In recital with Andrew Armstrong at Koerner Hall in Toronto

"His playing is phenomenal, his poise is absolute, his grasp of style is impeccable. The fabulous Kreutzer Sonata of Beethoven [was] a minutely detailed, superbly proportioned, dazzlingly executed performance by the two players…The opening movement, with its initial, magisterial adagio, its propulsive presto, and its return to adagio in the serene coda, was at once cogent and lyrical. The elegant middle movement, with its andante and four luminous variations, rounded off by the long, thoughtful coda, was entrancing. And the arduous presto finale was technically emancipated and absolutely hair-raising, with both players flying free at full stretch." (Globe and Mail, 30 November 2009)

Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Stéphane Denève

"The highlight was Ehnes's exceptional, seamless mix of lyricism and power in Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2. Between his magic bow and Denève's finely tuned baton, parts of the second movement became an ethereal waltz that carried us into another dimension." (Toronto Star, 27 November 2009)

Barber's Violin Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Stéphane Denève

"Ehnes is a wonderfully musical player. He found expressive meaning in nooks and crannies of the first movement that usually go overlooked. He's got a gorgeous tone." (Philadelphia Inquirer, 14 November 2009)

Korngold's Violin Concerto with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Bramwell Tovey

"Soloist James Ehnes handled both the concerto's technical challenges and its long lyrical lines with equal ease. The sensuous music of the second movement was beautifully rendered, and Ehnes made the most of the third movement's great tune and opportunity to show off in a memorable performance." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 18 October 2009)

"This CD contains some of the most jaw-droppingly breath-taking violinistic fireworks you are ever likely to hear. This review will become a list of superlatives and I'll be reaching for my thesaurus before long to find another word for extraordinary...for sustained listening and a greater sense of the music as an organic whole I find Ehnes to be without equal. A marvellous, amazing, stunning, spectacular, fabulous, awe-inspiring, fabulous - only half-way through the Microsoft office thesaurus but I'll leave out cool and groovy - piece of music-making." CD OF THE MONTH (MusicWeb International, November 2009) - READ THE FULL REVIEW

"He revisits [the 24 Caprices] with the experience of more than a decade, with new subtleties, fire, honed energy and a mature insight into the way Paganini could captivate his audiences not merely with acrobatic feats but also with a liquid lyricism and a spectrum of dynamic shadings that gave you his playing heart-stopping eloquence. You only have to listen to Ehnes in the slow sixth caprice in G minor, with its melodic line carried on a bed of shimmering trills, to appreciate, far from being a mere finger-testing study, the music has palpable shape and encapsulates poetic feeling. Elshewhere, as in the ninth caprice, Ehnes's full, rounded tone and emphasis in the 'hunting call' figuration are beautifully contrasted with ideas of delicate shading. This is a wonderful set that shows Paganini and Ehnes as masters or both technique and expression." CD OF THE WEEK (Daily Telegraph, 17 October 2009)

"No collection of virtuoso showpieces demands greater technical prowess than Paganini's 24 Caprices. Yet James Ehnes, whose artistry suggests that in Paganini's age he would have enjoyed similar stature to the great man, succeeds impressively in being more than merely thrilling. He realises that, extravagant though some of the music's gestures are, this is not simply a high-wire act. Listen to his control of colour, dynamic and articulation in the Sixth Caprice, where Paganini achieves the illusion of a cantabile line accompanied by tremolando chords. It's playing of phenomenal control, allied to musicianship of the highest order." (The Times, 25 October 2009)

"Ehnes gives a performance that balances bel canto refinement with an almost Beethovenian heroism. Technically, this is faultless. The spiccato is crisp, the octaves dazzling. Even more impressive is the melodic sweetness." (The Independent, 11 October 2009)

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

"The Tchaikovsky war horse had the distinct advantage of a young, exceptionally sensitive rider on this occasion. Canadian-born, Grammy-winning violinist James Ehnes revealed a refreshing concentration on the actual music in the concerto -- no show-off tricks or unduly fussy tempos. Everything flowed with a natural elegance and, in the most songful passages, great eloquence. Ehnes’ tone had both sweetness and body, easily holding its own against the orchestral forces, which Alsop guided surely. She and the ensemble sounded as fully caught up in this familiar concerto as the soloist, and the result was a remarkably involving performance." (Baltimore Sun, 2 October 2009)

James Honoured with International Achievement Award at WMCAs - September 19

James Ehnes added to his award collection over the weekend at the 2009 Western Music Awards ceremony in Brandon, Manitoba -- he received the International Achievement Award in honour of his significant contribution to the international music scene. Unavailable to attend the event due to performances in Japan, James accepted the award by video. For more information: WMCAs

"Glorious," "Radiant," & "Gorgeous" in Fort Worth

"It's always fun to walk into a classical music concert having never heard the featured soloist - and to walk out wanting to listen to no one else. That's what happened Saturday night after hearing James Ehnes play Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Ehnes played lyrically and beautifully throughout the three-movement piece. His smooth, silken tone was ennobling: honey-colored and radiant in the first movement; delicate like spun gold against the strings' plucked pearls in the Larghetto; and robust, slightly rusty-sounding, when introducing the concluding rustic dance Rondo. Ehnes never placed a note off-pitch, a phrase off-kilter, a shading off-color or a weight out of balance. The audience responded with an instantaneous and well-deserved standing ovation." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 August 2009)

"I can't think I've ever heard the concerto more cleanly played. Every single note, even in the virtuoso runs and double-stops of the Jascha Heifetz cadenzas, was precisely articulated and centered. And the fine-grained tone was gorgeous, from room-filling but unforced fortissimos to sweetly mellow high pianissimos...this was a glorious performance, beautifully proportioned, warmly shaped and tinted." (Dallas Morning News, 29 August 2009)

"the real highlight of the evening was Beethoven's Violin Concerto, which was given a gorgeous performance by violinist James Ehnes and the orchestra. Ehnes' playing is clean, elegant and sweet-toned, and a very welcome enhancement is that he avoids histrionics, instead employing just the motions necessary." (KERA - Art & Seek, 29 August 2009)

"Sheer Magic" at the Hollywood Bowl!
Barber's Violin Concerto with the LA Philharmonic and Bramwell Tovey

"Intimacy is a relative concept at the Hollywood Bowl. Warmly communicative musicians can turn the cavernous venue into something like a living room. The evening's coziness was most apparent during the concert's centerpiece, Barber's rapturous Violin Concerto, when the audience remained hushed after the first movement, allowing the superlative 33-year-old Canadian soloist James Ehnes to take a moment to tune his violin in the cool night air.

Ehnes last performed the Barber at the Bowl in 1998, but it's hard to imagine the earlier account matching this one for sheer magic. Ehnes' songlike vibrato and alluring tone were a marvel. In the nonstop, virtuosic Presto finale, Ehnes and Tovey negotiated the heart-pounding rhythmic and metrical irregularities with aplomb. Last year, they won a Grammy for their recording of the Barber, Korngold and Walton Violin Concertos with the Vancouver Symphony, where Tovey is music director. If anything, this performance, though perhaps not quite as refined, thrilled even more." (LA Times, 19 August 2009)

Paganini's 24 Caprices at the Salzburg Festival

"James Ehnes played with soft-as-butter phrasing, and a rich and subtle tone, bringing to life and elevating the whole compendium of violin techniques from stroking and bowing to plucking and striking the strings. The performance was a masterclass in how to transform virtuosic, circus acrobatics into sensitive 'scenes' for the violin, each one telling its own little story." (Salzburger Nachrichten, 7 August 2009)

James teams up with renowned pianist Jon Kimura Parker in recital

"A tsunami of violin playing by the Jascha Heifetz of our day, Canada's James Ehnes, and jovial piano virtuoso Jon Kimura Parker. Not only did they supply every detail and nuance of [the Prokofiev Sonata's] immense technical requirement, they also plumbed the limits of its inner drama. I found it hard to imagine this music more fully understood or more thrillingly played." (Globe and Mail, 23 July 2009)

"One of the finest concerts of the year...it was hard to imagine hearing a finer violin-and-piano duo than Ehnes and Parker. Ehnes and Parker shaded the long, four-movement [Prokofiev Sonata] with a remarkable expressive range. They made the complex, difficult score sound and look effortless. They did the same for Maurice Ravel's 1927 Sonata for Violin and Piano." (Toronto Star, 23 July 2009)

