Eugène Ysaÿe's Six Sonatas for solo violin, Op. 27, composed after Ysaÿe had given up playing, were fairly obscure works until quite recently, but now various violinists have tested themselves against this peak of the virtuoso repertory, and buyers are in the pleasant position of being able to choose among differing interpretations. For Ysaÿe, this would have been all to the good; he stressed musicality in addition to technical mastery. A recording of the set by the young Hilary Hahn, who was a student of Ysaÿe's last ...
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Eugène Ysaÿe's Six Sonatas for solo violin, Op. 27, composed after Ysaÿe had given up playing, were fairly obscure works until quite recently, but now various violinists have tested themselves against this peak of the virtuoso repertory, and buyers are in the pleasant position of being able to choose among differing interpretations. For Ysaÿe, this would have been all to the good; he stressed musicality in addition to technical mastery. A recording of the set by the young Hilary Hahn, who was a student of Ysaÿe's last student, Jascha Brodsky, has been popular and offers pristine control over material that, given the slightest chance, will come apart. This 2021 release by violinist Jack Liebeck has a different emphasis, focusing on the fact that each of the six sonatas was dedicated to a different violin contemporary of Ysaÿe's. Liebeck inflects his style slightly for each sonata, seemingly according to the style of the original dedicatee, and this will be of considerable interest to anyone who likes...
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