Two Concerts in a Return to the New World Symphony

James Ehnes returns to the New World Symphony in two concerts this week as part of a special collaboration with the Miami City Ballet. The concert series is a celebration of Stravinsky and Balanchine and marks the two leading art institutions' first large-scale collaboration. Conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, the concerts will feature James as a soloist in Stavinsky's Violin Concerto in D major which will be paired with Balanchine’s choreography.

Just last month, James performed the Mozart Violin Concerto under Xian Zhang with the New World Symphony at the New World Center in Miami and was described as ‘dynamic’ and ‘outstanding’ (South Florida Classical Review).

The programme includes Apollo – the Stravinsky and Balanchine’s first collaboration inspired by the young Greek god of music who is visited by three muses – and Circus Polka, originally written for solo piano and then later orchestrated. The solo violin opens all four of the movements of the concerto and the work is known for pushing the boundaries of violin technique whilst incorporating 18th-century cohesion and counterpoint.

The concerts will be broadcast live on the Soundscape park building as part of their WALLCAST® series with immersive visuals accompanying the music. You can also tune in online to the concert on February 1 2020 at 5pm (GMT) which is available on Medici.tv here.

More information and tickets can be found here. 

Gramophone Editor's Choice

James’ two latest albums, Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos 1–3 and Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending have both been selected as Editor’s Choice recordings in the December issue of Gramophone magazine. Both albums were released on Onyx Classics in October 2019.

Beethoven Sonatas Nos 1–3 is the second recording in James’ sonata cycle with long-time collaborator Andrew Armstrong.

”With some discs, you can just tell that everything’s going to go like a dream … The freshness and spontaneity of these interpretations is unfaltering, as is the instantaneous rapport and subtle, crystal-clear tonal beauty of the pair’s playing.”
Gramophone

In the recording of Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending, James joins the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and is conducted by Andrew Manze.

“The clarity of James Ehnes’s playing, with virtually flawless intonation, is relaxed and profoundly lyrical with a shaping of phrase and dynamic nuance.”
Gramophone

New Release: Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos. 1–3

On 25 October 2019, James and Andrew Armstrong release Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos. 1–3 on Onyx Classics. This is their second volume in their Beethoven Violin Sonatas cycle, the first being Sonatas 6 & 9 'Kreutzer' which was met with critical acclaim; Sunday Times Album of the Week and Gramophone Editor’s Choice, describing it as “a compelling addition to Ehnes and Armstrong’s remarkable discography.”

The new album is available now to purchase and stream.

The release contains the three early Op. 12, Sonatas (which Beethoven dedicated to his teacher Antonio Salieri) and ends with the early Variations on a Theme From Mozart's Marriage of Figaro.

Earlier this month, James and Andrew played Sonatas 1–4 at Wigmore Hall, and will perform all ten across the season as part of the venue’s Beethoven 250 celebrations. They will continue to perform Beethoven’s Sonatas internationally this season, including at Dresden Music Festival, Prague Spring Festival, Aspen Festival and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Listen to the recording now on Apple Music:

Complete Beethoven Violin Sonata Cycle

James embarks on his complete Beethoven violin sonata cycle at the Wigmore Hall this month. The only violinist invited by the hall to present all ten sonatas during the special Beethoven 250 celebrations, James’ first recital takes place on Thursday 10 October when he will perform sonatas 1, 2, 3 and 4 with his long-time collaborator pianist Andrew Armstrong. The performance will be part of the Wigmore’s Live Stream video concert series, and will be available here at the time of the concert. James has spoken of the cycle and the composer’s developments between the late 1790’s and 1812 in this short film:

This season the great Canadian violinist and his fellow countryman and pianist partner Andrew Armstrong are exploring the entire corpus of Beethoven's sonatas written for their duo, which reveal the composer's development between the late 1790s and 1812 in works that reflect the two instruments in perfect collaboration as a partnership of true equals.

In addition to the Wigmore Hall, this season James and Andrew Armstrong perform Beethoven’s sonatas internationally including at Dresden Music Festival, Prague Spring Festival, Aspen Festival and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

This month also sees the release of the second disc of James’ complete Beethoven sonata cycle for Onyx Classics, featuring sonatas 1, 2 and 3. The first instalment of the cycle (sonatas 6 & 9) was Gramophone Editor’s choice and Sunday Times choice, and his recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto (with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrew Manze) was described by The Guardian as “more than worth the wait” and by Gramophone as “a marvel… to stand among with very best”.

Beethoven Sonatas in Cleveland

James is performing the complete Beethoven Sonata cycle in Cleveland this season, as part of Cleveland Chamber Music Society’s celebrations for the Beethoven 250 anniversary year. Starting in September with Sonatas Nos.1–4, James is joined by long-time collaborator Andrew Armstrong on piano.   

James will also present the complete Beethoven Sonata cycle this season at Wigmore Hall, as well as further performances of the Beethoven sonatas at Prague Spring Festival, Dresden Music Festival, the Concertgebouw and Aspen Music Festival

Next month, on 25 October, James releases his second album in his Beethoven Sonatas cycle for Onyx, with Beethoven Violin Sonatas Op 12, Nos. 1 – 3.

Khachaturian with Sydney Symphony Orchestra

James returns to Sydney Opera House for three concerts on the 28, 30 and 31 August to perform Khachaturian Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Mark Wigglesworth.

James previously played with the orchestra in 2016 having performed with Vladimir Ashkenazy, and received rave reviews for his performance:

“[It] had the extraordinary beauty and immaculately smooth sound that Ehnes draws from the Marsick Stradivarius violin that he plays...an elusive balance of colour, glow, firmness and sweetness that falls on the ear like the finest white wine you could imagine would fall on the palette. One could easily become addicted." Sydney Morning Herald

James and Mark Wigglesworth previously collaborated on a disc released by Onyx Classics in 2014, on which they both perform the Khachaturian concerto with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, paired with string quartets by Shostakovich performed by the Ehnes Quartet. Click here to listen to the album on Spotify.

Barber at Hollywood Bowl with LA Philharmonic

James returns to the Hollywood Bowl to perform Barber Violin Concerto with the LA Philharmonic and conductor James Gaffigan on 22 August.

James performed Barber Violin Concerto at the Hollywood Bowl back in 1998 and again in 2009, with Los Angeles Times describing his performance as ‘sheer magic’, ‘heart-pounding’ and ‘a marvel’.

The complete Beethoven sonatas in Ottawa

James performs all ten of Beethoven’s sonatas for violin and piano over two nights at Ottawa Chamberfest. James is accompanied by Andrew Armstrong, with whom he performed several of the sonatas at the Bravo! Vail Festival in June.

James and Andrew recorded Beethoven’s Sixth and Ninth sonatas together for Onyx in 2017 - click here to purchase or stream the album.

“There is always room for performances as vital and compelling as these … [from] one of the most popular soloists on the UK concert circuit.” 
Sunday Times, Album of the Week

“A combination of light touch and searing focus. There’s a clarity of ideas that means they never have to overstate… The uncluttered, conversational generosity of this duo speaks volumes.” 
Guardian