"The harmony and precision of the two artists making music in a duo recital was exceptional - it is hard to believe this was their first time playing together. Ehnes's trademark singing tone was very much in evidence throughout. Parker, a celebrated soloist in his own right, adopted just the right dynamic level, never overpowering the violin but at no time receding into the background either." (La Scena Musicale, 23 July 2009)

Walton Concerto at Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival

"The Canadian violinist possesses a commanding technical arsenal that allows him to tackle even the most tortuous difficulties, of which there are plenty in Walton's concerto, not least the Presto capriccioso's two-in-a-bar alternating harmonics and pizzicati. But sterling technique only gets you so far in this music, and Ehnes also possesses the requisite poetic sensibility, with a blend of sweetness and sinew well suited to Walton's restless romanticism. The rhapsodic opening movement has just the right wistful sense, Ehnes' gleaming tone and laser-like focus reminiscent of the work's dedicatee, without the emotional chill. Ehnes blazed through the myriad hurdles of the Italianate middle movement with dazzling bravura and technique to burn. The finale's main theme is of an almost Korngoldian sumptuousness, yet was rendered with heartfelt lyricism without oversugaring the music." (Chicago Classical Review, 17 June 2009)

Berg's Violin Concerto with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra

"He drew a pure, sweet and full tone, especially in the upper registers, that was a genuine pleasure to hear. This is largely due to remarkable bow control and a nuanced, varied vibrato. He managed the utmost delicacy on the most technically demanding double-stop passages, which can grate in the hands of lesser players." (The Tennesean, 10 April 2009)

James Ehnes wins 2009 JUNO Award

James Ehnes adds another award to his already impressive collection with his sixth JUNO win this past weekend. His CD/DVD HOMAGE won the 2009 JUNO for Classical Album of The Year: Solo Or Chamber Ensemble.

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra

"I have never heard such an accurate reading of the score - the text - as that given by Canadian violinist James Ehnes. So: 100% accuracy. Fine, but what about the spirit, the passion and the sheer romance of the piece? Quite simply, the performance was saturated with them, but delivered without hyperbole, bombast or flash...the result on Friday was glorious music-making, with the SCO firing on all its polished cylinders." (Glasgow Herald, 16 March 2009)

"Ehnes made the first movement's cascades sparkle, the second movement's lyrics sing, and he brought friendly affirmation to the finale." (MusicalCriticism, 15 March 2009)

"...his rendition of Tchaikovsky's only Violin Concerto was superb. Playing the 'Ex Marsik' Stradivarius, he mastered the complex passages with great virtuosity - particularly the cadenza in the first movement with its notoriously high notes." (Edinburgh Guide, 14 March 2009)

In Recital with Andrew Armstrong in London

"The Ehnes package, revealed immediately in the melodious opening andante of the Leclair, consists of palpable joy in the instrument, intonation so sweet in its perfection that you feel it physically, a strong, relaxed bow arm which wet-moulds every phrase - and a total lack of distracting ego-projection. Ehnes and Armstrong smile a lot, though: their encore, Ravel's Berceuse, dedicated to Fauré, was well into overtime - "so we're playing it just for ourselves", Ehnes joked. Its gentle lullaby went straight to the heart of their audience, though - just as Ehnes and Armstrong had pinned them to their seats a moment or two earlier in their performance of Ravel's Tzigane. Here, every colour, resonance and grain of the wood of the violin rang out in overtone, undertone and harmonic. And the piano, reincarnated as cimbalom, flexed the muscle of the Hungarian gypsy language into which both musicians dug deep." (London Times, 11 March 2009)

James Ehnes and the NY Philharmonic perform Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in Puerto Rico

"an impeccable version...Ehnes and Maazel collaborated in an interpretation that was distinguished by the soberness of the Prelude, the elegance of the Adagio and surprising technical perfection in the Finale." (El Nuevo Día, 3 March 2009)

"The two initial cadenzas already suggested the route that his interpretation would follow, more attentive to the lyrical possibilities of the concerto than to its virtuous vein. With clear technique, very careful timbre and great projection, he succeeded in the persuasion of his translation of the score, even in the final movement, marked "allegro enérgico," in which a greater show of physical force is usually expected. Nevertheless, after the central romance, so subtly and elegantly constructed together with a flexible orchestra, continuation of the lyricism in the third movement assumed a pleasing and convincing sensory experience." (El Vocero, 3 March 2009)

Missed your chance to hear James and David Fulton speak about Homage on CBC's Sunday Afternoon In Concert?

Catch it on the SAIC Concerts on Demand website as a bonus feature to their recording of the Brahms Double Concerto with James Ehnes, cellist Jan Vogler and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Or listen to it directly here.

HOMAGE Nominated for a 2009 JUNO Award!

James received his 13th JUNO nomination today when the 2009 JUNO Award nominations were announced this morning in Vancouver. HOMAGE is up for CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: SOLO OR CHAMBER ENSEMBLE.

The JUNO Awards will be handed out at ceremonies in Vancouver on March 28th and 29th.

James Talks about HOMAGE on BBC Breakfast News - 28 January 2009

Brahms in Florida and Vancouver

"A stellar performance. Ehnes has a large enough sound to be authoritative, but a sweet tone that never becomes strident or forced no matter what the volume. His eloquent interpretation of the first movement cadenza was particularly impressive, hinting in fleeting moments at the solo violin writing of the great J.S. Bach. (Sure enough, the audience was treated to two unexpected mid-concert Bach encores.) The reading was rich in emotion, delivered with charm but without exaggeration. In what is an obviously an affectionate partnership, Tovey and Ehnes played off each other's strengths, creating a triumph for soloist, conductor and orchestra." (Vancouver Sun, 19 January 2009)

"This long and challenging piece of music was delivered with impressive skill by James Ehnes and the superb Stradivarius instrument entrusted to him, amply justifying the international acclaim his work has attracted." (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 11 January 2009)

Rave reviews in Bournemouth!

"All ears were on James Ehnes. Is there a creamier, more ravishing violin timbre in the world today than that from Ehnes's Strad? Add immaculate tuning, serene lyricism and an understated but unfaltering musicality, and its clear why the young Canadian is fast becoming the connoisseur's fiddler-of-choice." (The Times, 28 November 2008)

"... the exceptional violinist James Ehnes gave a performance of the Beethoven concerto that was transfixing in its eloquence, in perfect tandem with the qualities of refinement and depth that are components of the Bournemouth orchestra's collective personality. Serenity and sinew, radiance and rhythmic point were searchingly deployed in Ehnes's profoundly expressive interpretation, the tumultuous reception of which was rewarded with an encore of the gigue..." (Daily Telegraph, 28 November 2008)

James Ehnes wins 2008 GRAMOPHONE Award!

James has won the 2008 Gramophone Award for Best Concerto Recording of the Year for Elgar's Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra (London), conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

This is the third major award for James this year - his recording of the Barber, Korngold and Walton Concertos with the Vancouver Symphony conducted by Bramwell Tovey won the 2008 GRAMMY and JUNO Awards for Best Classical Album of the year. It also won the Western Canadian Music Award for Outstanding Classical Recording.

Congratulations!

James Ehnes takes Australia and New Zealand by storm!

"...dazzling showmanship through many near-impossible cadenzas." (Courier Mail, 11 August 2008)

"...This night belonged to guest soloist James Ehnes..." (The Age, 4 August 2008)

"A master of amazing music" (profile) (New Zealand Herald, 30 August 2008)

"On any scale, James Ehnes's playing would surely rank highly... Eliciting a splendid sound from the Stradivarius, Ehnes negotiated the work with exceptional clarity and impeccable taste. His playing is thoroughly modern, in the sense of being free from exaggeration or excess, but still has sufficient individuality to distinguish it from the mass of technically proficient violinists who seem to be cloned by some of the larger music schools.

