{"id":37152,"date":"2016-06-05T11:38:25","date_gmt":"2016-06-05T15:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=37152"},"modified":"2016-06-05T12:17:39","modified_gmt":"2016-06-05T16:17:39","slug":"interview-james-ehnes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2016\/06\/05\/interview-james-ehnes\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Reflections: James Ehnes @ Forty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian <\/span>superstar violinist shares his thoughts on career and life.<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"James
James Ehnes (Photo: Benjamin Ealovega)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T<\/span>he brilliant Canadian violinist James Ehnes is making one of his welcome returns to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra this week,<\/a> playing the magnificent Elgar Violin Concerto<\/em>. It\u2019s a huge work, daunting in all respects, one that requires the technique of a super-virtuoso, and the emotional depth and poetic soul of a true artist. It is a work that never fails to move me, a \u201cdesert island\u201d violin concerto in my book, surpassing my other favourites of Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Sibelius and Korngold. I collect recordings of the Elgar religiously, having cut my teeth with Pinchas Zukerman\u2019s version conducted by Daniel Barenboim on CBS way back in the 1970\u2019s. Since then I\u2019ve enjoyed many others, including the version recorded by Ehnes back in 2007. I\u2019m curious if his interpretation has changed over time. So when I was asked by the TSO publicity department to interview Ehnes, I jumped at the chance. Given his incredibly busy schedule, a face to face interview wasn\u2019t possible at this time, and I settled for essentially a Q & A by email exchange. Superficial interviews are not my thing frankly, so I\u2019m very thankful that he took the time to answer my complicated questions with detailed, nuanced and thoughtful answers, reflecting on his career and his life:<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: First of all, a belated Happy 40! It is of course still a very young age for an instrumentalist. If we count your solo orchestral debut in 1989, at age 13, as your professional debut, you\u2019ve already had a 27-year career. How does it feel to be called an \u201cElder Statesman\u201d and a \u201cNational Treasure\u201d at such a young age?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: Even though 40 is just a number and I don\u2019t actually feel any different than I did at 39 or 38, there is this significance to the number, even if it is artificial. In this business, you\u2019re always looking forward to the next gig; you\u2019re always pushing. It can be such a struggle to establish your career. This 40th birthday has given me the opportunity to look back and feel proud of what I\u2019ve accomplished, while also thinking about what\u2019s next. It\u2019s nice to get to this point and think, \u201cWow, I have been doing this for a long time.\u201d I\u2019ve developed wonderful relationships with incredibly inspiring musicians, great orchestras, and wonderful presenters. It\u2019s not a business where you can ever sit back and say now it\u2019s self-sustaining. It never is. You have to be at your best every time; you have a responsibility to your audiences. I look back at the TSO, for example\u2026I\u2019ve been playing with the TSO for 20 years. That\u2019s a nice feeling.<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: Tell us a little about your national tour, James Ehnes @ 40, this spring. According to your website, the tour begins April 28 in Ottawa for 13 performances across Canada, with Andrew Armstrong, your pianist. I noticed that there are several Canadian works in the program, including one composed by conductor Bramwell Tovey. Was this commissioned by you? Can you tell us a bit about this piece? And the rest of your tour program?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: This tour is really a birthday present to myself. I wanted to try to visit every province and every territory, and it\u2019s been amazing. There are actually very few places I haven\u2019t been to before. I\u2019m finally getting to PEI, so I\u2019m excited about that. With this being a cross-Canada thing, I thought it was very important to have a Canadian piece, so I commissioned Bramwell Tovey. He has been a close friend and collaborator for many years, so it was natural to approach him. One of the many things Bramwell really nails with this piece is the nature of this tour, which includes some of the great cities like Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa, with audiences that are well versed in classical music. But the tour also brings me to places like Iqaluit and other communities where there are not that many concerts. How do you write a piece that appeals to these different audiences? I think Bramwell really found that perfect balance and wrote something that touches everyone. It\u2019s been one of the great highlights of the tour so far. I love playing it every single time. It feels very improvisatory, so it always feels fresh.<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: You are playing the Elgar Violin Concerto with the TSO this week. You recorded this piece back in 2007, nine years ago. Can you share with us your thoughts on this concerto? Has your approach to the work, your interpretation, changed in the intervening years?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: I couldn\u2019t say if it\u2019s changed. That would be a question for someone else, to listen to me then and listen to me now. The way I feel about the piece hasn\u2019t changed, but it is an ambitious work, both emotionally, and musically. It really is an epic emotional experience, unlike anything else in the repertoire.