Debussy, Elgar, Respighi & Sibelius: Violin Sonatas James Ehnes & Andrew Armstrong

• Claude Debussy (1862-1918): Violin Sonata in G minor L.140
• 1I. Allegro vivo04:42
• 2II. Intermede - Fastaque et leger04:10
• 3III. Finale - Tres anime04:30
• Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Violin Sonata in E minor op.82
• 4I. Allegro08:31
• 5II. Romance - Andante08:28
• 6III. Allegro non troppo09:32
• Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): Violin Sonata in B minor P.110
• 7I. Moderato09:30
• 8II. Andante espressivo09:03
• 9III. Passacaglia - Allegro moderato ma energico07:43
• Jean Sibelius (1865-1957): Berceuse op.79/6
• 1010 Pensees Lyriques, Op. 40: V. Berceuse02:45
• Total Runtime01:08:54

Info for Debussy, Elgar, Respighi & Sibelius: Violin Sonatas

After a rapturous critical reception for their Franck & Strauss Violin Sonatas, [see below] James and Andrew turn their attention to three violin sonatas all composed around the years of World War I. The Sibelius 'Berceuse' also dates from the war years when Finland was isolated from the rest of Europe. Sibelius was short of money and busy writing the 6th and 7th symphonies, and planning his 8th: the six short pieces of Op. 79 were attractive to publishers who were wary of large scale works with little chance of commercial return during the hostilities.

Debussy would die in 1918 and had, like Elgar, composed very little during the conflict. "I want to work," he wrote to his publisher Durand, "not so much for myself, as to provide a proof, however small, that thirty million Boches can’t destroy French thought". Elgar told a friend "I cannot do any real work with the awful shadow hanging over us" he said. Suffering from ill health, Elgar wrote the sonata in Sussex where a copse of gnarled lightning-ravaged trees, near his house on the South Downs, inspired him to embark on three late great chamber works. Respighi’s sonata inhabits a heroic late romantic almost ‘Brahmsian’ world, seemingly unscathed by the devastation of the ‘War to end all wars’.

James Ehnes, violin
Andrew Armstrong, piano

James Ehnes
Known for his virtuosity and probing musicianship, violinist James Ehnes has performed in over 35 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 2016-2017 season James continues his cross-Canada recital tour in celebration of his 40th birthday, performs the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas in Stresa, Montreux, Los Angeles, Liverpool, and Amsterdam, and joins the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on a tour of China and the National Arts Centre Orchestra on a tour of Eastern Canada. James also holds artist residencies with the Melbourne Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and the Scotia Festival, undertakes two tours with the Ehnes Quartet, and leads the winter and summer festivals of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, where he is the Artistic Director.

New and upcoming CD releases include a disc of works by Debussy, Respighi, Elgar and Sibelius as well as a recording of Beethoven’s Sonatas Nos. 6 and 9 with pianist Andrew Armstrong, the Sibelius and Schubert “Death and the Maiden” quartets with the Ehnes Quartet, and the complete works of Beethoven for violin and orchestra with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Andrew Manze. His recordings have been honored with many international awards and prizes, including a GRAMMY, a Gramophone, and 11 JUNO Awards.

James Ehnes 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 received honorary doctorates from Brandon University and the University of British Columbia 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.

Booklet for Debussy, Elgar, Respighi & Sibelius: Violin Sonatas