Three-time Grammy winner Hilary Hahn presents her new recording of Eug猫ne Ysa每e’s Six Sonatas for Violin Solo, Op. 27. Inspired by JS Bach, the legendary Belgian violinist and composer Eug猫ne Ysa每e wrote the first work in a cycle of six sonatas in June 1923. 100 years later, Hilary Hahn, “one of the most important violinists of our time” (The New York Times), recorded this cycle – driven by the upcoming 100th anniversary. “I’m always amazed at how lucky I am to be part of this musical tradition,” says Hahn. “Twenty years ago these pieces were somehow alien to me, they seemed to hold mysteries I would never unravel. Now I think I can play these sonatas in his spirit and still be absolutely true to myself.”
Eug猫ne Ysa每e, widely regarded as one of the first modern violinists, created technical and artistic standards for his instrument that are still valid today. Luminaries such as Franck, Debussy and Chausson composed important works for him. In the last decade of his life, Ysa每e focused more on composing. He began writing the six solo violin sonatas after hearing the Hungarian virtuoso Joseph Szigeti play Bach’s Partitas and Sonatas for solo violin. Ysa每e dedicated each sonata to a next-generation violinist, such as Szigeti, Jacques Thibaud, Fritz Kreisler and George Enescu, which helped ensure that his pieces continued to be cultivated and played by these distinguished musicians in the decades that followed.
Like Bach, he takes advantage of the violin’s ability to play more than one sound at a time, creating complex polyphonic lines and chords. And like Bach’s partitas and sonatas, his six sonatas for solo violin today rank among the supreme tests of a violinist’s technique and artistry. Hilary Hahn sums up their importance, describing them as “legendary, they have shaped generations of violinists and are a wonderful tribute to the instrument”.
