James Ehnes, BBC Philharmonic & Andrew Davis – Stravinsky: Violin Concerto, Orchestral Works (2024) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes, BBC Philharmonic & Andrew Davis – Stravinsky: Violin Concerto, Orchestral Works (2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:09:56 minutes | 1,20 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Chandos

One of the foremost musicians of his generation, James Ehnes continues to dazzle audiences around the world. Here he joins the BBC Philharmonic and Sir Andrew Davis in a recording of Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto. Written for the Polish virtuoso Samuel Dushkin, the four-movement work takes the music of Bach as its inspiration, and is built around a chord of the notes D, E, and A, which Stravinsky described as his ‘passport to the concerto’ and with which the solo violin part opens each movement. Dushkin gave the première, conducted by Stravinsky, in Berlin in 1932. Apollon musagète, a ballet in two parts for string orchestra, was written in 1927 – 28, and demonstrates the composer’s complete rejection of the Russian folk music and idioms that had been so instrumental in his previous ballets (The Firebird, Petrushka). They are replaced by a concentration on ‘pure form’, which became known as his neo-classical style. The album is completed by his two orchestral suites – light-hearted music arranged from piano duets he had written in the 1910s – and Scherzo à la russe, a showpiece for the Paul Whiteman band that he composed in the early 1940s when newly arrived in California.

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Seattle Chamber Music Society & James Ehnes – American Chamber Music (2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Seattle Chamber Music Society & James Ehnes – American Chamber Music (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:01:53 minutes | 1,09 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Onyx Classics

James Ehnes and friends from the Seattle Chamber Music Society hit the road on a fascinating journey through chamber music by some of the giants of 20th-century American classical music.

Aaron Copland’s masterful Violin Sonata, Leonard Bernstein’s youthful and vibrant Piano Trio, and Samuel Barber’s B minor String Quartet with its famous Adagio slow movement (known the world over as ‘Barber’s Adagio’) are joined by Elliott Carter’s haunting ‘Elegy’ from early in his long career, and the other-worldly ‘Largo’ by that great maverick Charles Ives.

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James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong – Mythes (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong – Mythes (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 50:51 minutes | 943 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Onyx Classics

Already a presence to be reckoned with by his early 20s, James Ehnes has risen steadily to claim a place among the finest violinists of the day. Critics were impressed with both his immaculate technique and his musical integrity, each of an order rare enough in a musician of any age. Ehnes has continued to consolidate his strengths, bringing audiences a brand of music-making that transcends the present and draws upon the richest traditions of ages past. Born into a musical family, Ehnes was exposed to a variety of instruments as a child, but found himself attracted to the violin.

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James Ehnes, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner – Nielsen Violin: Concerto, Symphony No. 4 (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner – Nielsen Violin: Concerto, Symphony No. 4 (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:07:51 minutes | 1,12 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Chandos

Nielsen’s epic Violin Concerto was premiered in Copenhagen in February 1912, by violinist Peder Moller. Nominally the work is set in two movements; both open with a slow section and move to a faster one. Whilst unusual, this could be seen as a more usual fast – slow – fast three movement form, but with an extensive slow introduction to the first movement. The music moves quickly from one idea to the next, and overall has a bold, playful and optimistic feel. In stark contrast, although written only a few years later, the fourth symphony is more cohesive and unified as a work. Written against the background of the first world war, the work is a celebration of life itself. Just before the premier in 1916, Nielsen described it as: ‘Music is Life, and, like it, inextinguishable.’ Composed in the usual four movement form, each movement continues from the last without a break. The final movement features two sets of timpani battling each other across the orchestra.

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James Ehnes, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner – Janacek: Orchestral Works, Volume 2 (2015) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

James Ehnes, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner – Janacek: Orchestral Works, Volume 2 (2015)
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 01:16:52 minutes | Front/Rear Covers | 3,81 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Front/Rear Covers | 1,32 GB

This is the second volume in our series devoted to the orchestral works of Janáček, with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner.

The repertoire on this disc includes some of the greatest programmatic pieces by the composer. Unsurprisingly, the first piece featured here is Jealousy – his first declared piece of programme music, originally written to preface the opera Jenůfa but never included in any production of it during his lifetime. Both The Ballad of Blaník and The Fiddler’s Child (also known as a ‘ballad for orchestra’) are characterised by the use of musicals symbols, reflecting the Czech poems on which the pieces are based and also some of the composer’s personal reflections and responses.

The one-movement Violin Concerto The Wandering of a Little Soul is a more mysterious piece, with uncertainties surrounding the title, the date of creation, and the goals of its composition. Like the unfinished Danube symphony, the version recorded here has been reconstructed by Miloš Štědroň and Leoš Faltus from Janáček’s sketches.

