James Ehnes Wieniawski Etude-Caprice Op. 18 No. 4

[123violinfreakify]

wow! such wonderful intonation, and note clarity!

[Sdwr87]

How the hell do you play a piece that intense and not slip up ONE note????...legend.

[TheTucsonJeff]

He knocks off this piece as if it was nothing! Unbelievable! Maybe he was Paganini in a previous life.

[RichieLeone]

i believe he is the greatest living violinist...

[edgarbiervliet]

Can anyone explain to me why one hears so little about this incredible artist? He is just amazing, but on Amazone I find hardly any cd...and even on youtube there is hardly any material about him.

[puccinifan]

This is the kind of contemporary violinist I'd love to see at the Queen Elizabeth competition. Taste, articulation, big sound, and an understanding of what tension means in violin performance (the raised thumb here is crucial). The only thing I didn't quite appreciate was the high Bb at 1:17, which stuck out a bit. I was also disappointed that he didn't do anything with the sequence at at 1:21 - 1:24, but in terms of the psychology of performance I get it.

[marcelbrandy]

Hands born to the cello - so beautifly suited to economy of motion, may one day spin marvels in maturity on the viola. Stunning really...

[iRingoDrums]

James fingered a girl once and killed her...

[DBHAYES82]

@iRingoDrums Nice! She must have succombed to a masochistic temptation. The horror, the horror!

[jonatanblack01]

@iRingoDrums LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gallipoli717]

This is really great violin playing! I will hear James Ehnes this coming week in recital and playing the Mendelsohn Concerto. I look forward to it. Great G-string tone on this wonderful Peter Guarneri Violin.

[vimo]

amazing but that left hand thumb Omg =) hehe

[Tutsikiyanacek]

@vimo as you know its russian style (:...

[mikesmith007x]

@Tutsikiyanacek my teacher is from Minsk and as time went on, my thumb began riding naturally high like that and I was concerned about it and she said "you are lucky, it is SUPPOSED to be like that" :)

[KillerWhaleSFl]

Cool I see this guy tonight with the Toronto Symphony 

[muslit]

Great playing. Not a lot of personality.

[rulesoftheinn]

That is some outstanding violin playing.

[grabngonuts]

and he's a hunk too

[grabngonuts]

all that, and he's a hunk too!

[z300acel]

hey James is coming to Colombia and I Have first row tickets yeah!!!!! September 5!

[angelcorvus]

@z300acel I had that pleasure in Cali, 3 sep

[z300acel]

@angelcorvus si somos paisanos porq hablamos en ingles? jaja

[yscslim]

``Stop moving`` says Zukerman LOL

[eeuzzy]

Yeah boyeah representing Canada this is how we do

[Vio45lin]

I've met this guy before.

[Hidekkro]

LOVE YOU!(

[MrDove93]

Fantastic!!!! :DDD

[BlackIce415]

@PhUTube4Evah

Did someone just fart? I thought I heard something. Guess not. Carry on.

[asasasassasaasasas]

@PhUTube4Evah lmao

[BlackIce415]

@PhUTube4Evah

We appreciate your sarcasm, sir.

[ptrefftz]

How have I never heard this before!? This is the best rendition I've heard yet.

[Bachismydiety]

wondeful, clean, musical, genuine...what more do you want?

[violinlova]

I thought Jung hwa Chung's interpretation was best until I heard this guy. This is perfection!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rebeccanubodys]

Bravo!

[koperyna]

I love him ! He is AMAZING !!

[pr0k0rny]

fest kijowo grasz ... :)

[Alduflo93]

James Ehnes is an outstanding player more people should know about him lol

[Derild4921]

how does he move his hands so fast???

[kanashi0ame]

That sounds great! Stupenda!

[violinlova]

He looks a bit tense

[johnaiton]

awesome intonaion and playing dynamics.

My ears rejoice to the squicky squeaks

[johnaiton]

hehe, keyboard fail

[waikikit2]

As I search and search for more about violin in You TUbe, the more excellent violinist I found... I wonder how many expert violinist we have nowadays... Some are well-known and some are not... Hahahaha

[John8300]

outstanding! perfectly in tune.

[robinowaty123]

BEAUTIFUL!!!

[Terucherio]

holy sh***.....

[violatione]

I think James is in the running for greatest violinist in the world.

