James Ehnes, (born January 27, 1976) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

concert

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist and violist.

Life and career

Ehnes was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of Alan Ehnes, long time trumpet professor at Brandon University (Canada), and Barbara Withey Ehnes, former ballerina with

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (GBCM) is a ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A creative and repertory company, it performs works that reflect the diverse trends of contemporary ballet. History Les Grands Ballets Canadien ...

, Ruth Page's International Ballet, and Chicago Ballet, and former director of the Brandon School of Dance. Ehnes began his violin studies at the age of four and at age nine became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin. He studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and from 1993 to 1997 at

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation. James Ehnes toured with Jeunesses MusicalesCanada during the 1992-1993 season, when he was only 16 years old. In October 2005, he was awarded a Doctor of Music degree ( honoris causa) from Brandon University and in July 2007 he became the youngest person ever elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 2010, he was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. Ehnes performs on the 1715 " ex-Marsick" Stradivarius. His commercial recordings have won numerous awards and prizes, including 11 Junos, two Grammies, and two Gramophone Classical Music Awards - 2008 Best Concerto for Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto - 2021 Artist of the Year. Ehnes was awarded the 2017 Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards in the Instrumentalist category. Ehnes joined Royal Academy of Music as visiting professor of violin in 2017. Ehnes is Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society. He and violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, violist Richard O'Neill, and cellist Edward Arron perform as the Ehnes Quartet. Ehnes lives in

Ellenton, Florida Ellenton is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,129 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Bradenton–Sarasota–Venice Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

with his wife and two children.

Discography

James Ehnes

* ''1995''

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices fo ...

: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin * ''2000''

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...

: Violin Sonata No. 1 , Violin Sonata No. 2 , Five Melodies * ''2000'' Maurice Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2 ,

Tzigane ''Tzigane'' is a rhapsodic composition by the French composer Maurice Ravel. It was commissioned by and dedicated to Hungarian violinist Jelly d'Arányi, great-niece of the influential violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim. The original instrumentati ...

, Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy:

Violin Sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple baroque form with no fixed fo ...

, Camille Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata No. 1 * ''2000''

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

: The Six Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin * ''2000'' French Showpieces - Camille Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso , Havanaise, Hector Berlioz: Le corsaire , Rêverie et caprice, Ernest Chausson: Poème, Claude Debussy: Tarantelle styrienne,

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

: Cinéma Fantaisie, Jules Massenet: Méditation from the opera ''

Thaïs Thaïs or Thais ( el, Θαΐς; flourished 4th century BC) was a famous Greek ''hetaira'' who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for instigating the burning of Persepolis. At the time, Thaï ...

'' * ''2001''

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a prominent staple of the standard ...

: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 3 * ''2002'' Bruch: Concerto No. 2 and '' Scottish Fantasy'' * ''2002'' Fritz Kreisler - Track 20. Petite Valse (Piano Solo: James Ehnes) * ''2003'' Robert Schumann:

Piano Quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...

, Gabriel Fauré: Piano Quintet No. 2 * ''2004'' Romantic Pieces * ''2004'' Henryk Wieniawski , Pablo de Sarasate * ''2004'' Johann Nepomuk Hummel: Op. 94, Potpourri for Viola and Orchestra / Adagio and Rondo alla Polacca for Violin and Orchestra / Violin Concerto in G major * ''2004''

Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish and Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator * Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hungarian painter and teacher * Ernő B ...

: Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 43 * ''2004''

Luigi Dallapiccola Luigi Dallapiccola (February 3, 1904 – February 19, 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical serialism, twelve-tone compositions. Biography Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current ...

: Tartiniana (Divertimento for Violin and Orchestra) * ''2005''

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

: Road Movies for violin and piano, Hallelujah Junction for two pianos (Piano:

Andrew Russo Andrew C. Russo (born October 22, 1975) is an American pianist. Russo was born in Syracuse, New York, and studied music in New York City and Europe. He started a nonprofit youth educational foundation in New York at the age of 25 and recorded albu ...

, James Ehnes) * ''2005'' Antonín Dvořák: Concertos * ''2005'' Bach: Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord Vol.1 * ''2006'' Bach: Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord Vol.2 * ''2006''

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

: Violin Concertos 1-5 * ''2006'' Samuel Barber,

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

William Walton Sir William Turner Walton (29 March 19028 March 1983) was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera. His best-known works include ''Façade'', the cantat ...

: Violin Concertos ( 50th Annual Grammy Awards - Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra)) * ''2007''

Paul Schoenfield Paul Schoenfield, also spelled Paul Schoenfeld, is a classical composer. He is known for combining popular, folk, and classical music forms. Schoenfield was born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan. He began to take piano lessons at the age of six, ...

: Four Souvenirs for violin and piano, Café Music for piano trio * ''2007'' Edward Elgar: Violin Concerto (2008 Gramophone Classical Music Awards - Best Concerto) * ''2008'' Homage * ''2009''

: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin. * ''2010'' Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto,

Octet Octet may refer to: Music * Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble ** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments *** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 compos ...