With a strong rhythmic backbone supporting it, his performance was appropriately virtuosic and energetic, and when required, lyrical and warmly expressive. The enthusiastic response to his performance resulted in two encores from Bach. No doubt many members of the audience could have listened to far more from this very talented young artist." (The Advertiser, 20 August 2008)

"His reading of the Tchaikovsky... was on par with the greats. Despite performing in a venue with challenging acoustics, he consistently produced a full-bodied, rich tone only partially explained by the remarkable instrument on which he plays (a 1715 Stradivarius). His flawless technique was entirely servile to a sophisticated musicality.

There was nothing mannered about his playing, no labouring over the work's excruciatingly virtuosic passages. Ornamentation, phrasing and dynamics were sensitive and never contrived.

His confident, assured air -- beautifully demonstrated in a spacious, musically intelligent treatment of the first movement cadenza -- was devoid of arrogance. His treatment of the emotionally charged second movement particularly impressed for its restrained melancholy rather than schmaltzy self-indulgence. Above all, Ehnes brought subtlety, clarity and expressive detail to this performance with such effortless elegance that even the reserved Melbourne audience demanded five curtain calls.

A rhythmically charged, delicately shaped reading of the Preludio from Bach's Partita No3 sealed the evening. Melbourne made it clear it wants this performer to return soon." (The Australian, 5 August 2008)

"Ehnes' rendering of the host is graceful and wonderfully skilled. The interchange which he stimulates with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is vibrant and engaging." (The Australian Stage, 31 July 2008)

"He is a Performer of unflappable security, gifted with as resonant and true a double-stopping technique as I've heard and dispatching the piece's quirky virtuosity with good humour and elegant control. Still, Ehnes has more to him than technique, shown in a searing account of the slow Agathon movement where the composer's melodic gift shines out with startling sincerity." (The Age, 29 July 2008)

James Ehnes on WNYC's Soundcheck

James Ehnes will be talking with Brian Wise on WNYC's Soundcheck on Thursday, June 26 from 2 to 3pm.

Become a friend!

James Ehnes now has a Facebook page. Become a friend and stay updated with all the latest information, and more!

Barber, Korngold & Walton wins again!

James Ehnes has won the 2008 JUNO Award for Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist with Large Ensemble.

This brings the total awards for this album to three, having already won a GRAMMY Award and a Western Canadian Music Award earlier this year.

James was at the JUNOs where he accepted the award and also appeared as a presenter on the live telecast.

Prestigious RPS Nomination for James Ehnes

James Ehnes has been nominated for a Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Music Award, one of the UK's most prestigious classical music honours. James is up for the Instrumentalist Award in recognition of his performances throughout the UK in 2007.

The RPS Music Award winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Thursday 15 May at the Dorchester Hotel, London. A special programme devoted to the RPS Music Awards will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 at 7.00pm on Friday 16 May.

In "Top Form" with the Seattle Symphony

Ehnes [was] at the top of his form on Thursday evening, when he was featured in the Glazunov Violin Concerto with Gerard Schwarz on the podium. With his warmly romantic sound and technical finesse, Ehnes polished up the Glazunov as if it were a rare gem, in a noble performance that ignited an ovation. Everything he does is beautiful and musical, from the meltingly lovely opening passages through the tricky double-stops and harmonics. You won't hear Ehnes scraping and scratching away at his instrument, forcing the tone, or engaging in any showoff maneuvers. He makes everything sound easy and natural, and his intonation is uncannily accurate. Ehnes belongs in the top rank of today's violinists; every aspiring player (and every fiddle fan) should hear him." (Seattle Times, 14 March 2008)

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Kent Nagano

"Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto as played by Grammy-winning James Ehnes was full of kinetic energy in the outer movements and warm feeling in the Canzonetta. The tone was big and the technique unerring. This Canadian is at the top of his game." (Montreal Gazette, 5 March 2008)

"The best moment of the evening was the Concerto for Violin by Tchaikovsky, played by James Ehnes. Spectacular phraising, where the text permitted, a certain penchant for the risky, in essence a real personality interjected a new life into a too-often heard concerto. Let's be grateful for what the young Ehnes gave us: an irreproachable technique, an always balanced sonority..." (La Presse, 5 March 2008)

"It has been a long time since this violinist has been shown in such a light : brilliant, risk-taking, with visceral, almost bestial playing... After a very "proper" beginning, the violinist and the conductor progressively freed themselves and, for the finishing thrust, it was Kent Nagano who gave the signal with a very sharp accelerando before the cadence of the first movement. The Canzonetta, never slow or saccharine, was the prelude to an exaltant, very vivacissimo Finale. Ehnes certainly merited his paycheque (and even a bonus)." (Le Devoir, 4 March 2008)


February 29, 2008 - James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong: Musical Homerun in Calgary

"For baseball-loving violinist James Ehnes, it was a musical home run: a sold-out audience leaping to its feet at the end of the concert, shouting and whistling its appreciation. Few recitals I have witnessed have been more enthusiastically received. Ehnes plays a Stradivarius violin, and his style of performance is congruent with everything the name has come to mean in violin tone: brilliant yet singing, sensuous yet full-throated and powerful. Armstrong was all fire and energy in the Strauss, the two performers well matched in their approach to the music and in the superb technical level displayed." (Calgary Herald, 29 February 2008) Read the full review

GRAMMY WIN!!!

Last night James Ehnes took home the 2008 GRAMMY Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra) for his recording of the violin concertos by Barber, Korngold and Walton with Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Congratulations to everyone involved in the project!

Listen to James's interview with Performance Today's Fred Child on public radio shortly after his GRAMMY win.

Listen to James and Bramwell Tovey talk about their GRAMMY win on CBC Radio's As It Happens (time point 20:12)

February 5, 2008 - Double JUNO Nomination

The JUNO Award nominations were announced today and James is up twice -- for Barber, Korngold, Walton Concertos with the Vancouver Symphony and Bramwell Tovey and for the Elgar Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis -- both in the same category, Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloist with Large Ensemble.

The JUNO Awards will be handed out at ceremonies in Calgary on April 5 and 6th.

Youngest person elected into the Royal Society of Canada

James Ehnes has become the youngest person ever elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canadathe national academy dedicated to the promotion of exceptional learning, research and accomplishments in the arts, humanities and sciences. The citation reads:

"Widely considered one of the finest violinists of his generation, James Ehnes has established an international reputation of rare distinction for his performances of uncommon expressivity and musicianship with the world's most renowned conductors and orchestras. Possessing a remarkable, award-winning discography of over 20 CDs at the young age of 31, he also gives generously of his time to aspiring young musicians in the cities in which he travels. James Ehnes is one of Canada's brightest cultural exports as he consistently reminds international critics and audiences of Canada's rich musical depth."

More Rave Reviews for James's ELGAR

Daily Telegraphy CLASSICAL CD of the WEEK (January 19, 2008)
"...a heart-stoppingly sensitive interpretation which has now been further consolidated through experience, making for a performance that seems to strike at the music's very soul. Ehnes, in whom technical acumen and beauty of tone can be taken for granted, captures the passion and wistfulness of the concerto's temperament ideally, the ebb and flow of emotion and pacing finding poignant counterparts in the way Andrew Davis conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra. Phrasing and dynamics follow the naturally undulating contours of the music, but, in the orchestra as in the solo part, it is the range of insights and unassuming subtleties of expression that cause the shivers to run up and down the spine."
Read the full review in PDF

Gramophone EDITOR's CHOICE - January 2008 "Not since Nigel Kennedy's 1997 remake with Sir Simon Rattle and the CBSO (EMI, 1/98) have I heard an account of the Elgar as thrillingly combustible, imaginative and involving as this. James Ehnes brings to this great concerto a rapt identification, tingling temperament and glowing ardour... Not only is Ehnes's technical address impeccable and intonation miraculously true, his contribution is remarkable for its intrepid emotional scope, athletic agility and (perhaps above all) jaw-dropping delicacy…a performance of conspicuous pedigree and insight guaranteed to make you fall in love all over again with this sublime music and which can only boost Ehnes's standing as one of the most gifted and charismatic fiddlers around."
Read the full review in PDF

