Strathmore gets strung up with James Ehnes and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Violinist James Ehnes coaxes the heartstrings of history

by Topher Forhecz, STAFF WRITER tforhecz@gazette.net

Articulate, friendly and lacking any obvious hint of bloodlust or affection for large, plastic sheets, violinist James Ehnes seems a world away from TV’s favorite righteous serial killer Dexter Morgan. The two professionals do have a few traits in common, however. Both are prolific, and both like to keep trophies.
“I was joking with a friend of mine that my CDs are disturbingly like Dexter’s slide box, because I’ve got them in this little sort of hidden away cabinet where I’ve got them all lined up chronologically and I can look at them and remember what I was at a certain time of my life,” Ehnes says.

A performer for most of his life, Ehnes, 36, spends little time at his home in Bradenton, Fla. Instead, he travels the world performing or acting as artistic director for the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

On Friday, Ehnes will visit The Music Center at Strathmore with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Conducted by Charles Dutoit, the evening’s program includes Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,” Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto” and Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 5.”
Ehnes began performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra more than 10 years ago, but his relationship with Mendelssohn is much older.

“It was certainly one of the very first major concertos I ever learned. I think I have played it since I was 9 years old,” Ehnes says.

Born in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada in 1976, Ehnes says he always has been around music. His father was the trumpet professor at Brandon’s university and regularly had professional musicians over to the house.

“I didn’t know any amateur musicians. The only musicians I knew were professionals,” Ehnes says. “It only was many years later that I realized how weird that was. For me, it was one of those standard career choices. When you’re a little kid it’s, ‘OK somebody’s a policeman, somebody’s a fireman somebody’s a teacher, somebody’s a violinist.’ And I thought, ‘Violinist — that sounds good.’”

Ehnes began taking violin lessons when he was 4 years old. In 1993, he moved to New York City to attend Juilliard.
With some 30 recordings under his belt, Ehnes attributes his time in Brandon as the reason for his zeal to get inside the studio. Recording not only is a chance to evaluate and chronicle his work, but also spread his music to more areas.

“It’s not like living in New York or London or Paris. And a lot of the great performers, I only got to know them through recordings,” Ehnes says. “So I think that I grew up with recordings having an importance in my life that someone from a different background might not quite appreciate in a different way.”

As Ehnes has evolved, so has his violin. Since the late 1990s, Ehnes has been courting and performing with the “Marsick” Stradivarius, which was made in 1715 — a bit of a stretch from his first violin.

“My first violin was worth, I think, $200. I was … 4 and a half … 5 years old, so $200 was an inconceivable amount of money to me,” Ehnes says.

The Stradivarius, on the other hand, is priced at six digits, and Ehnes has been working on financing, hoping to eventually purchase the instrument from The Fulton Collection.

“The owner has been very generous in terms of allowing me and my wife to buy it back from him, so that’s going to be a long process. So people say, ‘Do you own it?’ and I say, ‘Not really. The bank owns it.’ But, someday it will be mine,” Ehnes says.

The Stradivarius is, in essence, the sound of history, and Ehnes says few instruments match the quality from that period. Still, whether discussing his first violin or the instrument he currently plays, he sees the violin merely as a means to an end.

“It’s probably like, say, a doctor, who is dealing with a very, very expensive and delicate piece of medical equipment,” Ehnes says. “It has to be handled very carefully, but ultimately it is a tool for a job. Now the thing that is different about the violin is the violin, itself, is a work of art.”

Read the interview on the Gazette website

“Djokic’s tone and intonation were captivating, reinforcing the beauty of Estacio’s most lyrical ideas, and his orchestration gave the cellist plenty of space to be heard.” (Globe and Mail, 7 May 2012)

Read the full review in the Globe and Mail

The Daily Telegraph’s Michael White included the Dresden Musikfestspiele as one of Europe’s best classical music festivals in the Travel section:

Dresden May 15-June 3

Once the cultural showcase of the old GDR, the Dresden Musikfest has a new spirit of adventure under the leadership of human dynamo-cum-cellist Jan Vogler, with concerts spread across a city rebuilt from the ruins of war and now largely restored to Baroque magnificence. Idyllic river-trips along the Elbe and events in the spectacular, all-glass Volkswagen factory as well as the Frauenkirche church make this one of the great festival fixtures of Europe. But with no attitude.

