Gramophone Magazine
December 2024
Editor's Choice

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong

Schumann: Märchenbilder (4), Op. 113
Brahms: Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 120 (Arr. for Viola & Piano by Johannes Brahms)
Brahms: Sonata No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 (Arr. for Viola & Piano by Johannes Brahms)
Brahms: 5 Lieder, Op. 49 (Arr. for Viola & Piano by Johannes Brahms): No. 4, Wiegenlied

James Ehnes picks up the viola for his first recording of the two Brahms sonatas Op.120 of 1894, in the composer's arrangement for viola and piano. Originally written for clarinettist Richard Mühlfeld, Brahms made subtle changes for the viola versions, and in so doing he greatly enriched the meagre viola sonata repertoire with these two late masterpieces. Schumann composed his Märchenbilder (Fairy Tale Pictures) in a few days in March 1851. They are imbued with a potent sense of fantasy - imagination runs riot, from melancholy to drama. James Ehnes plays on the 1696 'Achinto' Stradivari viola for this recording, courtesy of the Royal Academy of Music.

"Ehnes is a natural Brahmsian. His playing is richly expressive yet also completely without affectation...In every way, in fact, Ehnes is very much the equal of the greatest viola players on record." - Gramophone Magazine, December 2024