Dr. Colin Eatock, composer
  • Home
  • About Colin Eatock
  • Composing
  • Catalogue of works
  • Writing about music
  • Eatock Daily (blog)
  • New and upcoming
  • Contact me

James Ehnes, Bach and Toronto Summer Music

7/22/2017

0 Comments

 
PictureCanadian violinist James Ehnes.
The place to be for music in Toronto on Wednesday evening was the Church of the Redeemer, at the corner of Bloor St. and Avenue Rd. It was in this small church – packed to the rafters with patrons of Toronto Summer Music – that violinist James Ehnes once again demonstrated he’s one of the best concert soloists on the stage today.
 
Most classical music fans in Canada are well aware that Ehnes is also Canadian, hailing from the town of Brandon, Manitoba. And I expect most have probably already heard him, and are well aware of his astonishing prowess on his 1715 Stradivarius fiddle. (Hence, the sold-out house.)

Wednesday’s concert seemed well chosen to highlight his strengths. It consisted of four violin concertos by Bach: two for one soloist, one for two and another for three. The orchestra for this occasion was a group of advanced students from the TSM’s Academy program – and I’ll say more about them later. And obviously, the concertos for multiple violins featured other soloists as well as Ehnes – again, I’ll get to them a little further down.
 
But first, let’s talk Ehnes, in the opening two concertos: the A Minor BWV 1041, and the D Minor BWV 1052R. And although I’m not generally inclined to indulge in fanciful metaphors, I’ll use one now.
 
Ehnes’ playing – generally, and especially in the Bach we heard on Wednesday – reminds me of the Cathedral of Saint Pierre, in Geneva, Switzerland. Do you know it? It’s a Romanesque-Gothic church, built between 1160 and 1252. But in 1535, when the Protestant Reformation was sweeping through parts of Europe, Calvinists in Geneva claimed the church as their own and proceeded to strip it of its decorations. And it’s in this unadorned state that the church now stands: bare stone walls, with no statues, paintings, or anything else that might draw the eye’s attention away from the architecture of the building itself.
 
And that’s how Ehnes played Bach – emphasizing and bringing to life the glorious architecture embedded in the notes on the page. Clarity of tone, phrasing and tempo were the strong suits of his playing. Intonation? Flawless. Vibrato? Just a touch. Expressiveness? Yes, but only as a means to enhance the music’s structure. Baroque style? Not through fancy embellishments, as the early music players like to do – yet every movement had a strong, governing Affekt.
 
In the Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor BWV 1043 Ehnes partnered with violinist (and TSM Artistic Director) Jonathan Crow. And in the Concerto for Three Violins in D Major BWV 1064R, violinist Andrew Wan joined the other two soloists.

Playing with Ehnes, Crow and Wan were well balanced, adopting a similar emphasis on architectural clarity. But these two violinists also possessed qualities that Ehnes does not. Crow’s playing had a slightly laboured quality, and Wan displayed a brittle edginess in his tone. They are both excellent musicians – but stepping out next to Ehnes invited comparison to him, and they are not “A-list” concert soloists, as he is. (They are orchestral concert-masters: Crow with Toronto Symphony and Wan with the Montreal Symphony.)
 
As for the orchestra, their commitment to Ehnes’ leadership was apparent from the first note they played – and, as a student group with just a few days’ rehearsal together, they did a remarkably good job of accompanying the soloists. It speaks well of Toronto Summer Music that the festival is able to bring these students to Toronto and give them such an inspiring musical opportunity.

 
© Colin Eatock 2017
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Eatock Daily

    I'm a composer based in Toronto – and this is my classical music blog, Eatock Daily.

    When I first started blogging, Eatock Daily was a place to re-post the articles I wrote for Toronto’s Globe and Mail and National Post newspapers, the Houston Chronicle, the Kansas City Star and other publications.

    But now I have stepped back from professional music journalism, and I'm spending more time composing.

    These days, my blog posts are infrequent, and are mostly concerned with my own music. However, I do still occasionally post comments on musical topics, including works I've discovered, enjoyed, and wish to share with others.


    – CE

    Archives

    March 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    September 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Index

    Click here for an alphabetical list of blog entries.

    RSS Feed

    Follow colineatock on Twitter
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.