An interpretation of the famous tale by Gogol, Taras Bulba was completed in 1915 and was Janáček’s most substantial orchestral work to date. It is inflected with folk dances, battle and horse-riding music, suffering and love, and brought to a grandiloquent apotheosis, in orchestration of almost cinematic vividness.

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James Ehnes, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Manze – Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Romance – Schubert: Romance (2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Manze - Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Romance - Schubert: Romance (2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

James Ehnes, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Manze – Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Romance – Schubert: Romance (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:11:19 minutes | 1,19 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Onyx Classics

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto represents the supreme challenge for violinists. Far from being a virtuoso display piece, this is chamber music on a large scale, the last and greatest ‘classical’ violin concerto, giving the soloist no place to hide with a solo part that is often very exposed against sparse orchestral accompaniment. A lukewarm reception at the concerto’s premiere in 1806 led to it being forgotten until Joseph Joachim resurrected it in the 1850s and restored to its rightful position as one of the greatest and most popular concertos for the instrument. This is James Ehnes’ first recording of this concerto, and he is supported sensitively by the award winning RLPO and fellow violinist-turned-conductor, Andrew Manze. The combination of soloist, orchestra and conductor on this recording is a dream team.
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James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong, Sydney Symphony – Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong, Sydney Symphony - Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong, Sydney Symphony – Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:11:12 minutes | 1,39 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Onyx Classics

James Ehnes takes a break from the 19th and 20th century repertoire and has recorded for the first time in his career four of the most famous baroque violin concertos – Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the first four works in his set of 12, op8. James also directs the Sydney Symphony.

The Vivaldi is prefaced by two famous violin sonatas – Tartini’s Devils Trill in the skillful arrangement by Fritz Kreisler which is very faithful to the original text, to which Kreisler adds the famous cadenza in the finale.
Leclair, one the few composers to have been murdered, was known as ‘The French Corelli’. Of his op9 set of 12 sonatas for violin, the third has become the most popular for its ‘Tambourin’ finale, depicting a pipe-and–drum dance with drone effects – all good fun!
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James Ehnes – Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos. 7 & 10 (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes - Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos. 7 & 10 (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

James Ehnes – Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos. 7 & 10 (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 51:35 minutes | 884 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © PM Classics Ltd.

This, the final release in the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas from James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong will be eagerly awaited by their fans. The earlier albums ONYX4170 (Nos.9 ‘Kreutzer’ & 6) and ONYX4177 (Nos.1-3, Variations WoO40) received outstanding reviews. On this new album the dramatic 7th Sonata of 1802 is paired with the serene 10th. composed in 1812 for the great violinist Pierre Rode.
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James Ehnes – Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes - Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

James Ehnes – Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 02:21:39 minutes | 2,59 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © PM Classics Ltd.

Multi award winning Canadian violinist James Ehnes returns to the greatest body of work for solo violin: Bach’s 6 Sonatas and Partitas.

After many years of performing these masterpieces, it was lockdown 2020 that led to James recording the complete set at his home in Florida in the early hours of the morning.

His interpretation of this music has changed over the years – he first recorded them in 2000, and now at the height of his powers delivers performances of superb musicianship – sensitive and thoughtful, breath-taking technical prowess combined with great emotional power.
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James Ehnes – James Newton Howard, Aaron Jay Kernis: Violin Concertos – Bramwell Tovey: ‘Stream of Limelight’ (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes – James Newton Howard, Aaron Jay Kernis: Violin Concertos – Bramwell Tovey: ‘Stream of Limelight’ (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:08:23 minutes | 1,22 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Onyx Classics

Three works written for James Ehnes, and receiving their premiere recordings. James Newton Howard’s music will be familiar to movie fans the world over. His 120 film scores include ‘The Prince of Tides’, ‘Michael Clayton’, ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’, ‘The Village’, ‘Defiance’ and ‘The Hunger Games’ (the recording was produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett) and he is one of the most respected composers currently working in film. Commissioned to write a concerto for James Ehnes and the Pacific Symphony, Howard admitted to feeling ‘thrilled, excited, expectant and ultimately terrified’.

Pulitzer Prize (String Quartet No.2) winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis first composed for Ehnes in 2007 ‘Two movements (with Bells) and a few years later the violin concerto followed.

Bramwell Tovey and James Ehnes musical relationship goes back to 1990, and they have performed together countless times. Stream of Limelight gives James’s incredible technique ample opportunity to dazzle, and is a superb finale to this fascinating album of new compositions.

