Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | James Ehnes

Lyrical virtuosity from Ehnes, with majestic Sibelius from Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic

By Nick Boston, 03 August 2023

A disconcerting and expectation-defying premiere from Barry, followed by lyrical and virtuosic Walton from James Ehnes, ending with a majestic rendition of Sibelius' Symphony No. 1 by Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic.

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London

04 Aug 2023

Lyrical virtuosity, majestic Sibelius from the BBC Phil

By Nick Boston

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Triplet of trios sets the tone for Seattle's summer of chamber music

By Thomas May, 03 July 2023

James Ehnes and colleagues launch the 2023 edition of Seattle Chamber Music Society's month-long summer festival on an exhilarating note with trios by Dohnányi, Bartók and Ravel.

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Seattle

05 Jul 2023

Triplet of trios sets the tone for Seattle's summer of chamber music

By Thomas May

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Minneapolis

Bold Beethoven bookends Sir Andrew Davis' Minnesota Orchestra program

By Sam Jacobson, 17 June 2023

At the Minnesota Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis contrasts works of Beethoven with Berg’s Violin Concerto and a piece the draws on traditional Chinese folk dance.

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Minneapolis

21 Jun 2023

Bold Beethoven bookends Sir Andrew Davis' Minnesota Orchestra program

By Sam Jacobson

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An opening night of substance at Seattle’s Chamber Music Festival

By Thomas May, 05 July 2022

Chamber music values and luxury casting with world-class string players enriched this hefty program of an elegiac Bach sonata and valedictory works by Bartók and Brahms.

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Seattle

06 Jul 2022

An opening night of substance at Seattle’s Chamber Music Festival

By Thomas May

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Berlin

Manfred Honeck and the DSO dazzle Berlin's Philharmonie

By Pablo Sánchez Quinteiro, 08 May 2022

Manfred Honeck builds a magnificent monument of sound conducting the DSO Berlin in Mahler's Fifth Symphony, the highlight of the evening, preceded by violinist James Ehnes who brilliantly recreates Mozart's Third Concerto.

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Berlin

17 May 2022

Manfred Honeck and the DSO dazzle Berlin's Philharmonie

By Pablo Sánchez Quinteiro

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Disappointing Walton and Elgar from John Wilson and the Philharmonia

By David Truslove, 10 February 2022

Sounding under-rehearsed and unloved, these performances of two great works made for a frustrating evening that could have been so much more inspiring.

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London

11 Feb 2022

Disappointing Walton and Elgar from John Wilson and the Philharmonia

By David Truslove

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Two orchestras? The CBSO mesmerises in Miller but makes a mess of Beethoven

By Simon Cummings, 06 October 2021

Finnegan Downie Dear oversees a decidedly conflicted concert of works by Beethoven, Britten and Cassandra Miller that veered between ravishing beauty and unsynchronised sloppiness.

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Birmingham

07 Oct 2021

The CBSO mesmerises in Miller but makes a mess of Beethoven

By Simon Cummings

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Rare Respighi shines in Seattle Chamber Music Society online stream

By Erica Miner, 20 July 2021

After solo Bach, Alessio Bax joins string players for the Italian's Brahmsian Piano Quintet in F minor.

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Seattle

20 Jul 2021

Rare Respighi shines in Seattle Chamber Music Society online stream

By Erica Miner

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Seattle Chamber Music Society's Summer Festival opens online with bravado

By Erica Miner, 17 July 2021

All three works were spirited, full of bravura and performed with panache and undisputed virtuosity.

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Seattle

18 Jul 2021

Seattle Chamber Music Society's Summer Festival opens with bravado

By Erica Miner

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Highland Heights

Ehnes and Armstrong complete Beethoven cycle in Cleveland

By Sam Jacobson, 18 May 2021

James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong conclude their exploration of the ten Beethoven violin sonatas.

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Highland Heights

21 May 2021

Ehnes and Armstrong complete Beethoven cycle in Cleveland

By Sam Jacobson

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Montreal

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal showcases its stellar strings

By Ian Cochrane, 05 May 2021

Under the exemplary leadership of concertmaster Andrew Wan, the OSM presented a diverse program of well-known compositions for chamber orchestra.

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Montreal

07 May 2021

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal showcases its stellar strings

By Ian Cochrane

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Montreal

Bernard Labadie leads the Montreal Symphony in Mozart and Beethoven

By Edward Sava-Segal, 29 September 2020

Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Karina Gauvin star in Mozart concert arias before a very gentle Pastoral Symphony at the Maison symphonique.

