Monday, January 23, 2012


Charles Castleman
"Ysaye: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin op. 27"
(Vinyl)

Apparently the Nonesuch label has always been on the perimeter of musical currents. Today their label boasts a roster such as The Black Keys, the Punch Brothers and composer Steve Reich. In 1983 they released this, an album of solo violin sonatas by Eugene Ysaye.

I love the Ysaye sonatas that I've heard. The most famous is his second (dedicated to Jauques Thibaud) which is an homage to Bach's solo violin compositions and is sometimes called the "Obsession" sonata.
Some of these are much shorter (No. 6 is less than seven minutes long) but each is dedicated to a prominent violinist of Ysaye's age.

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