Take a bow... cellist, 20, from Harry’s wedding hits No8 in pop chart
HE’S already made history as the youngest cellist to score a top 20 album, and wowed the world when he played at Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
Now, Sheku Kanneh-Mason has added another string to his bow – by becoming the UK’s highest-charting cellist of all time.
The 20-year- old classical music star’s newest album, Elgar, debuted at number eight – making it the first to ever break into the top ten, according to the Official Charts Company. The album is based on Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto.
And he is the first British classical instrumentalist in more than 30 years to reach the top ten after violinist Nigel Kennedy got to number three with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in 1989. His most recent triumph follows the success of his debut album, Inspiration, released a few months before he performed at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in May 2018.
The collection entered the chart at number 18, making him the youngest cellist to score an album in the top 20, and peaked at number 11 following the royal wedding.
Mr Kanneh-Mason told OfficialCharts.com he was ‘ so excited’, and thanked Elgar for his ‘fantastic’ music.
In 2016, Mr Kanneh-Mason became the first black winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award. He has also won two Classic Brit Awards, and received an MBE in the New Year Honours list for services to music.
This week’s number one album is Lewis Capaldi’s Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, which rose up the ranks again after topping the charts last year.