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Montreal

30 Sep 2020

Bernard Labadie leads the Montreal Symphony in Mozart and Beethoven

By Edward Sava-Segal

Atlanta

Project your own emotions: Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony play Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky

By William E Ford, 09 November 2019

Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony play a charged final symphony of Shostakovich and a compelling Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with soloist James Ehnes

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Atlanta

10 Nov 2019

Runnicles and the ASO play Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky

By William E Ford

Exceptional Nielsen from Edward Gardner and the LPO

By Chris Garlick, 09 October 2019

An auspiciously successful concert for the LPO and their new Principal Conductor Designate Edward Gardner, crowned by an exceptional performance of the Nielsen.

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London

10 Oct 2019

Exceptional Nielsen from Edward Gardner and the LPO

By Chris Garlick

Los Angeles

Americana, yesterday and today, at the Hollywood Bowl

By Néstor Castiglione, 22 August 2019

Guest conductor James Gaffigan celebrated musical Americana in a program of Copland, Barber, Ellington, and Karpman.

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Los Angeles

23 Aug 2019

Americana, yesterday and today, at the Hollywood Bowl

By Néstor Castiglione

Prom 6: Impressive and inspiring Anglo-American cooperation

By Nick Boston, 22 July 2019

The Orchestra of the Royal Academy of Music and The Julliard School, with Edward Gardner in an impressively ambitious programme, with tragic Britten from James Ehnes, and a remarkable UK premiere from Anna Thorvaldsdottir.

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London

24 Jul 2019

Prom 6: Impressive and inspiring Anglo-American cooperation

By Nick Boston

Intriguing Voyage Out anchored by 19th-century delights in Seattle

By Thomas May, 15 July 2019

Seattle's 2019 Chamber Music Summer Festival premiered Sebastian Currier's Voyage Out, which uses the piano quintet to reimagine the metaphor of musical journeys, on a program framed by passionate 19th-century chamber compositions.

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Seattle

16 Jul 2019

Intriguing Voyage Out anchored by 19th-century delights in Seattle

By Thomas May

Strong chamber performances win admiration in Seattle

By Erica Miner, 03 July 2019

The Seattle Chamber Music Society presented an ambitious program with a distinguished ensemble of performers.

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Seattle

04 Jul 2019

Strong chamber performances win admiration in Seattle

By Erica Miner

Montreal

Back to Bourgie: a memorable Beethoven cycle by James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong

By Laurence Vittes, 15 June 2019

From the moment Ehnes trilled the G major Op.96 into existence, he and Armstrong achieved the musical transparency that results from using fortepianos with leather hammers and gut strings, and only with great care and commitment when using modern instruments.

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Montreal

18 Jun 2019

Memorable Beethoven cycle by James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong

By Laurence Vittes

Ehnes' Walton grips in stunning concert of English music at Bridgewater Hall

By Peter Connors, 13 April 2019

James Ehnes was an ideal soloist in Walton's Violin Concerto, well partnered by John Wilson and the BBC Philharmonic, with atmospheric Bax and a powerful Vaughan Williams 4.

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Manchester

14 Apr 2019

Stunning concert of English music by BBC Phil

By Peter Connors

Exaggeration and disinterest mar John Wilson's CBSO programme

By Simon Cummings, 06 April 2019

John Wilson oversees a glossy, superficial take on early 20th-century works from England and the USA.

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Birmingham

08 Apr 2019

Exaggeration and disinterest mar John Wilson's CBSO programme

By Simon Cummings

A modest virtuoso: James Ehnes at Wigmore Hall

By Nahoko Gotoh, 21 September 2018

How do violinists devise their recital programmes? The conventional format has been to choose a violin sonata from each musical era, or to focus on a particular composer or national style.

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London

24 Sep 2018

A modest virtuoso: James Ehnes at Wigmore Hall

By Nahoko Gotoh

Edinburgh

James Ehnes makes a dazzling EIF debut

By Simon Thompson, 23 August 2018

James Ehnes and Steven Osborne join forces at the Edinburgh Festival.

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Edinburgh

23 Aug 2018

James Ehnes makes a dazzling EIF debut

By Simon Thompson

Beauty and the beast: Two faces of Shostakovitch revealed by Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia

By Chris Garlick, 29 April 2018

Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia explore different sides of Shostakovich in the latest of the Voices of Revolution series.

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London

30 Apr 2018

Two faces of Shostakovitch revealed by Ashkenazy and the Philharmonia

By Chris Garlick

Adelaide

Adelaide Symphony’s Master Series launches with Saint-Saëns

By Brian Angus, 06 April 2018

A marvellous Saint-Saëns “Organ Symphony” makes great use of the Adelaide Town Hall organ.

