Isata Kanneh-Mason plays the studio piano

Available for 29 days

Tom Service with guests, stories and the perfect classical soundtrack for the weekend! This week, Tom welcomes the pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason to the Saturday Morning studio. Isata's new album, dedicated entirely to the music of Prokofiev, has just been released, including Prokofiev's fiendishly difficult Piano Concerto No 3 - a work which she dazzled the Proms audience with in 2023. Isata plays more Prokofiev in the studio, plus her own transcription of music by the British singer-songwriter Raye. Tom will also be heading to St Albans to talk to the actor Sir Mark Rylance (Wolf Hall, The BFG, Bridge of Spies) and the philosopher Peter Dawkins about the life and legacy of Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626), whose 400th anniversary is celebrated this year. Widely regarded as the father of the scientific method, Bacon’s approach to learning and discovery has led to many of the technological and medical advances we take for granted today. He was also fascinated by music (he played the lute) and by the properties of sound, which he tried to explain through a series of sonic experiments, and Tom will be delving into Bacon’s famous Sound-Houses - visionary 17th-century descriptions of advanced acoustical research facilities described in his utopian work, New Atlantis. And in our ongoing 'Creators' series, one of the most sought-after conductors on the music scene today, John Wilson, talks about re-forming the Sinfonia of London in 2018 with a group of superb, hand-picked musicians. It's the third incarnation of the orchestra, and John tells Tom about its history and how he has put his own stamp on the ensemble. To listen on most smart speakers just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Saturday Morning”.