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Rustem Hayroudinoff, James Ehnes, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda – Dvořák: Piano Concerto. Violin Concerto (2005) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Rustem Hayroudinoff, James Ehnes, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Gianandrea Noseda – Dvořák: Piano Concerto. Violin Concerto (2005)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:10:29 minutes | 808 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Chandos

When Gianandrea Noseda was appointed Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, great things were expected – the reputation of this young conductor preceded him. What was less expected was the diversity of repertoire that he would conduct, with equal success. His releases for Chandos, from Prokofiev to Dallapiccola, routinely pick up accolades from the critics. This disc features two of Dvorak’s neglected concertos, performed with great élan by soloists James Ehnes and Rustem Hayroudinoff. Both works have been overshadowed by Dvorak’s more popular Cello Concerto in B minor, but, as is apparent from this recording, both are delightful pieces, full of Slavic colour and folk rhythms, and characteristic of Dvorak at his best.

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James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong – Debussy, Elgar, Respighi & Sibelius: Violin Sonatas (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong – Debussy, Elgar, Respighi & Sibelius: Violin Sonatas (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:08:58 minutes | 1,12 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Onyx Classics

After a rapturous critical reception for their Franck & Strauss Violin Sonatas, [see below] James and Andrew turn their attention to three violin sonatas all composed around the years of World War I. The Sibelius ‘Berceuse’ also dates from the war years when Finland was isolated from the rest of Europe. Sibelius was short of money and busy writing the 6th and 7th symphonies, and planning his 8th: the six short pieces of Op. 79 were attractive to publishers who were wary of large scale works with little chance of commercial return during the hostilities. Debussy would die in 1918 and had, like Elgar, composed very little during the conflict. ‘I want to work,’ he wrote to his publisher Durand, ‘not so much for myself, as to provide a proof, however small, that thirty million Boches can t destroy French thought’. Elgar told a friend ‘I cannot do any real work with the awful shadow hanging over us’ he said. Suffering from ill health, Elgar wrote the sonata in Sussex where a copse of gnarled lightning-ravaged trees, near his house on the South Downs, inspired him to embark on three late great chamber works. Respighi s sonata inhabits a heroic late romantic almost Brahmsian world, seemingly unscathed by the devastation of the War to end all wars .

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James Ehnes, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis – Berg: Violin Concerto, Three Pieces for Orchestra (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis - Berg: Violin Concerto, Three Pieces for Orchestra (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

James Ehnes, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis – Berg: Violin Concerto, Three Pieces for Orchestra (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:06:01 minutes | 1,11 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Chandos

Born in 1885, Alban Berg was one of the most significant composers of the Second Viennese School, whose output proved tremendously influential in the development of music in the twentieth century. He was a student of Schoenberg, who found that his juvenile compositions were almost exclusively written for voice; his natural ability to write lyrical melodic lines (even in later life while following the restrictions of twelve-tone serialism) probably remained the most outstanding quality of his style.
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James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong – Bartok: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2 (2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong - Bartok: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2 (2013) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong – Bartok: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2 (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:18:05 minutes | 869 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Chandos

James Ehnes has previously explored Béla Bartók’s concertos for violin and for viola, to great acclaim. This album is the second in his equally successful survey of Bartók’s chamber music for the violin. His accompanist, once more, is Andrew Armstrong, a pianist praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique.

The folk-inspired Sonata for Solo Violin was the last work that Bartók wrote for the instrument, not to mention the most challenging. In a departure from his usual practice, this work was written not for a fellow Hungarian, but rather for an artist born in New York where Bartók was now living: Yehudi Menuhin. Suitably impressed by a recital performance by Menuhin of his first Violin Sonata as well as Bach’s Sonata in C, he had no hesitation in accepting the violinist’s commission for a sonata that, like Bach’s, would be unaccompanied.

Almost half a century earlier, Bartók had written his Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor. It was included in a concert given by graduating students of the Liszt Academy in June 1903, when a critic, most likely not realising just how right he would prove, hailed Bartók as ‘a phenomenal young genius, whose name today is known only to a few, but who is destined to play a great and brilliant role in the history of Hungarian music’.

Additionally on this album we have three groups of Bartók’s Romanian and Hungarian folk dances, folksongs, and folk tunes, arranged for violin variously by Zoltán Székely, Tivadar Országh, and Joseph Szigeti, often with direct involvement by the composer himself who helped fine-tune the new arrangements. James Ehnes also highlights the Romanian influences in Bartók’s Sonatina for piano, transcribed for violin by André Gertler, a student of Bartók’s.
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Andrew Armstrong, James Ehnes – Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 1 (2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Andrew Armstrong, James Ehnes - Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 1 (2012) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

Andrew Armstrong, James Ehnes – Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 1 (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:18:41 minutes | 1,33 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Chandos

This is the second volume in a series devoted to the works for strings by Béla Bartók, with James Ehnes the featured soloist. Earlier this year, Ehnes recorded the Violin and Viola Concertos (CHAN 10690), which was made Disc of the Month in Gramophone magazine. On this new recording, he turns to the Violin Sonatas and Rhapsodies, complemented by the earliest surviving work by Bartók for violin and piano, an Andante. He is accompanied by the pianist Andrew Armstrong.
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