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Adelaide

09 Apr 2018

Adelaide Symphony’s Master Series launches with Saint-Saëns

By Brian Angus

New York City

Stéphane Denève masters the Prokofiev idiom at the helm of New York Philharmonic

By Edward Sava-Segal, 26 January 2018

James Ehnes, a violinist of remarkable elegance, was outstanding in Prokofiev's First Concerto infusing richness to the long, introspective melodic lines.

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New York City

28 Jan 2018

Denève masters the Prokofiev idiom

By Edward Sava-Segal

Bitterness and lamentation: Shostakovich and Messiaen at St John's Smith Square

By Elisabeth Schwarz, 14 November 2017

James Ehnes, Steven Osborne and Alban Gerhardt captured the lamentations of Shostakovich's Second Piano Trio before they were joined by clarinettist Jean Johnson for Messiaen's quartet at St John’s Smith Square.

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London

16 Nov 2017

Bitterness and lamentation at SJSS

By Elisabeth Schwarz

Striking Beethoven 5 from Nicholas Collon and the BBC Philharmonic

By Peter Connors, 21 October 2017

Nicholas Collon and the BBC Philharmonic play two pieces by Stravinsky, Sibelius and Beethoven in a fine concert at Bridgewater Hall.

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Manchester

22 Oct 2017

Striking Beethoven 5 from Collon and the BBC Phil

By Peter Connors

Edinburgh

James Ehnes excels in Edinburgh with Beethoven's Violin Concerto

By Simon Thompson, 13 October 2017

Ehnes excels in Beethoven, and Gardner draws lovely tone from the RNSO.

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Edinburgh

14 Oct 2017

James Ehnes excels in Beethoven's Violin Concerto

By Simon Thompson

Musical Technicolor from the LSO and Fabien Gabel

By Chris Garlick, 14 December 2016

A generous evening of heavyweight works with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Fabien Gabel.

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London

15 Dec 2016

Musical Technicolor from the LSO and Fabien Gabel

By Chris Garlick

Cleveland

Brilliant Prokofiev from the Cleveland Orchestra led by Stéphane Denève

By Timothy Robson, 27 October 2016

In this all-Prokofiev concert James Ehnes was a refined, precise soloist in the Violin Concerto no. 1.

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Cleveland

30 Oct 2016

Brilliant Prokofiev from the Cleveland Orchestra

By Timothy Robson

Sydney

Tea and Symphony: James Ehnes and the Sydney SO

By Tony Burke, 19 February 2016

Contrasts abounding in serenades by Mozart and Strauss.

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Sydney

22 Feb 2016

Tea and Symphony: James Ehnes and the Sydney SO

By Tony Burke

Sydney

Traditional Beethoven splendidly executed in Sydney

By Zoltán Szabó, 17 February 2016

Beethoven truly celebrated in Sydney, as another symphony cycle progresses.

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Sydney

20 Feb 2016

Traditional Beethoven splendidly executed in Sydney

By Zoltán Szabó

Juanjo Mena and the BBC Philharmonic embark on an “American Adventure”

By Rohan Shotton, 04 December 2015

The BBC Philharmonic brought us a fascinating programme of intriguingly juxtaposed perspectives from the old world and the new, before a heartfelt return to the European tradition.

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Manchester

07 Dec 2015

Juanjo Mena embarks on an “American Adventure”

By Rohan Shotton

Washington

Dancing like there's nobody watching: Gianandrea Noseda works NSO into luscious Rachmaninov 2

By Hilary Stroh, 12 November 2015

Gianandrea Noseda heats the National Symphony Orchestra up for Rachmaninov's Symphony 2.

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Washington

13 Nov 2015

Dancing like there's nobody watching

By Hilary Stroh

Cleveland

A transparent reading of Barber’s Violin Concerto from James Ehnes in Cleveland

By Timothy Robson, 01 August 2015

Conductor Brett Mitchell also led worthy performances of Dvořák’s The Noon Witch and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra, joined by student ensemble, the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra.

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Cleveland

03 Aug 2015

A transparent reading of Barber’s Violin Concerto

By Timothy Robson

An unusual and moving evening at Seattle's Summer Chamber Music Festival

By Thomas May, 17 July 2015

The second week of the Seattle Chamber Music Society's 2015 Summer Festival offered up an unusual juxtaposition of instrumental and vocal pieces, with a beautifully somber mood prevailing.

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Seattle

19 Jul 2015

An unusual and moving evening in Seattle'

By Thomas May

Marin Alsop and the LSO showcase a dynamic decade's music

By Jack Johnson, 07 June 2015

Virtuosic playing from the LSO under the decisive leadership of Marin Alsop enlivened the divergent soundscapes of Bartók, Korngold and Rachmaninov.

