Due to restrictions brought into place because of COVID-19, the following engagements have been postponed: 13-15 March 2020, Ehnes Quartet; 20 March 2020, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin; 26 March 2020, Vienna Symphony; 4 April 2020 Brussels Philharmonic.
James made his debut with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) while still a student and returns to play with the orchestra on 20 March after many successful collaborations in recent seasons. James will play Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No.2 in G minor at the Berliner Philharmonie. To be conducted by Edward Gardner, the concert explores various Russian composers' works as love letters to their homeland. Prokofiev's second violin concerto was the last piece that the composer wrote before returning to Russia in 1935. The work is reticent of Prokofiev and other composers within the Soviet Union in the early 1930s, with aspects of the 'new simplicity' that composers in the Soviet Union strove for.
In their most recent collaboration, James joined the orchestra in giving the European premiere of the Kernis Violin Concerto in March 2018, under the baton of Leonard Slatkin. The concerto, which has since been recorded for Onyx Classics, received two GRAMMY Awards in 2019 for Best Classical Instrumental Solo, and Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
On 26 March, James will perform Bernstein’s Serenade after Plato's Symposium, for violin, string orchestra, harp and percussion with the Vienna Symphony at the Vienna Konzerthaus, conducted by Ludovic Morlot. Composed in 1954, the work is an example of early 20th century programme music, based on Plato's Symposium text. The opening melody is developed in variations throughout the piece, with each of the ‘movements’ representing the various speeches from Plato's text. Agathon in particular is composed of beautifully soaring melodies for the solo violin, with other movements featuring jazz and dissonance, as is so characteristic of Bernstein’s music.
The concert will be recorded by ORF Radio for future broadcast on radio station Ö1 as well as on the radio’s website for online streaming.
