The cellist is recovering from a finger injury to his left hand
British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason has been forced to withdraw from a North American tour in January 2026 as he continues to recover from a finger injury that resulted in him cancelling his remaining performances for 2025.
The cellist was due to play the Beethoven ‘Triple’ Concerto alongside his siblings, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and violinist Braimah Kanneh-Mason, with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on 16 and 17 January; the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, on 20 January; the Naples Philharmonic, Florida, on 23 January and the Seattle Symphony on 29, 30 and 31 January 2026.
The Seattle Symphony wrote: ‘The Kanneh-Masons are very disappointed not to be able to perform with the Seattle Symphony as planned, and we hope to reschedule their engagement in a future season.’ In their place, violinist Benjamin Beilman will make his Seattle Symphony debut playing Barber’s Violin Concerto. In Ottawa, Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma will instead perform Korngold’s Violin Concerto.
The Kanneh-Masons were also due to perform the ’Triple’ Concerto with Sinfonia Viva in their home town of Nottingham on 10 January. The orchestra wrote, ‘Sheku has been advised to refrain from playing his cello to allow [his finger] to heal and consequently has withdrawn from all engagements for the remainder of 2025. He will make a gentle return to playing in the new year as part of the rehabilitation process, but this means that there is insufficient time to rehearse the Beethoven work adequately with his siblings.’
However the orchestra was pleased to confirm that Braimah and Isata will instead be playing Beethoven’s Romance for Solo Violin no.2 and Piano Concerto no.4 respectively, with Sheku appearing on stage to introduce the pieces.
The Strad wishes him a swift and full recovery.
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