Read the full article on the Daily Telegraph’s website

“soprano Shannon Mercer stood out with the lyric beauty and surprising power of her voice.” (Salt Lake Tribune, 27 April 2012)

Read the full review on the Salt Lake Tribune’s site

Miami music critic Lawrence Budmen reviewed the Ehnes Quartet’s first performance in Florida:

“Ehnes’ patrician artistry and superb musicianship set the standard for the quartet. The tonal refinement, tight ensemble and deeply perceptive performances are remarkable for a recently formed group. Moretti’s silky tone, O’Neill’s light, elegant playing and deMaine’s dark, rounded sonority are matched by a nearly flawless standard of musical precision. Based on this performance, the Ehnes Quartet is headed for the top tier of chamber groups.” (South Florida Classical Review, 26 April 2012)

Read the full review in the South Florida Classical Review

MJC is delighted to welcome superb Canadian cellist Denise Djokic to our family! Denise consistently earns world-wide acclaim for her sincere, powerful interpretations and her bold command of the instrument.  Instantly recognized by her “arrestingly beautiful tone colour” (The Strad), she moves audiences with her natural musical instinct and a remarkable combination of strength and sensitivity.

Look for more news coming soon!

Check out richardmargison.com‘s new look thanks to Bōwman Designs and new photos by Toronto photographer Katie Cross!

“The violinist James Ehnes was the guest soloist in a lithe, shapely account of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor. The piece opened in a relatively matter-of-fact mode, but took on bountiful sweetness in the Andante and buoyant lilt in the dashing finale. Recalled for several ovations, Mr. Ehnes offered as encore a bracing slalom through Paganini’s Caprice No. 16.” (New York Times, 17 February 2012)

Read the full review on the New York Times website

“Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto blossoms with a charismatic soloist like James Ehnes. The handsome violinist projects a comfortable, almost homespun aura, but there was nothing homespun about the serious fiddling afoot, particularly in his softer moments such as those in the first cadenza. Intricate double-stops that came later posed no challenges. Ehnes handled the sweet theme of the second movement with grace, helped by plush accompaniment from Dutoit and the musicians. In the final “Allegro vivace” Ehnes almost outdid the ensemble in spring-like festiveness, and there were moments when I simply wanted to admire his bowing technique – not a movement ever wasted. As an encore, he offered one of Paganini’s Caprices, a fluid take on No. 16.” (Seen and Heard, 25 February 2012)

Read the full review on Seen and Heard

“James Ehnes…performed a very fine and finely focused Mendelssohn Concerto. It was quite glorious to realize that there was at least one other fiddler besides Joshua Bell who is under fifty and possesses a masterful vibrato. No other piece cries out for this particular technique more plaintively than this one, and yet many modern violinists have expunged the wobble in the name of aesthetic “purity”. Not so Mr. Ehnes, who reveled in his rich enunciation and Romantic phrasing. The orchestra matched him stroke for stroke. After a rousing ovation he announced that he would also present the 16th Caprice of Paganini and received more thunderous applause.” (MusicalCriticism, 19 February 2012)

Read the full review on MusicalCriticism

Richard and his wife Val Kuinka talk to Times Colonist journalist Amy Smart about their Highlands Opera Studio program.

Richard on the Highlands Opera Studio – Times Colonist – Feb’12

Read the interview on the Times Colonist website

Congratulations to Allyson McHardy and James Ehnes for their JUNO nominations. Unveiled today at a press conference in Toronto, Allyson’s recording of Caldara’s La Conversione di Clodoveo with Le Nouvel Opéra (ATMA) is up for Classical Album of the Year: Vocal or Choral Performance and James Ehnes’s recording of Bartók’s Voilin Concertos and Viola Concerto (CHANDOS) is nominated in the category of Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist with Large Ensemble.

The 2012 Juno Awards will be handed out at ceremonies in Ottawa on March 31st and April 1st. For more information on the JUNO Awards visit their website: junoawards.ca