Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 [26:37]
Octet in E-flat, Op. 20 [30:44]
James Ehnes (violin)
Philharmonia Orchestra/Vladimir Ashkenazy
Musicians of the Seattle Chamber Music Society (James Ehnes, Erin Keefe, Andrew
Wan, Augustin Haedelich (violins); Cynthia Phelps, Richard O’Neil (violas);
Robert deMaine, Edward Arron (cellos))
rec. live, Warwick Arts Centre, UK, 30 January 2010 (concerto); Illsley Ball
Nordstrom Recital Hall, Benaroya Hall, Seattle, 9 July 2010 (octet)
ONYX 4060 [57:31] 
We are very lucky that Canadian violinist James Ehnes is so frequent a visitor
to the UK; certainly, this recording of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, recorded
live in Warwick with the Philharmonia, is testament to the great work that
he continues to do with British groups. Ehnes’ view of the Mendelssohn concerto
is fiery and impassioned, while being admirably tender at turns. He is imploring
and swift in the opening melody, but the first movement’s second theme is
fragile and intentionally hesitant. Throughout the Andante, Ehnes holds
the long melody with a beautiful legato, and his finale sparkles: a wonderful
little shift in the left hand into the finale’s lyrical counter-melody [2:29]
is evidence of the ease with which he is able to shape the music. He does
occasionally push a little too hard such as at 4:31, where his power produces
one of the very few moments of intonational uncertainty. But his sound on
the whole is wonderfully warm, which is matched throughout by the orchestra.
A very quiet audience and a good reverberant acoustic round off this very
attractive performance.
Ehnes pairs one of Mendelssohn’s final masterpieces with his very earliest,
the miraculously precocious Octet of 1825. No matter how often one hears the
piece, it remains difficult to believe that it is the work of a sixteen year
old. Too advanced to be considered juvenilia, the Octet nevertheless radiates
the passions of youth, something which mature musicians can fail to grasp.
Ehnes and his colleagues from the Seattle Chamber Music Society certainly
present an immaculate account of the Octet, but I’m not sure they capture
the music’s exuberance.
It begins very promisingly, with Ehnes and co setting an ideal tempo for the
opening Allegro moderato. This is a lean and subtly shaped performance,
the virtues of which suit the first movement very well. But I have doubts
about this ensemble’s conception of the remaining three movements; that youthful
fervour is largely absent from the Andante, and the Scherzo
lacks a vital degree of sparkle. That’s not to say that there aren’t many
fine moments; Ehnes, for example, dispatches the fiendishly difficult trilling
passage at the centre of the Scherzo with nonchalant ease, but generally fails
to lead the ensemble into the dynamic extremes specifically requested by Mendelssohn
in the score. This is a good performance of the Octet, but not a great one;
my own preference is for Hausmusik London’s performance on Virgin Veritas
(5618092), though some will dislike the period instruments and lowered pitch.
Andrew Morris
A warm Mendelssohn Concerto but a cool Octet from James Ehnes.