Composer: Eugene Ysaÿe
Performer: Jack Liebeck, Daniel Grimwood
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Orchid Classics
Catalogue: ORC100179
Release: 2021
Size: 2.68 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Sonata for solo violin in G minor, Op. 27 No. 1
01. I. Grave
02. II. Fugato
03. III. Allegretto poco scherzoso
04. IV. Finale con brio
Sonata for solo violin in A minor, Op. 27 No. 2
05. I. Obsession
06. II. Malinconia
07. III. Danse des ombres
08. IV. Les furies
Sonata for solo violin in D minor, Op. 27 No. 3 ‘Ballade’
09. Ballade
10. Poeme elegiaque in D minor, Op. 12
Sonata for solo violin in E minor, Op. 27 No. 4
11. I. Allemanda
12. II. Sarabande
13. III. Finale
Sonata for solo violin in G major, Op. 27 No. 5
14. I. L’aurore
15. II. Danse rustique
Sonata for solo violin in E major, Op. 27 No. 6
16. Allegro giusto non troppo vivo
Following his acclaimed release of the Brahms and Schoenberg Violin Concertos, Jack Liebeck returns to Orchid Classics with Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, as well as the lyrical Poème élégiaque for violin and piano, for which Liebeck is joined by Daniel Grimwood.
Ysaÿe was hailed as the greatest violinist of his day until illness cut short his career as a soloist, prompting him to channel his energies into writing these sonatas dedicated to six of his most outstanding contemporaries, including George Enescu and Fritz Kreisler. Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas were inspired by hearing Joseph Szigeti playing J.S. Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001, and Bach’s influence is palpable throughout, alongside folk idioms that reflect the nationality of each dedicatee, and more characteristic 20th-century elements such as dissonance and quarter tones. This mixture is bound together by the dazzling virtuosity one would expect from a master of the instrument. Liebeck navigates these nuances with the combination of delicacy and bravura demanded by these stunning pieces.