired to record an album around the magic of childhood, she says, “It was in childhood where my love of classical music first blossomed. I’ve always...