[cykill1000]

@violatione If keeps this playing up he'll most certainly get there. He's Awesome!

[mina8596]

Wow this guy is amazing. His violin is hot. I have a Canadian violin too.

[Arrestme198]

Absolutely outstanding playing. First class.

[Dogaradodia]

Certified Intergalactic!

[JCviolin09]

amazing job!!!!!

[HoKnows4]

Holy....

[lewap1974]

Just beautiful! This is brilliant! You did a good job!

[ZeroX810]

clarity.

[alunde22]

Even at the age of 4 when I was studying Suzuki violin group lessons with Jimmy and others, he stood out and they were talking about him then. How he isn't more well known I don't know? I believe he went on to win the top graduating performer at Juilliard along with the CBC national radio award and so many other awards. I love to see him play when he returns to Brandon. (he wouldn't have a clue who I am though..ha ha)

[ColinGabrielSmith]

Yes it's unfortunate that more people don't know about him or other equally talented artists. Instead, the media is filled with mental midgets trying to be Paris Hilton's best friend!

[LyrGil]

AMEN!

[pviola314]

it's because he has class and doesn't sell himself in such bad ways as some others... won't mention names

[fullargon]

Wow! Perfect intonation!

Amazing.

[TomaVan]

this one is comparable to Perlman's

[ZeroX810]

outshined.

[Ziggy1614]

i would say better. Perlman plays it too fast.

[mrwasbesonders]

@Ziggy1614 Even slower would be better still. Maybe Adagio

[OboeQueen27]

Indeed a very excellent violinist! his dad teaches at my school, and James did some masterclasses a few years back...the funny thing was that i totally passed him in the hall and realized after that i had been in the same space as a violin god...and the strad that he plays on, the closest i will ever get to a strad i guess :P

[VIOLINMIKE]

he's better than some so called famous violinists

[vp1981ad]

Absolutely brilliant! Why have I not heard of him before?!? (I used to think I was in the know...)

Now I obviously need to go listen to everything he's ever recorded.

[Srouble]

I'm going to see him in three weeks, to perform the Korngold violin concerto. You should get his new album Homeage, Theres is alot more where this came from, He also plays viola. and they are all Stradivarius or Gesu Violins or violas, with the exception of this violin by Peter Guarneri made in 1698. and the Amati violin made in apporoximatly 1560.

[rosinitup87]

His intonation is so solid! JEALOUS.

[anigopal]

I saw him play the Tchaikovsky vk in Melbourne recently and he was absolutely as fantastic (if not more) live

[Ziggy1614]

Yeah. I saw him here in adelaide. Hes got mad skillz.

[calloffthedogs]

best intonation on this piece I've ever heard.

[milstein91]

That's true.

[KevosMagic]

@calloffthedogs Me too

[AnastasijaBykova]

@calloffthedogs true

[Zikiru]

I'm going to get to watch him in a master class soon. I'm excited :)

[rdemaine]

Unimpeachable. The best of the best. What else is there to say?

[OriginalMoonbeam]

Fantastic! I hope we get more uploads on youtube of his playing! He is a wonderful violinist. I look forward to getting this CD--I see that it just became available on Amazon

[woggz21]

Finally a youtube performance!

[alexvollrathsmith]

I am upset that I had not heard of this player before now, but I am glad that I have found him. Long Live Youtube!

[angelviolin14]

That guy's pretty good but I think Hilary Hahn is better. She's good at anything you hand her! She's my idol p/m :-D lol

[evilcows91]

you obviously know nothing about real violinists.

[angelviolin14]

And you obviously don't know what youre talking about. How can you turn a simple comment into an argument? Do you really think I care about what you have to say? I mean it's coming from someone who doesn't know what they're talking about or acts like it so why would i take what you said to heart anyways? Jerk.

[EmilyLiz]

You can order the DVD from Arkiv Music. For some reason it's not listed under James Ehnes so you have to search for "Homage" instead.

[jayaaron1]

James is so underrated. I've just watched him perform the Glazunov Violin Concerto and its so amazing. He played his 1715 Strad and it sounds fantastic. Btw, he played in my country Malaysia along the Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra. He is truly one of the most talented violinist and most underrated too.

[lsder]

Is this part of his new video "homage"?  I can't find the cd/dvd in stock anywhere.

