Ehnes' Superb Shostakovich

My first concert of the DFP 2013-14 season was James Ehnes' in Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 with Claus Peter Flor and the MPO on 24 August 2013. In the second half, ten movements from Prokofiev's ballet "Romeo and Juliet" was the post-interval concert filler. It is always a pleasure to hear James Ehnes in concert. We always get a very superb standard of technical proficiency as well as a lovely sound from his 1715 Marsick Stradivarius. His version of the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 (coupled with the Britten Violin Concerto) on the ONYX label was released just a few months ago. In concert, the performance took on a more frightening intensity of spirit and speed. The brooding atmosphere in the first and third movements (and extended cadenza) were particularly moving, whilst the technical command of the second and fourth movements was superb in the live performance and even exceeded the speeds set on the ONYX disc. The audience gave him warm and stirring rounds of applause and Ehnes obliged them with an encore in the shape of JS Bach's Largo from the Solo Sonata No 3 BWV1005. After the interval, we were treated to a passionately Romantic interpretation of 10 movements from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet by the MPO and Flor. Concert programming here has now regressed to the good old opening days of playing core repertoire. After over 15 years in existence, it would probably be good for the MPO and its music director to explore the more exotic orchestral repertoire like Gliere's The Red Poppy, Miaskovsky's Violin Concerto, and Kabalevsky's Third Piano Concerto for example.