James Ehnes & Andrew Armstrong

James Ehnes's 50th Birthday Tour program opens our Cecilian Chamber Series season. Legend of the violin world and one of Canada's great prides, James and his long-time duo pianist, Andrew Armstrong, present a tour de force program that will be heard in all provinces and territories. Beginning with an enormous display of virtuosity, the "Suite in the Olden Style" by Norwegian composer Christian Sinding, a contemporary of Grieg, incorporates Baroque influences within a fiery Romantic spirit. To follow, Brahms's long-loved third sonata for violin and piano draws the listener into a deeply personal and dramatic journey, combining inward searching and outward bursts of passion. In the second half, listeners will be treated to an exciting new commission by Carmen Braden, a Yellowknife-based composer whose music draws inspiration from the sounds of her northern surroundings. Bartók's First Rhapsody celebrates bold Hungarian folk music, following the slow-fast progression of the "csárdás", an exuberant Hungarian folk dance whose name originally referred to roadside taverns and inns found in rural Hungary - sites of many a high-spirited gathering! A spontaneous selection of favorite encores will end the program, to be announced from the stage.