Classical Court: Sheku Kanneh-Mason - cello recital by psgary

A few days ago I went to a recital by Sheku Kanneh-Mason and his sister Isata. He has achieved prominence from his playing at the royal wedding of Megan Markle and Prince Harry. She is a BBC Young Musician winner (Isata, not Megan, of course).

A friend is an extremely enthusiastic admirer of Sheku and asked me to go with her. Otherwise, I would never have attended, due to the program. It consisted of the following: Beethoven - Variations in F major; Lutislawski - Grave; Barber - Sonata for Cello and Piano in C minor; Rachmaninov - Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor. None of the pieces were to my taste, although I found the Rachmaninov most appealing.

As to Sheku, I found his playing unremarkable. It seemed adequate and competent, but nothing impressive. His occasional banging of the bow against the fingerboard, especially in the Beethoven, seemed overwrought and startled me, having never seen such a technique before. For Beethoven? I was definitely put off by his constant grimaces and excessive swaying. As a result, I found myself looking at the ceiling or only at his bow most of the time.

Is anyone familiar with this artist? If so, what am I missing? Admittedly, I am not overly familiar with cellists, but after viewing on line a number of other artists, some quite prominent, Sheku seems very much run-of-the-mill.

I count on other inmates to enlighten me.

Thanks.