American Chamber Music

James Ehnes and friends from the Seattle Chamber Music Society hit the road on a fascinating journey through chamber music by some of the giants of 20th-century American classical music. Aaron Copland’s masterful Violin Sonata, Leonard Bernstein’s youthful and vibrant Piano Trio, and Samuel Barber’s B minor String Quartet with its famous Adagio slow movement (known the world over as ‘Barber’s Adagio’) are joined by Elliott Carter’s haunting 'Elegy' from early in his long career, and the other-worldly 'Largo' by that great maverick Charles Ives. The Telegraph 23rd September 2014 ***** “Ehnes and Orion Weiss give a healthy, characterful, rhythmically buoyant account of Copland’s Violin Sonata...an outstandingly played disc that offers a fascinating snapshot of what American composers were doing in realms of chamber music during the Thirties and Forties.” Gramophone Magazine October 2014 “The Copland Sonata gets a thoroughly efficient and rewarding performance from Ehnes and Orion Weiss, and Carter's early - and uncomplicated - Elegy highlights Richard O'Neill's mellifluous viola sound...the Barber Quartet confirms the excellence of the Seattle musicians in every way.” BBC Music Magazine November 2014 **** “Ehnes is brilliant and incisive in the faster music, but his consistently intense vibrato seems at odds with Copland's moments of plain-speaking simplicity; pianist Orion Weiss is a model of clarity...These are accomplished performances on a disc that's imaginatively planned and ultimately rewarding.” MusicWeb International 5th November 2014 “On this showing it comes as no surprise that James Ehnes’ star is in the ascendant; his colleagues are equally impressive. This is a disc of great music and is extremely well recorded and played by all concerned.” The Strad December 2014 “[an] eminently refreshing programme … with violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti employing an unadorned tone that ideally captures the often naïve simplicity of Ives … Elliot Carter’s Elegy for viola and piano…[is] given a tender and lyrical reading by violinist Richard O’Neil … This is an excellently recorded anthology that can be strongly recommended.” Presto Classical James Longstaffe January 2015 “An outstanding performance by violinist James Ehnes and pianist Orion Weiss of Copland's rarely-heard Violin Sonata. Both performers find a tender simplicity in the central slow movement, and a light, sprightly approach in the jolly final Allegretto.” Classical Music ***** “an unmissable, beautifully recorded collection.”