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Eugène Ysaÿe was the charismatic and flamboyant successor to Wieniawski in the great French tradition of violin virtuosity. Yet he was to take the genre to new and giddy heights with his Six Sonatas for solo violin of 1924. Each sonata is dedicated to one of the rising stars of the younger generation of virtuosos and the work as a whole is in many ways a twentieth-century response to the Six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin by Bach. The two works for violin and piano on this recording are in a rather less virtuosic vein and date from some thirty years earlier. Rêve d'enfant is a short and tender lullaby in the spirit of Fauré, while the Poème élégiaque, itself dedicated to Fauré, combines a sublime atmosphere with unashamedly Wagnerian vision.

Reviews:
The Strad
Graffin's unfailing intonation places this disc at the top of the available versions.

Diapason
Excellent enregistrement, transparent, précis, avec une excellents restitution des timbres. Définition parfaite.

Fanfare
Obviously and enthusiastically recommended.

Hi-Fi News
One simply cannot imagine this music being played any other way. Even Frank Peter Zimmermann’s otherwise exemplary EMI recordings must play 'second fiddle' to artistry of this order... Graffin not only surmounts the myriad technical intractabilities with which Ysaÿe peppers this music in dashing style, but with an amazingly consistent golden tone, and - most important of all - a mesmerising identification with what this music is all about. One listens as though on some hot-line to the original source of the composer’s inspiration.

Musicweb International
Ysaye studied the violin in Paris in the tradition of the virtuoso performers, such as Paganini. He was a self-taught composer, mainly writing works for himself to play, including several concertos. The great violinist Joachim announced “I've never heard anybody play like that!” on first hearing him. He later took lessons with Joachim, before becoming Konzertmeister with the Brasserie Bilse Orchestra - later Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He returned to Paris and was the dedicatee of a number of works written for him by composers including Franck, Debussy, Saint-Saëns and Chausson. He also formed a string quartet, was given a post as Professor at Brussels Conservatoire, and formed a concert society, for which he conducted, and performed many premieres.

Ysaye drew a great deal upon that greatest of composers, Bach, and all six of his sonatas are testament to this. One can hear the influence of Bach throughout the works – not just in form and occasional actual musical reference, but also in the beauty and simplicity of line. Each sonata was dedicated to a younger violinist and was composed with his particular style of playing in mind – Szigeti, Thibaud, Enescu, Kreisler, Crickboom and Quiroga.

The sonatas are here played superbly – and, indeed, virtuosically - by Philippe Graffin. Graffin seems to draw out the connections with Bach’s music, and I personally find these tributes to Bach - and there is a particularly heavy allusion to Bach’s third partita in the first two movements of Ysaye’s second sonata - very moving. So, for me, the performers create a powerful effect. They are convincing advocates of this music, playing with passion, confidence and spirit. Just listen to the fire and enthusiasm in Les Furies (last movement of the second sonata) and the third sonata.

The sonatas are followed by the Poème élégiaque - which Ysaye later orchestrated. Graffin is here accompanied by Pascal Devoyon. The work is exhilaratingly beautiful and lyrical, the performance intense – superb! The disc concludes with Rêve d'enfant. Ysaye dedicated this to his youngest son Antoine. It is a tender lullaby - gorgeous music and playing.

The performances by Philippe Graffin are full of musicality and understanding. He has not just an excellent technical ability but a real love and comprehension of this music that shines through. He is an excellent communicator.

Gramophone: (click to enlarge)



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