Classic FM's Featured Disc of the Month - January 2008 "From the opening bars you can tell this is something really special. Ehnes's playing…is immediately rapturous, mercurial and subtle. He plays his 1715 'Ex Marsick' Stradivarius with a luscious, silvery tone, full of light, shade and colour, and has a very natural, eloquent way with phrasing that gets to the truth of each gesture in the music - especially in the rhapsodic, extended aria of the slow movement. His awesome technical ability sounds so natural he makes light of the fearsome difficulties of the Allegro moltos, creating a virtuoso display that's impressive, but never gaudy or flashy for its own sake. Ehnes is at his most sincere and spellbinding [in the final movement]; accompanied by the hushed interjections of the orchestra, he creates a breathtaking musical intensity. Here, soloist, conductor and orchestra shape everything beautifully, with an almost telepathic sense of togetherness; it often feels like time has been suspended for the listener." Read the full review in PDF

2 Nights & 5 Mozart Concertos in Vancouver

"Ehnes is a deservedly world-recognized violinist, producing an intonation as sweet as an apple on all four strings, over the four octave range, and in every thumb position. His smooth legato playing lived up to Mozart's own ideal, "like oil," though he was talking more about keyboard technique. Through the whole program [he] played with the expressivity of a great musician while fronting a smallish period-sized group of strings, oboes and French horns (plus flutes in the third concerto). There was a group feeling about the playing but never a sense that Ehnes was anything less than the first among equals, playing gloriously." (Vancouver Sun, 19 January 2008)

Thursday, January 10th - Catch James on CBC Radio One's Q with Jian Ghomeshi! James will speak about his GRAMMY nomination as well as upcoming projects. Q airs live to SIRIUS Satellite Radio at 12noon EST (repeated at 8pm and 2am) and is broadcast on CBC Radio One at 2pm and 10pm EST. Check local listings for times.

If you missed your chance live, hear it on the Q podcast or read the CBCNews.ca story.

Barber Violin Concerto with the Detroit Symphony and Peter Oundjian

"Soloist James Ehnes played the two lyrical movements with loving care, taste and a deep-hued glow, dispatching the zippy and technical finale with lickety-split assurance." (Detroit Free Press, 12 January 2008)

GRAMMY Nomination

Considered a highlight of 2006 by critics around the world, James Ehnes's recording of the violin concertos by Barber, Korngold and Walton with Bramwell Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra today received a 2008 GRAMMY nomination in the category of Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra). The GRAMMY Awards will be handed out on February 10, 2008. Check back then for news!

JAMES EHNES ON THE COVER OF STRAD MAGAZINE

Read the full piece here - Strad, November 2007

In recital at Toronto's Walter Hall

"This was one of the best Toronto recitals of 2007. [Bach] builds in difficulty that Ehnes brushed off with incredible poise. He was mesmerizing as his bow skipped from string to string. Strauss's extravagantly expressive 1887 Sonata was equally spellbinding." (Toronto Star, 7 December 2007)

"Lyrical and brilliant" with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra

“Violinist James Ehnes joined the orchestra for a rendition of William Walton's Violin Concerto that was by turns lyrical and brilliant…. The performance was as precise as it was expressive. As an encore Ehnes played a movement from Bach's Third Sonata for solo violin. It was brilliant and immaculate.” (Ottawa Citizen, 14 November 2007)

"Two of [the works] were carried by this violinist of great class who is James Ehnes: playing that is perfectly balanced without an instant of virtuosic bluffing, a pure full sound, an admirable quality of intonation. At 31 years he emanates a maturity of thought, a serenity that permits the work being performed to find its true voice. Composed for Jasha Heifetz, of whom one could say Ehnes is the heir, [the Walton] concerto is rarely performed because it needs a violinist of this stature. While Ehnes played the Walton on his precious Stradivarius (Ex-Marsick 1715), he played Ridout's Ballade on a dazzling Guarnerius of 1745. It allowed him to give a sumptuous array of colours to this gentle ballade. As an encore, James Ehnes offered the "Allegro assai" of J.S. Bach's Sonata No. 3, musically sparkling." (Le Droit, 15 November 2007)

“Ehnes offered his take on the Violin Concerto…He recorded this difficult, mood-shifting piece last year and, if anything, his performance last night was even more vivid. Ehnes returned after intermission to play the late Toronto composer Godfrey Ridout's Ballade No. 1 for viola and string orchestra…Here, with the bigger instrument in hand, Ehnes turned all sweet and romantic, without ever loosing the rock-steady control he has over a bow that turns every phrase into a carefully shaped arc.” (Toronto Star, 16 November 2007)

“… Ehnes soloed as if completing a lustrous incantation featuring long, double-stop runs, which are murderously difficult though he made them sound easy.” (Globe & Mail, 17 November 2007)

Released in the UK and Canada already, James Ehnes's "spellbinding" new Elgar disc is receiving rave reviews

Released in the UK and Canada already, James Ehnes's "spellbinding" new disc is receiving rave reviews:

"I'm mystified that the major labels aren't, as far as I know, vying to secure the services of James Ehnes. He plays Elgar's Violin Concerto with an alchemic mix of passionate intensity and clear-headed intelligence, lavishing upon this spacious, hyper-romantic work a sound of staggeringly rich, luscious beauty, from first note to last." (London Times, 28 October 2007)

"James Ehnes plays with supreme assurance and tenderness, particularly in the central andante, the essence of the work's enigmatic inscription." (Guardian, 11 November 2007)

"The violinist's formidable technique really does help to make this a spellbinding experience...a 'must have' for all serious collectors of romantic violin music." (musicalcriticism.com, 22 October 2007)

"This recording goes straight to the head of the class in every department. Ehnes's technique is so secure that he can focus his attention on projecting the drama and logic of the score, and this he does like few others." (Ottawa Citizen, 10 November 2007)

"…glowing, gimmick-free performances" (Toronto Star, 13 November 2007)

James on Bravo! Arts & Minds
Saturday, October 27 @ 7am EST and 6pm EST

Catch James on Bravo! Arts & Minds October 27 at 7am and 6pm EST.
If you miss it, the show will be replayed again Sunday, October 28 at 7pm EST and Wednesday, October 31 at 7:30pm EST.
Check local listings for times across Canada.

To watch a clip, check out the Bravo! website

Watch out for Upcoming CD Releases

Release dates: UK October 29, US/Canada early November
Onyx 4025
James has recorded one of Elgar's greatest masterpieces, the Violin Concerto, with Sir Andrew Davis and the Philharmonia Orchestra. The recording was made live in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 17 and 20 May 2007.
Early review: "The violinist's formidable technique really does help to make this a spellbinding experience...a 'must have' for all serious collectors of romantic violin music." (musical criticism.com full review)

Release date: UK, US, Canada end October, Black Box 1109
James rejoins American contemporary pianist Andrew Russo after their highly-praised Adams recording for two of American composer Paul Schoenfield's chamber works: Four Souvenirs for violin and piano and his piano trio Café Music also with cellist Edward Arron. Check back for reviews.

The CD is the 5th in Andrew Russo's American Composer series for the label. For more info. www.russocentral.com

Barber, Korngold, Walton takes home a WCMA

James's highly-acclaimed recording of concertos by Barber, Korngold and Walton has won the 2007 Western Canadian Music Award for OUTSTANDING CLASSICAL RECORDING. The awards were given out at a ceremony in Moose Jaw, SK, October 21.

James Ehnes at the 2007 BBC Proms:

July 23, Recital at Cadogan Hall:

“Earlier, at a lunchtime Prom in Cadogan Hall, the fine Canadian fiddler James Ehnes and pianist Eduard Laurel had premiered an intriguing work by the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis called Two Movements (with Bells). The bells were well hidden in the piano texture, but the piece was superbly crafted, rhythmically charged and full of surging, sometimes angry emotion…” (The Times)

"..In Monday lunchtime’s Proms chamber concert, Ehnes, with his regular pianist Eduard Laurel, made no less striking an impact in a deeply thoughtful performance of Elgar’s Violin Sonata, combining emotional power with wistful delicacy, enriched with that subtle mix of light and shade, boldness and restraint that makes the work such an endlessly fascinating subject for interpretation.” (The Telegraph)

“The Elgar was fervently played by Ehnes and Laurel who commanded Elgar’s twists and turns...” (classicalsource.com)

July 25, Concert at Royal Albert Hall with the Bournemouth Symphony, conducted by Marin Alsop – Samuel Barber’s Violin Sonata

“In between came one of the most beautifully poised, heartfelt accounts of Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto it would be possible to imagine. The soloist was the young Canadian James Ehnes.” (The Telegraph)

“James Ehnes was the soloist, effusively lyrical in the first two movements, hair-raisingly virtuosic in the finale, which was deemed unplayable at the time of composition…” (The Guardian)

4 July - With the Seattle Chamber Music Society

James has assumed an important new position at the Seattle Chamber Music Society, as associate artistic director. He returned recently to perform for the first time since being appointed.

