Canadian fiddler James Ehnes has yet to put a foot wrong in his imaginative interpretations of the core repertoire: he’s exposed the tenderness in Paganini, delighted in Barber and tackled Elgar with astonishing presence and maturity for someone so young. Now James turns to what may be the most popular concerto of all, and shows that yes, there’s always room for another version. His heavy-hitting accompanists provide superb support. The biggest delight may be the pairing with friends from the Seattle Chamber Music Society. Ehnes shows that despite being written when the composer was 16, the Octet is far from juvenilia. James’s recent Tchaikovsky concerto performance with the MSO received ‘concert of the year’ from The Age – he hasn’t recorded that yet, but this disc will show you what all the fuss is about!

Richard Mohr is a friend of Readings