Canadian violinist James Ehnes is a marvel. You won’t find a better Kreisler recital this side of, well, Kreisler. This disc already has garnered considerable acclaim in Europe, and it’s a mystery why it’s had to wait so long to appear on these shores. Ehnes plays these little gems with the richest, warmest tone imaginable, unflagging virtuosity, and where required (in the Liebeslied, Schön Rosmarin, or the delicious Caprice viennois) just a touch of schmaltz. Time and again you come away with a sense of just what a good composer Kreisler really was, and how effectively these charming bon-bons have held up over the years.
The principal item, though, is Kreisler’s arrangement of Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata, here played about as well as it can be (and I frankly prefer this arrangement to the original anyway, heretical as that may sound). Ehnes also rips into the second movement of the Recitativo and Scherzo for solo violin with spine-tingling aplomb, and Francois Francoeur may not be a household name anymore but if Kreisler’s Sicilienne and Rigaudon are truly in “his” style, then (at least as played by Ehnes) he’s due for a comeback. So although Kreisler’s scale may be small, comparing the adorable Tambourin chinois to the Corelli Variations in the style of Tartini, or the Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Gaetano Pugnani reveals him as a musical historian (or curio collector) of the first rank, and within his self-imposed limitations, a composer of surprisingly wide range.
All of these amusing and intriguing reflections owe their origins to Ehnes’ irresistibly spontaneous joy in this music, and to his gutsy, “golden age” timbre and technique. He even takes a turn at the keyboard in the Petite Valse for solo piano, and it’s no disparagement of Eduard Laurel’s excellent accompaniments to observe that the focus remains squarely on Ehnes, who clearly belongs among today’s giants of the violin. It’s his show, and Analekta has recorded him in state-of-the-art sound too. Marvelous! [9/20/2003]