"Ehnes, newly appointed associate artistic director of the festival, played this lush, beautiful music with sympathy, sweetness of tone and limpid phrasing." (Seattle Post Intelligencer, 4 July 2007)

"First came a memorable reading of the familiar "Meditation" from Massenet's "Thais," performed with Ehnes' trademark gorgeous sound..." (The Seattle Times, 4 July 2007)

Summer 2007

This summer, James will be performing with the Seattle Chamber Music Society July 3, 5, 6, and 9. This will be the first time he returns since being appointed the new Associate Artistic Director of the society. James will also be spending a week in Quebec playing festivals, Sainte-Pétronille, Festival de Lanaudière, and Domaine Forget, before heading off to London for the Proms. In August he will perform at the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, Ontario and the Peninsula Festival in Ephraim, Wisconsin as well as the Moritzburg Festival (Germany) and the Stresa Festival (Italy) .

17 May 2007 - James "An impressive soloist" Elgar tour

"James Ehnes was an impressive soloist; his playing never seems hurried, and there were moments when a degree of detachment or coolness perfectly complemented the full-blooded orchestral playing. Ehnes' instrument - the so-called 'Ex Marsick' Stradivarius of 1715 - made a gorgeous sound, full of subtle tonal colours." (Seen and Heard, 18 May 2007)

"James Ehnes bought out all these elements in a way that inspired a newly refreshed love for a familiar work. His intonation was impeccable, his control of the differing emotional elements was impressive and the end was truly magnificent, a fitting climax to a memorable interpretation." (Classical Source, 17 May 2007)

9 May 2007 - James Ehnes is the new Associate Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

He will assist founding Artistic Director Toby Saks with the selection of musicians and repertoire for the Society's programs: "This is one of the most exciting chamber music festivals in the world and I am extremely proud and honored to accept the position of Associate Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society. The SCMS has been a major part of my life for more than a decade and I look forward to taking an active role in shaping the future of this wonderful organization."

James talks about his Elgar tour

In preperation for his tour with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis, James sat down with Richard Slaney to talk about his upcoming performances of the Elgar Violin Concerto among other things. To hear or read the interview, visit the Philharmonia Orchestra's website.

A Proms favourite

After his highly popular appearance at his last BBC Proms concert, James returns to London's major summer music event for 2 concerts:

Monday, July 23, 1pm, Cadogan Hall: James gives a recital with Eduard Laurel, featuring the world premiere of a new work by Aaron Jay Kernis commissioned for James and Eduard by the BBC for this year's Proms.

Wednesday, July 25, 7pm, Royal Albert Hall: James rejoins the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop for Barber's Violin Concerto, a work he has recently recorded for the CBC and Onyx labels.

Check out James on the NACO Podcast

In an interview with Christopher Millard, James discusses the mystery of the Strad among other things. Check out the National Arts Center Orchestra podcast.

16 April 2007 - A "shimmering" performance with the National Ballet of Canada

"Jerome Robbins created Opus 19/The Dreamer in 1979 for the New York City Ballet. It features Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No 1 in D Major, splendidly performed in this instance by James Ehnes, whose liquid, passionate yet controlled tone spun out a shimmering magic carpet for the dancers." (Ottawa Citizen, 14 April 2007)

2 April 2007 - James's Mozart CD wins JUNO

James's recording of Mozart's complete works for violin and orchestra - the 5 Violin Concertos and 3 single movement works - won the 2007 JUNO for Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloists with Large Ensemble Accompaniment. Many thanks to everyone involved in the project!

14 March 2007 - Mendelssohn Montreal

"Ehnes played with secure technique and musicianship, but more importantly with a rich silky sound, a very personal passion and emotional depth. Ehnes' performance... was secure and beautiful music-making of the highest level." (Times Argus, March 16, 2007)

"This Canadian is one of the steadiest on the circuit. His mix of quick tempo and steady vibrato in the Andante created a faithful metaphor for the composer's combined classical and romantic impulses." (The Gazette, March 15, 2007)

“Between these two symphonic moments, James Ehnes performed Mendelssohn famous 2nd concerto for violin with a sensibility very close to the best in this repertoire.He approached the concerto with a lightness of bowing and balance in the virtuosic passages with a fine and bounding vivacity in the finale." (Le Devoir, March 14, 2007)

“James Ehnes took on the celebrated Concerto Op. 64 by Mendelssohn and brought it to port with no problems. Beautiful sonority, precision, musicality." (La Presse, 14 March, 2007)

09 March 2007 - BSO is heavenly and down to earth
"All of 30, Ehnes has something of the patrician in him as a player, an extra degree of elegance flowing behind his sweet, superbly controlled tone. He had Mozart's lines singing poetically, each curve made meaningful, but without the slightest affectation. Cadenzas were full of character, not just technical finesse. With Herbig assuring a gently shaded response from the ensemble to match the soloist's refinement, the performance emitted a soft, ethereal glow." (Baltimore Sun, 9 March 2007)

"Solo violinist James Ehnes nudged from Mozart's score a pleasantly sleek lyricism and nimbly articulated phrasing, ornamenting each movement with elegant cadenzas." (Washington Post, 10 March 2007)

03 March 2007 - "Ehnes Brings Down the House" in Kitchener-Waterloo
"Post intermission saw the young Canadian violinist James Ehnes bring the house down with his darkly passionate performance of Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No.1, which invoked an instant standing ovation and multiple curtain calls, culminating in a much appreciated encore performance of a solo Bach. Most striking about Ehnes' playing is his gorgeous, rich, dark tone, which was particularly well suited to both the Shostakovich and Bach." (The Record, 3 March 2007)

23 Feb 2007 - A "dazzling" debut at Wigmore Hall
"Mercifully free of affectation or vanity, yet blessed with as stunning a technique and as intriguing a musical personality as any violinist on the circuit, James Ehnes seems set to become one of classical music's biggest names. ...he produces a simply gorgeous palette of timbres - sometimes warm and velvety, sometimes with the pellucid clarity of lark song at dawn, elsewhere thrillingly powerful and incisive." (London Times, 23 February 2007)
Read much more in the full review

"There is a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere about an Ehnes concert, and, in recitals, the close artistic rapport he has established with his customary pianist Eduard Laurel is patent. But behind the composure there lies a technical arsenal second to none, and a musical sensibility of extraordinary perception and communicative power." (Daily Telegraph, 22 February 2007)
More in the full review

06 Feb 2007 - James's Mozart CD Nominated for a JUNO
James received his 10th JUNO nomination today. His recording of Mozart's complete works for violin and orchestra is up for Classical Album of the Year: Large Ensemble or Soloists with Large Ensemble Accompaniment. The awards will be handed out March 31 and April 1, 2007.

25 Jan 2007 - A superb Elgar with the Duisburg Philharmoniker
"Before intermission, the second longest concerto in the violin literature - Edward Elgar's concerto - was given a grandiose performance... the horrendous technical requirements were wonderfully executed by James Ehnes...after the never ending applause Ehnes thanked the audience with the Praeludium from Bach's E major Partita." (NRZ, 22 January 2007)

Barber, Korngold & Walton continues to receive rave reviews!

