Acclaimed Canadian violinist James Enhes is featured on an upcoming release by The National Arts Centre Orchestra. Titled J.S. Bach: The Complete Violin Concertos, the album was recorded in Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre, and includes Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor, Violin Concerto in E major, Concerto for Two Violins, and Concerto for Flute, Violin, and Harpsichord.
Ehnes’s own reconstructions of Bach’s Violin Concerto in D minor, Violin Concerto in G minor, Concerto for Oboe and Violin, and Concerto for Three Violins also appear on the release. Other featured soloists include Charles Hamann (oboe), Jessica Linnebach (violin), Joanna G’froerer (flute), Lucienne Beausejour (harpsichord), and Yosuke Kawasaki (violin).
The complete album will be available worldwide on March 28, with an advance track that’s available now.
You can listen to the first movement (Allegro) of Bach’s Violin Concerto E major, BWV 1042 below. It’s also available on other leading music streaming services.
James Ehnes
Multi-Juno and Grammy Award-winning violinist James Ehnes began studying the violin at age five, and became a protégé of Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin at the age of nine. At 13, James made his orchestra debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. He’d continue his studies at the Meadowmount School of Music, followed by The Juilliard School where he won the Peter Mennin Prize for outstanding achievement and leadership in music when he graduated in 1997.
His career today takes him to engagements all over the world, including recent appearances with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, among others. During the 2024/25 season, he is serving as Artist in Residence with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. His schedule also includes touring Asia to perform the complete Beethoven sonatas in Tokyo, along with performances with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
As a recitalist, James is a regular performer at Wigmore Hall in London, Carnegie Hall, and Chicago’s Symphony Center, among other major international venues. He leads the Ehnes Quartet, and serves as Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society
His recordings have won two Grammy Awards, three Gramophone Awards, and 12 JUNO Awards.
Among his many accolades, Ehnes is a Member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Manitoba, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, where he is a Visiting Professor of Violin. He is also a Professor of Violin at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.
Ehnes was in the middle of a residency with the NAC Orchestra when the sonatas were recorded in early 2024. He’s worked with NACO frequently over a three decade period.
Look for the full album release on March 28.
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.