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London

10 Jun 2015

Marin Alsop and the LSO showcase a dynamic decade's music

By Jack Johnson

Oslo

Music where words end: The Oslo Philharmonic play Hellstenius, Nielsen and Sibelius

By Aksel Tollåli, 09 April 2015

The Oslo Philharmonic, Vasily Petrenko, and violinist James Ehnes give a dazzling performance of Nielsen's Violin Concerto, but fall flat in a strangely brutal performance of Sibelius' Symphony no. 1.

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Oslo

13 Apr 2015

Music where words end: The Oslo Phil

By Aksel Tollåli

James Ehnes and Andrew Litton enthuse with the CBSO in an all-English programme

By Hedy Mühleck, 10 December 2014

Canadian soloist James Ehnes and guest conductor Andrew Litton gave an unsentimental and appealing performance of an all-English programme.

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Birmingham

12 Dec 2014

Ehnes and Litton enthuse in an all-English programme

By Hedy Mühleck

Prom 35: Søndergård charts a sure progress through Sibelius’ Fifth

By Mark Pullinger, 12 August 2014

Inspired by the sight of sixteen swans in flight, the great swinging horn call in the final movement of Sibelius Fifth Symphony is one of the most life-affirming moments in the composer’s output. If this ‘Swan Hymn’ glowed rather than blazed brightly last night, it was the journey there which impressed in the hands of Thomas Søndergård, Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

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London

13 Aug 2014

Prom 35: Søndergård charts a sure progress through Sibelius’ Fifth

By Mark Pullinger

Vancouver

Romans and Britons: Ehnes and Vancouver Symphony dazzle in a colourful programme

By Kevin W Ng, 14 June 2014

Violinist James Ehnes and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on breathtaking form in an immense, virtuosic programme of Elgar, Respighi, Britten and Berlioz.

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Vancouver

15 Jun 2014

Romans and Britons: Ehnes and Vancouver Symphony dazzle in a colourful programme

By Kevin W Ng

BBC Philharmonic travels from Manchester to Salisbury Plain

By Holly Harrison, 23 May 2014

Sir Andrew Davis lead the BBC Philharmonic along “The Mancunian Way” and down to Salisbury Plain for Vaughan Williams' Ninth Symphony.

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Manchester

27 May 2014

BBC Philharmonic travels from Manchester to Salisbury Plain

By Holly Harrison

A Homecoming and a Debut in Seattle

By Thomas May, 13 March 2014

The violinist James Ehens brings his masterful Bartók back to Seattle in a program conducted by André de Ridder, who makes his Seattle Symphony debut.

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Seattle

14 Mar 2014

A Homecoming and a Debut in Seattle

By Thomas May

Paris

Mendelssohn and Brahms with the Orchestre National d'Île-de-France at the Salle Pleyel

By Constance Clara Guibert, 19 January 2014

At the Salle Pleyel, the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France performed a new piece by Alberto Colla, Mendelssohn’s famous Violin Concerto with James Ehnes, and Brahms’ Second Symphony, all conducted by Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård.

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Paris

22 Jan 2014

Orchestre National d'Île-de-France with Søndergård

By Constance Clara Guibert

Toronto

Classic Britten and Beethoven from Ehnes and Denève with the TSO

By Stanley Fefferman, 12 October 2013

If there were a Nobel Prize for violin, I would nominate James Ehnes. His playing of Britten’s Violin Concerto with the Toronto Symphony was drenched with emotions – pathos, irony, lamentation, sarcasm, tenderness and bliss – displayed and at the same time bounded by the discipline of his virtuosity, that like a diamond, radiated brilliance without attracting attention to itself.

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Toronto

10 Nov 2013

Classic Britten and Beethoven from Ehnes and Denève with the TSO

By Stanley Fefferman

Holst's The Planets with the Philharmonia and Ashkenazy in Birmingham

By Verity Quaite, 15 June 2013

Everyone has their favourite movement in Holst’s Planets suite. Whether it be the percussive ferocity of “Mars, the Bringer of War”, the contrasting tranquillity of “Venus, the Bringer of Peace” or the joviality of “Jupiter”, there is something in The Planets for everyone.

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Birmingham

18 Jun 2013

Holst's The Planets with the Philharmonia and Ashkenazy in Birmingham

By Verity Quaite

Oxford

The Dawn of the Stradivarius: James Ehnes and La Serenissima in Oxford

By Katy Wright, 14 June 2013

“The name Stradivarius had an air of magic to me.” Virtuoso violinist James Ehnes’ statement manages to capture the air of reverence which underpinned Friday’s Music at Oxford concert. The gala marked the opening of the UK’s first Stradivarius exhibition at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, and two violins from the exhibition were on temporary release for the evening.

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Oxford

17 Jun 2013

The Dawn of the Stradivarius: James Ehnes and La Serenissima in Oxford

By Katy Wright