Ysaÿe: Harmonies du soir

Featuring

Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Thibault Lavrenov
Tatiana Samouil
Émilie Belaud
Olivier Giot
Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège

Quatuor Ardente
Eugène Ysaÿe

Did you know?

1/7

Composer Biography

During World War I, Ysaÿe took refuge in the United States, where he was already known as "the King of the Violin" and "the Sublime Emperor of Extravaganza."

Composer's Artistic Vision

Ysaÿe believed the "poem" form was a progression in his musical writing, allowing for greater emotion and combining musical interest with true virtuosity.

Compositional Technique

Ysaÿe's "poems" for string instruments and orchestra are typically single-movement works with no strict formal constraints, allowing for varied emotional expression.

Critical Reception

Over time, Eugène Ysaÿe's reputation as a brilliant virtuoso overshadowed his qualities as a composer, leading to a need for rediscovery of his works.

Composer Biography

Eugène Ysaÿe, a Belgian violinist and composer, met Franz Liszt, a Hungarian pianist and composer, in 1883 at a conference in Zurich, which influenced Ysaÿe's career path.

Composition History

The poem Exil, Op. 25, was written in New York in 1917, reflecting Ysaÿe's feelings of distress and loneliness during his time in the United States.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Ysaÿe considered his early compositions to be "devoid of any originality or value" and later turned to composing "poems" for string instruments and orchestra.