Two-week Bravo Brahms series launches with James Ehnes as soloist in Violin Concerto

Music Director Osmo Vänskä conducts Minnesota Orchestra concerts January 12 and 14 featuring three Brahms works, with Canadian-born James Ehnes as soloist in the Violin Concerto

(December 12, 2011) The Minnesota Orchestra and Music Director Osmo Vänskä launch a two-week “Bravo Brahms” series that celebrates the genius of one of the greatest Romantic-era composers, starting with all-Brahms concerts January 12 and 14 that include the captivating Violin Concerto, played by soloist James Ehnes in his first collaboration with the Orchestra under Vänskä.  The concerts open with Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn, a set of eight variations on a chorale tune sometimes attributed to Haydn, and conclude with Brahms’ Third Symphony, which upon its premiere in 1883 was called “artistically the most nearly perfect” of Brahms’ symphonies by the famed music critic Eduard Hanslick.

The concert is performed twice at Orchestra Hall: on Thursday, January 12, at 11 a.m.; and on Saturday, January 14, at 8 p.m., with ticket prices ranging from $22 to $84.  [Editor’s note: A different all-Brahms program is performed on Friday, January 13; see forthcoming release for information.]  For tickets, call (612) 371-5656 or visit minnesotaorchestra.org.

James Ehnes, violin
James Ehnes has performed in more than 30 countries on five continents, appearing regularly with many of the world’s best-known orchestras and conductors.  His association with the Minnesota Orchestra extends to his teenage years, when he won the 1992 WAMSO Young Artist Competition and played at the following year’s Symphony Ball.

Ehnes’ calendar for 2011-12 includes performances in the U.S., Canada and ten European countries, including solo appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic.  He also gives many recitals and performs extensively with his string quartet, the Ehnes Quartet.  He recently became artistic director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society.

Winner of a 2008 Grammy Award, he is featured on two albums released in 2011: Bartók concertos with the BBC Philharmonic, and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony.

Haydn Variations, virtuosic concerto and symphony with a serene close
Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Haydn—based on a chorale tune that some scholars believe was not by Haydn, but rather borrowed from another source—presents a theme and eight variations ranging in tone from somber to dance-like, leading to an ingenious finale built on a repeating bass line.

The Brahms Violin Concerto is passionate, full of energy and breathtaking in its virtuosity.  The composer wrote it for his friend Joseph Joachim, the violinist-composer whose influence can be seen in passages that continually ask for tenths, an interval requiring large and nimble hands.

A powerful brass motto opens Brahms’ Third Symphony; hymn-like, fervent, pastoral and bittersweet melodies follow.  Resolving tension, the final Allegro is serene and sunny—the mood so often associated with Brahms.

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Minnesota Orchestra Classical Concerts—Bravo Brahms!
EHNES PLAYS THE VIOLIN CONCERTO

Thursday, January 12, 2012, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, January 14, 2012, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall

Minnesota Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
James Ehnes, violin

BRAHMS             Variations on a Theme by Haydn
                        Violin Concerto
                        Symphony No. 3

Tickets: $22-$84

Music Up Close:  Concert Preview with Phillip Gainsley and James Ehnes – Jan. 12, 10:30 a.m.; Jan 14, 7 p.m.
Ask Osmo! Post-concert Q&A with Music Director Osmo Vänskä – Jan. 14

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Individual tickets are available for purchase at the Minnesota Orchestra Box Office at 11th and Marquette in Minneapolis, online at minnesotaorchestra.org or by calling (612) 371-5656 or (800) 292-4141. For groups of 10 or more, call (612) 371-5662 or (800) 292-4141, ext. 662. Prices listed do not include a $5.75 service charge per transaction for all phone or mail orders. Save $1 by purchasing tickets online or by having the Orchestra e-mail your tickets. There are no service charges for subscribers, group purchasers or in-person transactions at the Orchestra Hall Box Office. A non-discountable $3.50 facility fee is included in the price of each individual ticket. No refunds. Some fees and restrictions may apply to ticket exchanges. All sales are final. All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.

Delta Air Lines is the official airline of the Minnesota Orchestra’s 2011-12 season.

The Star Tribune, 830 WCCO-AM and 102.9 LiteFM are the Minnesota Orchestra’s media partners for the 2011-12 season.

This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the State’s general fund and its arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

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