* ''2011'' Béla Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 1 , Violin Concerto No. 2 , Viola Concerto * ''2011''

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

: Violin Concerto , Sérénade mélancolique , Valse-Scherzo , Souvenir d'un lieu cher (I. Méditation - II. Scherzo - III. Mélodie) * ''2012'' Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 1 - Rhapsody ''Folk Dances'' No. 1 , Rhapsody ''Folk Dances'' No. 2 , Violin Sonata No. 1 , Violin Sonata No. 2 , Andante * ''2012'' Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty * ''2013'' Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2 - Sonata for Solo Violin , Violin Sonata in E minor ,

Romanian Folk Dances ''Romanian Folk Dances'' ( ro, Dansuri populare românești, ), ( hu, Román népi táncok, ), Sz. 56, BB 68 is a suite of six short piano pieces composed by Béla Bartók in 1915. He later orchestrated it for small ensemble in 1917 as Sz. 68, BB ...

, Hungarian Folksongs , Hungarian Folk Tunes * ''2013''

Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

and Shostakovich violin concertos * ''2013'' Prokofiev: Complete Works for Violin - Violin Concerto No. 1 , Violin Concerto No. 2 , Violin Sonata No. 1 , Violin Sonata No. 2 , Sonata for Two Violins , Sonata for Solo Violin , Five Melodies * ''2013'' Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake * ''2014'' Khachaturian & Shostakovich: Violin Concerto & String Quartet no. 7 & 8 * ''2014'' Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 3 - Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano , Sonatina (Transcription for Violin and Piano) , 44 Duos for Two Violins * ''2014'' American Chamber Music:

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

, Charles Ives , Leonard Bernstein ,

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...

, Samuel Barber * ''2015'' Hector Berlioz: Reverie et Caprice, Op. 8 (violin) ,

Harold en Italie ''Harold en Italie,'' ''symphonie avec un alto principal'' (English: ''Harold in Italy,'' ''symphony with viola obbligato''), as the manuscript calls and describes it, is a four-movement orchestral work by Hector Berlioz, his Opus number, Opus 1 ...

, Op. 16 (viola) * ''2015'' Cesar Franck and Richard Strauss: Violin Sonatas * ''2015''

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European f ...

: The Wandering of a Little Soul (Violin Concerto) * ''2015'' Aaron Jay Kernis: 2 Movements (with Bells) * ''2015'' The Essential James Ehnes (containing works by Bach, Kreisler, Prokofiev, Dvorak, Saint-Saens, and Berlioz) * ''2016'' Claude Debussy, Edward Elgar, and Ottorino Respighi: Violin Sonatas * ''2017''

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

: Violin Sonata No. 9 , Violin Sonata No. 6 * ''2017'' Beethoven: Violin Concerto , Romance no. 1 Op. 40 , Romance no. 2 Op. 50,

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

: Rondo in A major for Violin and Strings, D 438 * ''2017'' Bartók: Rhapsody ''Folk Dances'' No. 1 , Rhapsody ''Folk Dances'' No. 2 (Violin and Orchestra) * ''2018''

: Viola Concerto * ''2018'' Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Lark Ascending * ''2018'' James Newton Howard: Violin Concerto, Aaron Jay Kernis: Concerto for Violin,

Bramwell Tovey Bramwell Tovey (11 July 1953 – 12 July 2022) was a British conductor and composer. Life and career Tovey was educated at Ilford County High School, the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London. His formal music education was as ...

: Stream of Limelight ( 61st Annual Grammy Awards - Best Classical Instrumental Solo) * ''2019'' Richard Strauss: Violin Concerto * ''2019'' James Newton Howard: A Hidden Life (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) * ''2019'' Beethoven: Op. 12 Violin Sonata No. 1 , Violin Sonata No. 2 , Violin Sonata No. 3, Variations on '' Se vuol ballare'' from Mozart's '' The Marriage of Figaro'' * ''2020'' Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 4 , Violin Sonata No. 5 , Violin Sonata No. 8, Six German Dances, Rondo in G Major * ''2020'' Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 7 , Violin Sonata No. 10 * ''2020'' Bach & Brahms Reimagined - Johannes Brahms:

Horn Trio Horn trio can mean a work written for three horns or horns as well as one for horn and two other instruments. In the latter category, an important genre is the trio for horn, violin and piano. Although there are a few earlier examples, the traditi ...

, Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 * ''2021'' Eugène Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for solo violin * ''2021'' Bach:

Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin The sonatas and partitas for solo violin (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, BWV 1001–1006) are a set of six works composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. They are sometimes referred to in English as the sonatas and for solo violin in accordance with Bach's he ...

* ''2022'' Alban Berg: Violin Concerto

Ehnes Quartet

* ''2016''

: String Quartet No. 14 in D Minor, D. 810,

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

: String Quartet * ''2021'' Beethoven: String Quartet No. 13 ,

Grosse Fuge The ''Grosse Fuge'' (German spelling: ''Große'' ''Fuge'', also known in English as the ''Great Fugue'' or ''Grand Fugue''), Op. 133, is a single-movement composition for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven. An immense double fugue, it was ...

* ''2021'' Beethoven: String Quartet No. 12 , String Quartet No. 14 * ''2021'' Beethoven: String Quartet No. 10 , String Quartet No. 11 * ''2022'' Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 , String Quartet No. 16

References

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...

Podcast (November 2017)
James Ehnes on his string quartet and recording late Beethoven
- Gramophone Podcast (2022) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ehnes, James 1976 births Living people Canadian classical violinists Male classical violinists Musicians from Brandon, Manitoba Members of the Order of Canada Musicians from Manitoba Juilliard School alumni Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment winners Canadian people of German descent Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Grammy Award winners Juno Award for Classical Album of the Year – Solo or Chamber Ensemble winners 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Canadian male musicians 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian male violinists and fiddlers

Life and career

Discography

James Ehnes

Ehnes Quartet

See also

References

External links