[jaf1021]

This is one of the pieces of the new "Homage" that you can pre-order at OYNX Classics.

[reachforthetop]

Ehnes is great!!

I saw him at the TSO not a while back, amazing.

[Funkimunkeee]

I'm going to see him play the Tchaik this Saturday with the TSO :D

[arzdiamondbacks]

i've never heard of this guy before, but comparing this video to perlman and zukerman's rendition, james ehnes's playing is clearly superior

[MilsteinRulez]

Sorry? What fault could one possibly find with the Perlman clip here on YouTube? I couldn't decide which to prefer, but then I couldn't either make myself play this with hands as big as dustbin lids. Which Itzhak does. And at top speed, too.

[pviljoen]

Thanks for posting this. I agree with the person below as far as underrated violinists. Ehnes, Kavakos, and Frank Peter Zimmerman (who is famous in Europe but not in the US) are my three favourites by far.

[dxxn]

James is a puzzingly underrated violinist. I believe he and Leo Kavakos are the two best violinists performing today.

[genmaximus110]

He is underrated. But at least those of who know better understand. I saw him perform Tchaikovsky's violin concerto with Cleveland Orchestra. He was AWESOME. I got to meet him afterward and got him to sign the CD booklet of the caprices. I treasure it so much and I keep it in my violin case along with Yehudi's signature.

[kehwa]

So true.

[jabsomdoc]

agreed. i saw him do the glazunov with NY phil. nearly perfect performance. id add violinist martin beaver to your list as well, as one of the best underrated violinists performing today.

[Ziggy1614]

someone put more find mopre videos of him. hes awesome

[pviljoen]

Yea, there need to be way more videos of his playing. He's probably one of the most recorded violinists around. He's done a huge portion of the repertoire, but hasn't recorded a lot of the more often performed sonatas/concertos yet. I own all his CDs and every single one of them is as good as or better than anything you'll find available.

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

*beautiful sound AND immaculate technique

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

I've seen James Ehnes play live before, he has a beautiful sound immaculate technique, is the person who posted this video actually him?

[likemyviolin]

I dont't think so, because in his biography stays "James Ehnes was born in 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada." and here stays "jaf1021, age: 49."

[likemyviolin]

Great talent, excellent performance. Sweet tone, clear intonation like a crystal, intelligent musicality, galopping virtuosity. Deserves 5 stars, of course.

After buying a CD (Paganini Capricci) with James Ehnes I didn't knew why isn't he more famous today, and I didn't realise this until the present day.

I think he's one of the most talented violinists/musicians of our time, particularly in his generation. (My friend, Kristof Barati is the another, check him at the YouTube.)

[rothmu]

Thank you so much for posting this video!!!

[bsnblend]

i've seen him twice in montreal (tchaikovsky and walton) both times he was awesome!

[barenboimcobbler]

ahh I've been waiting for so long for some James Ehnes videos. Thanks!!

[Riley1699]

It's not his instrument. He is playing and comparing all the instruments of the Fulton Collection. Keep your eyes open for the upcoming DVD/CD

[Pianoloverok]

Excellent!!!!!!!!!

[shela2]

Delightful!!...

[useryug]

Fine stuff.Bravo

[olga2809]

Why didn't I know him? He is an awesome violinist! I'm going to search a recording of him.

[scottbos68]

ive said this before ehnes is probabaly the best violinist since michael rabin

[michaelrabinthebest]

interesting...

[stonehousesound]

Sweet, James. I like the Big old RCA mic capturing your lovely tone. Thanks for not having the recording engineer (Tim Martin?) move it out of the way for the shoot!

[jaf1021]

Tim did do the recording, and we liked the idea of seeing everything in the shot, mic, lights ect.

[PenMusicFest]

Wow Jimmy - you sound great. Thanks for sharing this with me. I look forward to your return to the Peninsula Music Festival. Check us out on YouTube! Give my love to Edward!!!

Sharon

[EmilyLiz]

Ditto about the Pen Music Fest!!! I never get tired of hearing you play. Thanks so much for this video. I'll go nuts when I see the DVD; I'm such a violin nerd, and it's such a great idea to perform on so many different instruments.

[1stbaernbaer]

breathtaking harmony and skill - on a breathtaking violin. perfection!

[winrx]

What an extraordinarily polished sound he elicits from his instrument - it's almost too good to be true...