BKW named one of the "100 CDs You Must Own" by Classic FM's David Mellor

Classic FM's Featured Disc of the Month - February 2007
"As the soloist, the brilliant 30-year-old Canadian violinist is ideal, his obvious love and deep understanding of these works shining through every bar of the music. Ehnes's playing [of the Korngold] is rapturously lyrical in the shimmering, wistful slow movement while also bringing shape and structure to the virtuoso passages. In all three concertos, James Ehnes proves that he is one of today's most talented violinists. His tone soars and sings like a human voice -- this is violin playing of the highest class. He brings out the nostalgic, hyper-emotional melodies of the Korngold without straying into over-sentimentality, as well as the often cheeky virtuoso brilliance of Walton's concerto with equal aplomb. His innate sense of rhythm and timing, and spot-on intonation almost make you forget he's playing an instrument, so clear and direct is his expression of the music."
Full feature review and interview with James

Gramophone Praises James Ehnes - February 2007
"James Ehnes gives superb performances, bringing out their full emotional thrust without vulgarity or exaggeration. His playing has always been impressive on disc, but here he excels himself in expressive range as well as the tonal beauty, with expressive rubato perfectly controlled. An outstanding disc in every way."
Full review

Top 5 recordings of 2006
"James Ehnes is the finest violinist of his generation and these superb concerto recordings are all the proof I need to make that statement. Lush tone, flawless technique and personality to burn make this one of the finest recordings of the year." (WRR, December 2006)

"The pure beauty of his violin is splendid... James Ehnes's interpretation is not exaggerated, flowing with the music, breathing with great sensitivity the lines of these concertos, his high notes very pure, woven together like a spider's web." (ClassicsToday France, January 2007)

"The Canadian violinist plays with grace, but also with brio, in particular in the virtuoso movements offered by these concertos." (ConcertoNet, January 2007)

"The young Canadian James Ehnes proves an admirable champion of all three works, unfazed by the technical demands of Korngold and Walton, and wallowing in their rhapsodic melodies. This is gorgeous music, sumptuously performed." (Sunday Times, 26 November 2006)

"Ehnes's playing is as smooth a silk." (Toronto Star, 23 November 2006)

"All three composers tested a soloist's virtuosity, particularly Samuel Barber in the "presto in moto perpetuo" that forms the short but fiendish finale to his concerto; nor was Walton any slouch in the demands he made in the "presto capriccioso alla napolitana" at the centre of the concerto that he wrote on the Amalfi coast. Mediterranean warmth as well as caprice radiates from Ehnes's performance, and in the other two concertos he gets right to the heart of the music's temperament, nostalgic but with spirited uplift as well. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra does him proud in establishing vibrant, complementary support. This is a must-have disc." (Daily Telegraph, 11 November 2006) *CD of the Week*

"Mr. Ehnes lacks nothing for clean-cut virtuosity, and you'll not hear Barber's perpetual-motion finale tossed off with cooler brilliance. A really attractive combination of concertos, well played and naturally recorded." (Dallas Morning News, 28 October 2006)

"What a great collection of concertos. The performances show violinist Ehnes in peak form, full of star quality with his silky tone and almost offhanded ease with the technical fireworks (many of which were written for Jascha Heifetz)." (Philadelphia Inquirer, 22 October 2006)

"Ehnes is very convincing with this approach. He's virtuosic but not flashy. His sweet, warm tone wins you over and enhances the more purely musical aspects of this music, and especially in the gorgeous slow movement of the Korngold. Intonation and tuning are once again, near perfect, as are his phrasing and overall musicianship." (Sound Advice, 14 October 2006)

Last minute Korngold in Houston November 24, 25, 26

James Ehnes is filling in for Hilary Hahn with the Houston Symphony Orchestra this Thanksgiving Day weekend. He will perform Korngold's Vioin Concerto and will be signing copies of his new recording of the work following each performance. For more information on tickets, visit www.houstonsymphony.org

"Lustre and muscle" in Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop

"What an honest musician this Canadian is. Nothing is superficial. He faced this warhorse squarely, made it live, and made it his own. He was febrile; his vibrato trilled; notes came glued with a little portamento. Yet nothing here was pushed to excess; nor was he ever out of step with the orchestra's own passion. Ehnes fully deserved his encore. The Bach solo proved a fine showcase for his fingers and his 1715 Stradivarius - an instrument notable as much for its dark beauty low down as its silver gleam on top. " (London Times, 20 November 2006)

"The soloist in Mendelssohn's E minor Violin Concerto was the outstanding young Canadian, James Ehnes. Ehnes's instinctive expressiveness was allied to the sensitivity and character that Alsop etched into the orchestral background. Bold of line and free of sentiment, Ehnes's playing had lustre and muscle, with beautiful turns of phrase in the slow movement and a light, airy quality to the finale. This was a performance that stripped away clichés that might have accrued in interpretations of this most familiar of concertos over the years, and showed it in all its originality and freshness." (Daily Telegraph, 17 November 2006)

ADISQ Award for Bach Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord volume 2

James Ehnes and Luc Beausejour have won the 2006 ADISQ Award (Felix) "album de l'année - classique soliste et petit ensemble" for volume 2 of their recordings of Bach's Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord. The award was given out last night (October 23) at a gala televised by ARTV.

James Ehnes to Release his 20th CD: Barber, Korngold & Walton

James Ehnes will add to his already impressive discography with his 20th title, a recording of Violin Concertos by Barber, Korngold and Walton with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Bramwell Tovey.

The CD will be available October 24 in Canada & the US on the CBC Records label and released on the ONYX label throughout the rest of the world on October 30

VANCOUVER CD LAUNCH - NOVEMBER 5
James will be in Vancouver to celebrate the launch of this new CD at the Magic Flute at 1:30pm (2203 West 4th Avenue) on November 5th while he is in town for perfromances of the Barber Violin Concerto with the VSO on November 4 and 6. If you are around, stop by and say hello!

"Ehnes and friends light a fire with chamber program" for Festival Miami and Friends of Chamber Music

"It's a testament to the players' technical finesse and musicality that Tuesday's remarkable performance conveyed all of the quartet's richness and power while keeping textures clear and the music in proper scale. Rarely will one hear a one-off gathering of musicians deliver as idiomatic and majestic a performance as this. The drama and youthful fire of the opening was as incisive as the Andante, with its song-like main theme given yearning advocacy. While supple and alert, at times Lisitsa's keyboard work seemed a touch literal next to her colleagues. But this was a wonderfully communicative performance, culminating in a blazing account of the Hungarian Rondo, taken at a lightning tempo and rounded off in a thrilling coda that brought the audience to its feet." (Florida Sun-Sentinal, 5 October 2006)

Celebrating Mozart with Roberto Diaz and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

"Violinist James Ehnes and violist Roberto Diaz were the intrepid soloists for Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major. Happy to say, Ehnes and Diaz dispatched the tuneful concerto with ease and musicality. Ehnes' plush sound harmonized beautifully with the plangent, darker tone of Diaz, like cream and coffee. Their intricately woven melodies -- tastefully accompanied by Harth-Bedoya and the orchestra -- achieved the most synergy in the cadenzas, where individual virtuosity took a back seat to a warm blend. Both musicians made rich use of vibrato, the quivering of pitch often used by string players for expressive effect." (Star Telegram, 27 August 2006)

"The two string players brought in for a performance of the Sinfonia Concertante — an unusual hybrid, for orchestra, solo violin, and viola — were the most satisfying of the festival. Violinist James Ehnes, heard here in May performing the Brahms Violin Concerto, and violist Roberto Diaz played their hearts out in a shimmering reading that combined style and emotional intensity." (Fort Worth Weekly, 30 August 2006)

James Ehnes returns to the Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival

"Violinist James Ehnes, cellist Robert deMaine and Weiss played [chaikovsky's Trio for violin, cello and piano in A Minor] as musicians with one communal thought, and the result was enthralling." (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 11 August 2006)

"Violinist James Ehnes made the most of his solo lines with a noble, strong and beautifully shaped tone [in Chausson's Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Quartet]." (Seatlle Times, 28 July 2006)

"Violinist James Ehnes and pianist Adam Neiman played the crucial roles with spirit and determination. Ehnes possesses a sweet but penetrating sound and a refined musical sensibility, which found a natural home in the Chausson." (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 28 July 2006)

"Violinist James Ehnes and cellist Ronald Thomas, who got the lion's share of the great string tunes, played with the most elegant refinement, coupled with a passion that was echoed in Anton Nel's mighty performance at the keyboard." (Seattle Times, 26 July 2006)

"The unexpected delight of the evening was violinist James Ehnes and harpist Heidi Krutzen in a Saint-Saens "Fantaisie" (Op. 124), which was all elegance and subtlety." (Seattle Times, 24 July 2006)

