The violinist, Frederieke Saeijs, plays a precious 'Ex Reine Elisabeth' violin by Pietro Guarneri (1725), on long-term loan from the Dutch National Foundation for Musical Instruments.
Compositional Technique
Each of Ysaÿe's six sonatas is dedicated to a younger contemporary violinist and is intended as a musical portrait of that dedicatee.
Composition History
Eugène Ysaÿe composed these six sonatas for solo violin between 1923 and 1924 after being inspired by a performance of J.S. Bach's solo sonatas by Hungarian violinist Joseph Szigeti.
Composer Biography
Eugène Ysaÿe, the composer of these sonatas, was considered one of the greatest violinists of his time, with composers like Ernest Chausson, Gabriel Fauré, César Franck, and Guillaume Lekeu dedicating works to him.
Performer Biography
Frederieke Saeijs, the violinist on this album, won the prestigious Premier Grand Prix and several special distinctions at the 2005 Long-Thibaud International Violin Competition in Paris.
Historical Context
Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, who was an accomplished violinist and received lessons from Ysaÿe, founded the Eugène Ysaÿe Competition in his honour in 1937, which later became the Queen Elisabeth Competition.
