Eugène Ysaÿe’s famous 6 Sonatas for Solo Violin op. 27 (HN 776) belong to the canonical repertoire, but the pieces for violin and piano presented here also deserve a place on the music shelf of students and professional violinists. His Poème élégiaque op. 12 – probably the most famous work for this scoring – is to be found in this collection, as are two first editions after newly discovered manuscripts from his estate. An Ysaÿe specialist of the first order, Marie Cornaz contributes a preface that is full of new findings. Editor Ray Iwazumi – very familiar with Ysaÿe’s work as both virtuoso and scholar – presents all of these pieces in Urtext for the first time; his experience likewise proves beneficial for the fingerings in the accompanying marked part.
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Preface
Eugène Ysaÿe (1858 – 1931), who was born in Liège, already caused a great sensation in concert halls on account of his extraordinary talent as a violinist, even in his youth. Towards the end of his studies from 1875 – 79 with Henry Vieuxtemps in Paris, his talent as composer became apparent, a talent that he was to foster right up to his death. He taught himself … more
Critical Commentary
About the composer
Eugène Ysaÿe
A Belgian violinist, conductor, and composer, whose virtuosic playing, rich in tone color, significantly influences generations of violinists. His late-Romantic compositions, of which only a few survive, comprise instrumental and chamber music works.
1858 | Born in Liège on July 16. He receives his first violin lessons from his father. |
1865–69 | At the Brussels Conservatory he studies violin with Désiré Heynberg. |
from 1869 | Concert tours with his father take him through Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and France, where he performs as a prodigy. |
1872 | He continues his studies with Rodolphe Massatt. |
from 1874 | In Brussels he is a pupil of Henri Vieuxtemps and Henryk Wieniawski. |
1876–79 | He follows Vieuxtemps to Paris, where among others he meets César Franck, Anton Rubinstein, and Raoul Pugno. |
1879–82 | He is concertmaster of the Bilse Orchestra in Berlin. He meets Clara Schumann and Joseph Joachim. |
1882 | Together with Rubinstein he sets out on a concert tour through Russia and Scandinavia. |
from 1883 | In Paris he rises to becomes a well-regarded interpreter and frequent dedicatee of all of France’s great composers, including Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, Ernest Chausson, and Camille Saint-Saëns. |
1886–97 | He teaches at the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels and gives concerts regularly, including with Enrique Granados, Ferruccio Busoni, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. |
1912 | Appointed court music director and Grand Officier de l’Ordre de Léopold. |
1917–22 | He emigrates to the United States, leads the Cincinnati Orchestra, and teaches at the conservatory in that city. |
1922–30 | Back in Belgium, he undertakes a few more concert tours. |
1931 | Dies in Brussels on May 12. |