Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole, Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3 James Ehnes, BBC Philharmonic & Juanjo Mena

• Édouard Lalo (1823 - 1892): Symphonie espagnole in D Minor, Op. 21:
• 1 Lalo: Symphonie espagnole in D Minor, Op. 21: I. Allegro non troppo 07:38
• 2 Lalo: Symphonie espagnole in D Minor, Op. 21: II. Scherzando 04:12
• 3 Lalo: Symphonie espagnole in D Minor, Op. 21: III. Intermezzo 06:14
• 4 Lalo: Symphonie espagnole in D Minor, Op. 21: IV. Andante 06:07
• 5 Lalo: Symphonie espagnole in D Minor, Op. 21: V. Rondo 08:12
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61:
• 6 Saint-Saëns: Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61: I. Allegro non troppo 08:18
• 7 Saint-Saëns: Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61: II. Andantino quasi allegretto 08:30
• 8 Saint-Saëns: Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61: III. Molto moderato e maestoso 10:20
• Pablo de Sarasate (1844 - 1908): Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25:
• 9 Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25: Introducción [Entr’acte before Act IV] 02:44
• 10 Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25: I. Moderato 03:00
• 11 Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25: II. Lento assai 02:18
• 12 Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25: III. Allegro moderato 01:54
• 13 Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy, Op. 25: IV. Moderato 02:30
• Total Runtime 01:11:57

Info for Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole, Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3

Pablo de Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Spain, and became an acclaimed virtuoso of the violin by the tender age of twelve. The child prodigy was sent away to study at the Paris Conservatoire, and Sarasate spent the rest of his life in Paris. In demand nationally and internationally as a soloist, he was the dedicatee of a large number of important concertos by composers ranging from Max Bruch to Henryk Wieniawski.

Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole was composed for Sarasate, who gave the Paris première, in 1875. The work is laid out in five movements and bristles with Spanish themes, rhythms, and influences, which were very much the vogue in France at that time. Also composed for Sarasate, the Third Violin Concerto of Saint-Saëns was composed in 1880. Written in his usual clear, refined, almost classical style, the work has endured as the most played of his three violin concertos. The album is completed with Sarasate’s own fantasia on Bizet’s Carmen – a virtuosic tour de force for the soloist, brilliantly played here by James Ehnes.

James Ehnes, violin
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Juan Jose Mena, conductor

James Ehnes
began violin studies at the age of four; five years later he became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin, later studying with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music summer courses. At the age of seventeen he entered The Juilliard School under Thomas, graduating in 1997 with the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music. Although now resident in Bradenton, Florida, he has had several honours conferred upon him by his native Canada.

Ehnes, who plays the 1715 ‘Marsick’ Stradivarius, has made a substantial contribution to the recording scene. His playing, characterised by a large and well-nourished tone (heavily reliant upon a wide, powerful vibrato) is at its best in more extrovert and soloistic repertoire. This can be found in exciting performances of the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 3 (2000) and the rarely-recorded Dohnányi Violin Concerto No. 2 (2004), whilst the Barber Violin Concerto (2006) is a thrilling rendition, with a fantastically effervescent and rapid finale and a pleasingly varied and warm approach to the first movement which is enlivened by rather more tempo rubato than many performances.

Smaller-scale works can make Ehnes sound uncomfortable, as if he struggles to match his dramatisation appropriately to the work. Ravel’s Tzigane (2009), in a convincing ‘gypsy’ idiom, Kreisler’s Liebesfreud (2003), full of bonhomie, and Dvořák’s Op. 100 Sonatina (2004) all work well, however. Ehnes’ 2007 album Homage—containing a well-shaped Elgar La Capricieuse—aims to illustrate the differing voices of a range of fine historic instruments and bows. Whilst some variation can be heard, it is (as he acknowledges in his liner notes) Ehnes’ playing that predominates here. It would be interesting to see whether a more restrained, historical approach to playing these instruments would convey differences rather more, since what this disc shows instead is the unifying tonal effect of modern technique and modern strings. To some, Ehnes’ playing might seem rather overblown, but at its best it has a level of directness and excitement one cannot help but admire.

Booklet for Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole, Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3