A busy week for James Ehnes with 3 Concerts in 5 days across the U.S. - from the Hollywood Bowl (July 13) to the Blossom Festival (July 15) to the Philadelphia Orchestra's summer series (July 17)

Of Dvorak's Violin Concerto with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl:

"He brought extroversion and propulsive energy to a work that perhaps hasn't yet acquired its rightful status among the top-drawer concertos. Maybe that's why he emphasized its drama. He didn't allow much tenderness and introspection into his playing until the midpoint of the slow movement, right before the trumpets' arresting interruptions. In the finale, he was all fire and playfulness, and everywhere he showed powerful technique and drew a range of warm colors from the "Ex Marsick" Stradivarius of 1715, on loan from the Fulton Collection in Seattle." (LA Times, 15 July 2006)

Of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Festival:

"For his debut Saturday with the orchestra, he played that beloved Tchaikovsky warhorse, the Violin Concerto, as if it were the newest piece on the block. He phrased with utmost expressive flexibility, drawing the romance or drama out of phrases, and employed his buttery tone...to rapturous effect. Ehnes also happens to possess one of the most wizardly bow arms in the business. In passages requiring velocity, especially in the finale, he passed across the strings at a speed that sounded dangerous, but never obscured notes. Ehnes treated Tchaikovsky as a fine balancing act between eloquent poetry and bold athleticism." (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 16 July 2006)

"Ehnes, 30, is a musician of depth and superior musicality who was unafraid to play with subtlety and nuance even in the imposing setting of the large Blossom Music Center pavilion and lawn. Playing a 1715 Stradivarius, the ``Ex-Marsick,'' Ehnes let his ravishingly beautiful tone carry the narrative rather than pushing the dramatic angle, as some performers do. The orchestra held back and let this remarkable young player be heard to best advantage. He would be a welcome visitor again soon." (Akron Beacon Journal, 16 July 2006)

Of Dvorak's Violin Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts:

"A Dvorák Violin Concerto with some spectacular moments of deep introspection. The Mann often puts barriers between the audience and detection of a soloist's personality, but Ehnes came across strongly. He has a gorgeous, saturated tone - alive with vibrato but clear and honest. He's measured and solid, yet he's not hesitant to outline phrases in bold edges. In the tranquil second movement [he displayed] a great ability to draw listeners into intimate moments. He gave phrases real meaning where I had never heard any before." (Philadelphia Inquirer, 19 July 2006)

A recital and orchestra concert at the St. Magnus Festival in the Orkneys, Scotland
"Ehnes (with pianist Eduard Laurel) proved that everything from Mozart to Bartok is within his virtuosic scope. There was more Prokofiev, too,...and a gorgeous reading of Grieg's melodious second sonata...it was Bartok's first sonata, however, that really made everyone sit up. The man from Manitoba was mesmerising in the mellow second movement and meticulously manic in the folk dances of the third. To round things off there was a bow-shredding, lightning-fast party piece from the pen of showman Pablo de Saraste and an encore only slightly more sedate by Fritz Kreisler. ...Ehnes never broke sweat. The cool Canadian is...an astonishing player who should be booked by some enterprising soul for a very swift return to Scotland." (Herald, 20 June 2006)

A superb debut at Symphony Center with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
"You had to give the superbly talented young Canadian violinist James Ehnes credit for choosing this rarity for his Symphony Center debut rather than some surefire fiddle war -horse. He dispatched the angular melodic lines with elegant aplomb -- and entirely from memory, at that. An anti-romantic concerto that demands airtight digital dexterity more than anything else got just that from Ehnes. He was roundly applauded by the CSO members and audience." (Chicago Tribune, 28 April 2006)

2006-2007 Season Calendar Now Available! - see the performance calendar link for details

James Ehnes celebrates Shostakovich's centenary year with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop
"This was the performance of Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto to take away as the ultimate souvenir of the composer's centenary year. It is rare to find an interpretation in which the music's impact is at once so shattering and so exhilarating, so firmly in control yet so generous in expression, so organic in conception yet so rich in its detailed exploration of the score. Extraordinary forces were at work here, and they were harnessed with potent artistic resolve." (Daily Telegraph, 24 March 2006)

To read the full review, click here

""Force and poetry. More than most executants, Ehnes found a way to balance these key ingredients, never sacrificing beauty of tone for the excitement of fist fights between bow and strings, yet still playing with fervour. His dark, soulful colouring cast its magic right from the opening; for the central passacaglia he avoided outright sobbing with the most carefully controlled vibrato. Ehnes's spell was at its strongest during the cadenza. This is the section that sorts out the field. Fancy show-offs or real musicians? Ehnes showed himself the genuine article, eschewing stop-go attractions for the greater power of a gradual increase in heat and dynamics. Most exciting." (Times, 27 March 2006)

To read the full review, click here

Listen to James Ehnes's recent performance of Sibelius's Violin Concerto on CBC's "In Performance", April 27th
Those who were unable to attend James Ehnes's performance of Sibelius's Violin Concerto with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa in February, now have their chance. On Thursday, April 27 at 8pm EST, listen to In Performance on CBC Radio Two for the live recording and breathtaking fireworks of this amazing concerto.

2 March 2006 - James Ehnes Wins "Favourite Classical Artist" at the 2006 INDIES Awards for his recording of Bach's Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord (vol.1) (Analekta).

Catch James Ehnes talking about the new Mozart CD during a recent appearance on CBC's Studio Sparks with Eric Friesen
On Valentine's Day, Canadian violin sensation James Ehnes serenaded a packed house in CBC Ottawa's Studio 40. Accompanied by Montreal pianist Paul Stewart, he played works by Mozart, Dvorak and Kreisler, and talked to Eric about his career and his new Mozart CD. Visit the Studio Sparks website to hear the show.

16 February 2006 - 2006 JUNO nomination for Bach Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord
James Ehnes's recording of Bach's Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord (vol.1) with Luc Beausejour (Analekta) has been nominated for a 2006 JUNO Award in the category of CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: SOLO OR CHAMBER ENSEMBLE.

The awards will be handed out on Sunday April 1&2, 2006 at a ceremonies in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Check back for updates!

17 January 2006 - James Ehnes's much-anticipated Mozart Recording now available!
The Mozart anniversary month is in full swing and to celebrate James Ehnes has just released his double CD set of the complete works for violin and orchestra by Mozart. For more information about the recording and the Mozart Anniversary Orchestra, click on the MOZART ANNIVERSARY CD button in the navigation menu (above right).

To purchase the CD, visit the CBC Shop

11 January 2006 - James Ehnes Superb with the New York Philharmonic
"Mr. Ehnes can really play. On Thursday night, Mr. Ehnes gave a superb account of the concerto. From the violinist, Walton requires gobs of lyricism, and Mr. Ehnes provided them. Seldom will you hear such singing on a violin. He was utterly seamless. Mr. Ehnes's sound was focused, sweet -- but it was never sugary. Technically, Mr. Ehnes seemed capable of anything. And he showed admirable understanding of Walton's music." (New York Sun, January 9, 2006)

"Delicacy and buoyancy distinguished Ehnes' performance, particularly in his first-movement solo cadenza and the balletic sequence to follow. The piece is melodious to its core, with the violinist making the most of the tunes in even the busiest passagework...the sounds he made were spot-on, yielding the purest intonation whether in the glassy ponticello touches of the first movement's ending or the garlands of piquant double-stopping in the Prokofiev-like central scherzo. Ehnes was a connoisseur's player in a connoisseur's piece." (Star Ledger, January 9, 2006)

Best of 2005
James Ehnes makes the list of best performances in London's Daily Telegraph and Florida's Sun Sentinal and Rick Philips chose James's recording of Bach Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord as one of his top ten picks of the year:

"I was profoundly moved by the Elgar Violin Concerto played by James Ehnes in Brighton." (Daily Telegraph, 24 December 2005)

"The Canadian fiddler displayed the flexibility, turn-on-a-dime technique and musical integrity that have made him one of the finest violinists currently before the public. With first-rate support by pianist Eduard Laurel, Ehnes served up music of Schumann, Grieg, Dvorak and Kreisler with aristocratic finesse and faultless technical command." (Sun-Sentinal, December 29, 2005)

Catch a Sneak Preview of James's upcoming Mozart recording on BBC's In Tune this Friday, November 25th!
James Ehnes returns to BBC 3's In Tune to talk about his performances in the UK, his current activities and to give audiences a sneak preview of his upcoming Mozart Complete Concertos recording with his hand-picked Mozart Anniversary Orchestra. You can listen to BBC 3 In Tune on Friday, November 25 at 18:00 GMT (that's 13:00 EST) to hear a track from this much-awaited release. Visit the In Tune website for live streaming.

