Maison symphonique de Montréal presents

The OSM and James Ehnes: From Darkness to Light

Fevered, dance-like or spiritual, the OSM’s strings conjure a captivating journey as they join forces with violinist James Ehnes. The dark, tragic depths of Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony echo the many conflicts of the 20th century. Bach’s elegant and robust Violin Concerto BWV 1052R rekindles the flames of hope, which Vaughan Williams transforms into pure light with an abundance of rich harmonies in his Fantasia.

Artists
Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Andrew Wan, violin and conductor (Shostakovich and Vaughan Williams)
James Ehnes, violin and conductor (J. S. Bach)

James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after violinists on the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and an unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest of many of the world’s most respected conductors including Ashkenazy, Alsop, Sir Andrew Davis, Denève, Elder, Ivan Fischer, Gardner, Paavo Järvi, Mena, Noseda, Robertson and Runnicles. Ehnes’s long list of orchestras includes, amongst others, the Boston, Chicago, London, NHK and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, the Los Angeles, New York, Munich and Czech Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Cleveland, Philadelphia, Philharmonia and DSO Berlin orchestras.

Recent orchestral highlights include the MET Orchestra at Carnegie Hall with Noseda, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig with Shelley, San Francisco Symphony with Janowski, Frankfurt Radio Symphony with Orozco-Estrada, London Symphony with Harding, and Munich Philharmonic with van Zweden, as well as his debut with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Lincoln Center in spring 2019.

Ehnes began violin studies at the age of five, became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin aged nine, and made his orchestra debut with L’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal aged 13. He continued his studies with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation in 1997. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and in 2010 was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. Ehnes was awarded the 2017 Royal Philharmonic Society Award in the Instrumentalist category.

Program
Shostakovich, Chamber Symphony in C minor, op. 110a (arr. R. Barshai, 24 min.)
J. S. Bach, Gigue from Partita for Solo Violin no. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 (5 min.)
J. S. Bach, Violin Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052R (21 min.)
Vaughan Williams, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (16 min.)

Webcast
Tuesday, May 25 at 7:00pm (ET) until June 8, 2021

To purchase your ticket visit: www.osm.ca