Stravinsky: Violin Concerto, Orchestral Works James Ehnes, BBC Philharmonic & Andrew Davis

• Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971): Violin Concerto in D Major, K. 053:
• 1 Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, K. 053: I. Toccata. Tempo crotchet = 96 05:56
• 2 Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, K. 053: II. Aria I. Tempo crotchet = 116 - Più mosso - Più lento 04:21
• 3 Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, K. 053: III. Aria II. Tempo quaver = 48 - Poco più mosso 05:46
• 4 Stravinsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, K. 053: IV. Capriccio. Tempo quaver = 120 - Poco più tranquillo 06:21
• Scherzo à la russe, K. 070:
• 5 Stravinsky: Scherzo à la russe, K. 070 04:06
• Suite No.1, K. 045:
• 6 Stravinsky: Suite No.1, K. 045: I. Andante. Crotchet = 86 - 92 01:23
• 7 Stravinsky: Suite No.1, K. 045: II. Napolitana. Dotted crotchet = 144 01:21
• 8 Stravinsky: Suite No.1, K. 045: III. Española. Dotted crotchet = 54 01:09
• 9 Stravinsky: Suite No.1, K. 045: IV. Balalaïka. Crotchet = 144 - 132 01:11
• Suite No.2, K. 038:
• 10 Stravinsky: Suite No.2, K. 038: I. Marche. Crotchet = 80 01:19
• 11 Stravinsky: Suite No.2, K. 038: II. Valse. Dotted minim = 66 - [Trio I] 02:22
• 12 Stravinsky: Suite No.2, K. 038: III. Polka. Crotchet = 96 01:09
• 13 Stravinsky: Suite No.2, K. 038: IV. Galop. Crotchet = 126 - Trio 02:26
• Apollon Musagète, K. 048:
• 14 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: I. Naissance d'Apollon 05:21
• 15 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: II. Variation d'Apollon 03:08
• 16 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: III. Pas d'Action 04:25
• 17 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: IV. Variation de Calliope 01:28
• 18 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: V. Variation de Polymnie 01:20
• 19 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: VI. Variation de Terpsichore 01:35
• 20 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: VII. Variation d'Apollon 02:23
• 21 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: VIII. Pas de Deux 04:20
• 22 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: IX. Coda (Apollon et les Muses) 03:20
• 23 Stravinsky: Apollon Musagète, K. 048: X. Apothéose 03:36
• Total Runtime 01:09:46

Info for Stravinsky: Violin Concerto, Orchestral Works

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

James Ehnes, violin
BBC Philharmonic
Sir Andrew Davis, conductor

James Ehnes
Known for his virtuosity and probing musicianship, violinist James Ehnes has performed in over 30 countries on five continents, appearing regularly in the world’s great concert halls and with many of the most celebrated orchestras and conductors.

In the 2013-2014 season James performs in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Belgium, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Australia. Season highlights include concerts with the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Toronto Symphony, and a three-week residency in Melbourne, as well as performances in London, Paris, Berlin, Leipzig, Brussels, Prague, Tel Aviv, and Moscow. An avid chamber musician, Ehnes will tour with his string quartet, the Ehnes Quartet, and lead the winter and summer festivals of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, where he is the Artistic Director.

James Ehnes has an extensive discography of over 30 recordings featuring music ranging from J.S. Bach to John Adams. Recent projects include a disc featuring concertos by Britten and Shostakovich, three CDs of the music of Béla Bartók as well as a recording of Tchaikovsky’s complete oeuvre for violin. Upcoming releases include a double CD of the complete violin works by Prokofiev and a recording of Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto paired with Shostakovich’s String Quartets Nos. 7&8. His recordings have been honored with many international awards and prizes, including a Grammy, a Gramophone, and 7 Juno Awards.

was born in 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. He began 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, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation. Mr. Ehnes first gained national recognition in 1987 as winner of the Grand Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Competition. The following year he won the First Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Festival, the youngest musician ever to do so. At age 13, he made his major orchestral solo debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

He has won numerous awards and prizes, including the first-ever Ivan Galamian Memorial Award, the Canada Council for the Arts’ Virginia Parker Prize, and a 2005 Avery Fisher Career Grant. James has been honoured by Brandon University with a Doctor of Music degree (honoris causa) and in 2007 he became the youngest person ever elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada. In 2010 the Governor General of Canada appointed James a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2013 he was named an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, limited to a select group of 300 living distinguished musicians.

James Ehnes plays the "Marsick" Stradivarius of 1715. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida with his family.

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