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Artist: James Ehnes
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James Ehnes:

Bach - Complete VC's w/Canada Nat. Arts Ctr. Orch.

Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra is thrilled to release its latest album created in partnership with the multi-Juno and Grammy-Award-winning violinist James Ehnes. On J.S. Bach: The Complete Violin Concertos, recorded in Southam Hall at the National Arts Centre, Ehnes reunites with the musicians of the NAC Orchestra to bring the legendary German composer’s violin concertos to life. The landmark album includes Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor, Violin Concerto in E major, Concerto for Two Violins, and Concerto for Flute, Violin, and Harpsichord alongside 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.

This ambitious project is not only a fulfillment of Ehnes’s longtime desire to present Bach’s violin concerti in their entirety but also an embodiment of an artistic partnership with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra that stretches back over three decades. “I wanted to record them with the type of ensemble that could make a real impact,” Ehnes notes. “These players are some of my closest friends, even away from music. It was so special to dive into a project like this together with musicians with whom there’s no barrier of formality or unfamiliarity.” “It’s pure joy!” adds NAC Orchestra Managing Director Nelson McDougall. “This latest release, with our good friend and frequent collaborator James Ehnes, showcases his unique and electric connection with the remarkable NAC Orchestra musicians.”

Ehnes debuted with the NAC Orchestra in 1993 when he was 17 and has since shared the stage with the ensemble countless times. He was the Orchestra’s first-ever Artist in Residence from 2021 to 2024 and a featured artist on several national and international tours, including its acclaimed performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2022.

James Ehnes:

Bach: Sonatas et Partitas for solo violin

The works of Bach solo violin are very dear to me and hold a place in my concert repertoire. The registration of these monumental works early career was a rare privilege. I will always be grateful to Analekta for giving me this amazing opportunity. Although my interpretations have evolved over time and continue to change throughout my life, it is a great pleasure to listen to these pieces and remember, with pride, the incredible experience when recording these masterpieces. - James Ehnes 

Bach, in excellent teacher, has always understood and desired as well: writing music is to be played in addition to being contemplated. His son, and generations of aspiring musicians since have learned to their cost and ultimately to their delight. Of Orgelbüchlein, Clavierbüchlein and Well-Tempered Clavier, until these two collections for only melodic instrument, it all rubbed and all came out grandis. It was sometimes considered these sonatas, partitas and suites as to have been unplayable at the time of their composition. After the death of JS Bach, however, works for solo violin attracted the attention of many of the best violinists of the time, who saw these pieces of an outdated style a way to improve their technique.