<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: You have nearly 100 performance dates in the 2015-16 season, a very heavy schedule. You often play the same piece many times in the course of a season. How do you as an artist \u201ckeep it fresh\u201d every night? For yourself and for your audience?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: It\u2019s pretty unusual for me to be playing the same piece over and over. It can be a legitimate concern. But working with inspiring colleagues like Andrew Armstrong\u2014a wonderful friend and colleague\u2014keeps things fresh and special every night. I\u2019m also working on a lot of different things: later on next month, I\u2019m playing all of the Beethoven string quartets. Then, I\u2019m playing all of Bach\u2019s solo sonatas and partitas later in the summer. That keeps me engaged and sharp.<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: Your bio mentions that your father is a long-time trumpet professor at Brandon University. Have you ever considered taking up the trumpet? Why did you choose the violin? Did you study any other instrument?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: I don\u2019t know exactly why I chose the violin. It was what appealed to me when I was little. I heard all the instruments of the orchestra because of my father\u2014and my mother, who was a dancer. They have a love of music. The violin was, for whatever reason, the instrument that spoke to me, but I also studied piano and played quite seriously for a lot of years. And I played the French horn in the junior high band. But I never played the trumpet!<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: When did you decide to become a professional musician? If you had not become a violinist, what do you think you might have taken up as a profession?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: I never really made the decision to become a professional musician. I started going down that path because I was doing well as a student and started getting engagements. In my late teenage years, I just asked myself, \u201cAm I going to step off this path, or am I going to continue on it?\u201d And I decided I liked the way this was going. As far as what else I\u2019d be doing, it\u2019s a fascinating question. Who knows! There are a lot of things I think I would find interesting. I could have enjoyed doing something with science, and I could have really enjoyed doing something mechanical. Maybe some sort of field where I could do both of those things.<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: With your long career and a wealth of experience, do you teach the next generation of violinists? <\/em>Do you give masterclasses, or do you also have private students? Do you enjoy teaching? Do you plan to devote more of your time teaching the younger generation?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: I don’t do any private teaching, but I teach a fair number of classes when I travel. I also have a regular association with the Royal Academy in London. But, at this point in my life, it\u2019s not something that I see myself devoting more time to. Though it is a tremendous amount of work, and a great responsibility, I certainly enjoy it and find it rewarding.<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: You also have the Ehnes Quartet. What are your thoughts on being a soloist versus a chamber musician? Is it fair to ask\u2014 which one do you prefer: solo or playing chamber?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: Each different style that I play makes me better at the others. Music is music, and I don\u2019t think that any styles are fundamentally different. It\u2019s the little issues of technical refinement that the different types of music call for that make you a well-rounded musician. I equally enjoy chamber music, quartet or solo playing, and recitals, and I feel very lucky to get to have the variety.<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: With a 27-year career behind you at only 40\u2014what are you plans for the future? Perhaps play another 27 years? Would you share with your readers your thoughts on future plans? Any pieces that you haven\u2019t yet performed or recorded that you plan to perform?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: I\u2019ve got some exciting projects coming up over the next two years. A big thing for me is going to be the challenge of balancing a schedule with my kids growing up. My daughter is 4, and my little boy is almost 2. I don\u2019t want to be on the road all the time, particularly once they start school. I\u2019m going to have to balance that very carefully. Musically speaking, there are fewer new things to do, in a certain way; it\u2019s not so much about playing my first Beethoven concerto, my first Brahms concerto. Rather, I will be coming back to those pieces. Every experience with orchestras, presenters, conductors, and colleagues will become even more meaningful to me. There\u2019s something really wonderful about that. Aaron Jay Kernis is writing a concerto for me that will be premi\u00e8red with the TSO next season. I\u2019m super excited about that. There are works I haven\u2019t played in a long time, quartet literature we\u2019re looking forward to learning\u2014so there are always projects.<\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>: A final question \u2013 what advice would you give to a violin student who\u2019s contemplating a professional career? What are the secrets of your success?<\/em><\/p>\n

JE<\/strong>: Be proactive about making opportunities for yourself. No one is going to be as passionate about your career as you are. If you\u2019re excited about something, the best thing you can do is share those ideas and share that music. I believe that\u2019s what audiences respond to, and that\u2019s certainly the best way to build a performing career.<\/p>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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