Forthcoming Concerts at West Road Concert Hall & Peterhouse Theatre

James Ehnes has established himself as one of the most sought-after violinists on the international stage. Gifted with a rare combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and an unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest of many of the world’s most respected conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Andrew Davis, Denève, Sir Mark Elder, Ivan Fischer, Edward Gardner, Paavo Järvi, and Donald Runnicles. Ehnes’s long list of orchestral collaborations includes, amongst others, the Boston, Chicago, London, NHK and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, the Los Angeles, New York, Munich and Czech Philharmonic Orchestras, and the Cleveland, Philadelphia, Philharmonia and DSO Berlin orchestras.

Alongside his concerto work, James Ehnes maintains a busy recital schedule. He performs regularly at the Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Symphony Center Chicago, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Ravinia, Montreux, Chaise-Dieu, the White Nights Festival in St Petersburg, Verbier Festival, among others. As part of the 2020 celebrations for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Ehnes performed the complete cycle of Beethoven Sonatas at the Wigmore Hall. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with leading artists including Leif Ove Andsnes, Gautier Capuçon, Louis Lortie, Yo-Yo Ma, and Yuja Wang.

Ehnes has an extensive discography and has won many awards for his recordings, including two Grammy Awards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Member of the Order of Canada, and recipient of a Royal Philharmonic Society Award. James Ehnes plays the ‘Marsick’ Stradivarius of 1715.

Praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique, pianist Andrew Armstrong has delighted audiences in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and Warsaw’s National Philharmonic. His orchestral engagements across the globe have seen him perform an extensive repertoire with such conductors as Peter Oundjian, Itzhak Perlman, Günther Herbig, Stefan Sanderling, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, and Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and has appeared in solo recitals in chamber-music concerts with the Elias, Alexander, American, and Manhattan String Quartets.

He has issued highly praised recordings of Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, among others and has released several award-winning recordings with his long-time recital partner James Ehnes — most recently of the Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas, to stellar reviews.

Born in the Czech city of Brno, Magdalena Kožená is one of the most sought-after singers performing today. As celebrated for her performances in the opera house as in the concert hall, she an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon since 1999 and has since been awarded multiple prizes for her albums including The Gramophone’s Solo Vocal Award, The Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, the Echo Klassik Prize, Record Academy Prize Tokyo, and the Diapason d’or. In 2017, Magdalena forged a long-term relationship with Dutch label Pentatone and her three recordings with the company include Il Giardino dei sospiri with harpsichordist Václav Luks and Collegium 1704; an intimate chamber music album Soirée; and her most recent release, Nostalgia, with the celebrated pianist Yefim Bronfman.

During her illustrious career, Magdalena Kožená has worked with the world’s leading conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Gustavo Dudamel, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Simon Rattle and Sir Roger Norrington. Her list of distinguished recital partners includes the pianists Daniel Barenboim, Malcolm Martineau, András Schiff and Mitsuko Uchida, with whom she has performed at such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and at the Aldeburgh, Edinburgh and Salzburg Festivals. She is also in demand as soloist with the Berlin, Vienna and Czech Philharmonics, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Cleveland, Philadelphia and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras.

Legendary pianist Dame Mitsuko Uchida brings a deep insight into the music she plays through her own quest for truth and beauty. Renowned for her interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Beethoven, she has also illuminated the music of Berg, Schoenberg, Webern and Boulez for a new generation of listeners. She is an Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, and her April 2024 recital is her eighth for Camerata Musica Cambridge.

She has enjoyed close relationships over many years with the world’s most renowned orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, and – in the US – the Chicago Symphony and The Cleveland Orchestra, with whom she recently celebrated her 100th performance at Severance Hall.  Conductors with whom she has worked closely have included Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon Rattle, Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Jurowski, Andris Nelsons, Gustavo Dudamel, and Mariss Jansons.

Mitsuko Uchida records exclusively for Decca, and her multi-award-winning discography includes the complete Mozart and Schubert piano sonatas.  She is the recipient of two Grammy Awards – for Mozart Concertos with the Cleveland Orchestra, and for an album of Lieder with Dorothea Röschmann – and her recording of the Schoenberg Piano Concerto with Pierre Boulez and the Cleveland Orchestra won The Gramophone Award for Best Concerto.