If you missed your chance, don't worry because In Tune keeps audio archive copies for a week!

13 November 2005 - James Ehnes "red hot" in Scotland
"The spotlight was on James Ehnes, the red-hot Canadian violinist. His technique is blistering, giving an utter conviction to whatever he plays - including Friday's supersonic Paganini encore. It followed a meaty performance of Bruch's Violin Concerto, which benefited as much from Ehnes's unfussy musicianship and sun-ripe tone, as from Fischer and the SCO's dramatically charged accompaniment." (Scotsman, 14 November 2005)

27 September 2005 - Accolades from Montréal
"Upright and imperturbable in the Heifitz manner, Ehnes left no doubt of his can-do-anything credentials, playing the forceful chords and manic dance figures of the finale [of Bartok's Violin Sonata No.1] with great authority. Even more impressive were the subtle tonal effects of the first two movements. Those minor ninths in the Adagio, impeccably in tune, sounded like octaves from another dimension." (Montreal Gazette, 26 September 2005)

23 September 2005 - James Ehnes Excites Hometown Concertgoers
When news of James Ehnes's homecoming to Brandon, Manitoba for a recital on Wednesday September 21 with pianist Eduard Laurel spread and tickets went on sale, the recital sold out in 1/2 an hour, causing a shift to a larger venue to accomodate the demand.

"The beauty, warmth and colour of James Ehnes' violin playing just about made me weep and gave me a new appreciation for the upper register. The duo's interpretation of the technically demanding Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75 (1921) by Bartók demonstrated the players' mastery of their instrument, the breadth of their emotions and their depth of their musical partnership. In the final programmed work, Brahm's Sonata in A, Op. 100, he held the audience captivated with his lush vibrato." (Brandon Sun, 23 September 2005)

19 September 2005 - James Ehnes Effervescent with the Grand Rapids Symphony
"A violinist of impeccable clarity and evident grace, Ehnes was cool and calm in the spotlight, playing easily, sometimes seemingly effortlessly. Playing with a minimum of histrionics, which is what Mendelssohn intended, Ehnes' first-movement cadenza held both audience and fellow musicians in rapt attention as he entered quietly and exited in the same manner. Ehnes drew a delicate, singing quality from his Stradivarius in the slow movement, and I can't recall when I've heard a solo violinist play so softly for so long and yet still be heard. The sparkling effervescence of the finale ended in a prolonged standing ovation." (Grand Rapids Press, 17 September 2005)

James Ehnes Records Mozart's Complete Output for Solo Violin and Orchestra
As a tribute to the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth (which just happens to coincide with his own 30th birthday!), James Ehnes has just finished recording Mozart's complete output for solo violin and orchestra. For the project he gathered an ensemble of extraordinary musicians from around the world for recording sessions in Toronto, Ontario from August 18-21. The five Violin Concertos and three single movement works will be released in January 2006 - CHECK BACK OFTEN FOR UPDATES!

"Canadian superstar-in-waiting James Ehnes cast spell of astonishment in ESO finale" Edmonton Journal
"James Ehnes held the room in an irrestible spell of astonishment and ultimately, great gratitude." (The Edmonton Journal, 6 June 2005)

29 May 2005 - James Ehnes' and Luc Beauséjour's (harpsichord) recording of BACH Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord receives great praise!
"James Ehnes has already made a number of outstanding recordings, but this may be his finest yet. It will come as no surprise to his growing band of admirers that technically and internationally these performances are utterly blemish less, without the slightest sense of strain..."(Interntaional Record Review, June 2005)

"Like the great Belgian player, Ehnes commands a beguilingly sweet, singing tone and adopts an unashamedly expressive approach to the adagios, andantes and largos of the four sonatas. The allegros and prestos have an irresistible élan and momentum. Highly recommended. Four stars!!!" (Sunday Times, 29 May 2005)

"James Ehnes seems incapable of making a recording that is anything less than first-class.... As before, Ehnes' polished musicianship is particularly well suited to this repertoire. His fluid playing, light articulation and elegant decoration are delightful, with his sweet burnished tone bringing out the lyric freshness in slow movements without sacrificing Baroque style." (Sun Sentinel, 6 May 2005)

28 May 2005 - James Ehnes has received a Doctor of Music (honoris causa) from Brandon University
James Ehnes was one of four 2005 Honorary Degree recipients being conferred degrees on Saturday, May 28, 2005, at the Keystone Centre in Brandon, MB. Ehnes received part of his childhood training through Brandon University's conservatory. "Without that kind of training it's doubtful I would be able to be where I am today," he said.

11 May 2005 - James Ehnes shines in Brighton, UK
"Anyone who has been following the progress of the young Canadian violinist James Ehnes will know that he is not merely a fine technician but also a superb musician...the way he touched the very soul of the Elgar concerto made for a performance that surpassed the exceptional and entered the realms of the truly inspirational." (The London Telegraph, 11 May 2005)

3 May 2005 - JAMES EHNES WINS AVERY FISHER CAREER GRANT!!!
James Ehnes is one of four recipients of the Avery Fisher Career Grant - a prize valued at $15,000 USD. Avery Fisher Career Grants are designed to give professional assistance and recognition to talented instrumentalists and chamber ensembles that the Recommendation Board and Executive Committee of the Avery Fisher Artist Program believe to have great potential for major careers.

7 April 2005 - James Ehnes receives rave review from the London Times
"...Ehnes was really notable for spinning long, finely phrased lines that caught the essence of the piece." (The London Times, 7 April 2005)

21 March 2005 - Ehnes has audience pleading for encore!!!
"...it was a Canadian, the young violinist James Ehnes, who stole the show in this latest concert in the Scottish Chamber Orchestra's classy "Adventurer" series. Ehnes's performance of Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto on Friday was one of the best I've ever heard. It fused every aspect of Barber's warmly energetic writing into a performance bursting with bright-eyed optimism and technical brilliance. Ehnes was never going be let off without an encore. He obliged with the well-known movement from Bach's E major Partita, and another demonstration of his immaculate art." (The Scotsman, 21 March 2005)

"Canadian rising star James Ehnes, a player whose outward cool control belies generously expressive playing and an impressive virtuoso technique, gave a performance that emphasised the darker aspects of the piece, reinforced by some correspondingly intense orchestral playing." (The Herald, 21 March, 2005)

JAMES EHNES IS NOMINATED FOR TWO JUNO AWARDS!!!!
CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: SOLO OR CHAMBER ENSEMBLE for Romantic Pieces - works by Janácek, Smetana and Dvorák with Eduard Laurel, piano. CLASSICAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR: LARGE ENSEMBLE OR SOLOIST(S) WITH LARGE ENSEMBLE ACCOMPANIMENT for Hummel.
Be sure to watch the Juno's on CTV April 3, at 8:00pm.!!!

26 January 2005 -Mozart's Violin Concerto no.3 in G major with the BBC Symphony Orchestra
"The soloist was the startling young Canadian James Ehnes, whose dark tone and intense yet restrained delivery turned a work often seen as calmly seraphic into something uniquely deep, complex and troubling." (Guardian Unlimited, 28 January 2005)

14 December 2004 - Romantic Pieces Picked as One of the Best Classical CDs of the Year by the London Daily Telegrah!
"Another out-and-out winner from the young Canadian violinist. One of the great things about the playing is the way Ehnes and Eduard Laurel so clearly identify the stylistic fingerprints in the Smetana and Dvorák pieces, with colour, rhythmic élan, tonal finesse and lyrical warmth. In its unsettling shifts of mood from vehemence to troubled reflectiveness, the interpretation of the Janácek Sonata is of remarkable depth."