Program
Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931)
Six Sonatas for solo violin, Op. 27 (1923)
Sonata No. 1 in G minor, dedicated to Joseph Szigeti
Grave
Fugato
Allegretto poco scherzoso
Finale; Con brio
Sonata No. 2 in A minor, dedicated to Jacques Thibaud
Obsession; Prelude
Malinconia
Danse des Ombres; Sarabande
Les furies
Sonata No. 3 in D minor, ‘Ballade’, dedicated to Georges Enescu
Lento molto sostenuto – Allegro in tempo giusto e con bravura
Sonata No. 4 in E minor, dedicated to Fritz Kreisler
Allemande (Lento maestoso)
Sarabande (Quasi lento)
Finale (Presto ma non troppo)
Sonata No. 5 in G major, dedicated to Mathieu Crickboom
L’Aurore
Danse rustique
Sonata No. 6 in E major, dedicated to Manuel Quiroga
Allegro giusto non troppo vivo
Details
Ysaÿe composed six solo violin sonatas in July 1923, in just a month, in a fit of inspiration. He was 65 years old, he was a maitre of the violin and, looking around him, summed up his life journey. The sonatas were a reflection on himself and his place in the history of violin playing.
The complexity of the sonatas is phenomenal. Ysaÿe expands the possibilities of the violin to the limit forcing the performer to play chords of six sounds on four strings, making inaudible vibrations and resonances of the instrument part of the music, and as if trying to convey to the audience the inner bodily experience of the violinist. The cycle requires the performer to have perfect technique and abilities for acting, however, the technical skill is not needed per se, but so that the creative spirit of the musician could express itself without hindrance.