TSM House Programme July 13-20

The Chaconne has been the object of much adulation by composers of various
persuasions. Busoni transcribed it for piano solo whose bombast, carried by
thunderous outbursts and elaborate figuration, ironically fails to replicate the force
and grandeur of Bach’s original creation. Brahms, himself a formidable pianist,
grasped this well. He made no arrangement, preferring to play it on the piano, as
written, with the left hand alone. “The chaconne to me is one of the most wonderful,
incomprehensible works of music,” he wrote to Clara Schumann in 1877. “On one
staff, for one small instrument, this man has written a whole world of profoundest
thought and deepest feelings.”
Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931)
Sonata No. 3 in D minor for violin solo, Op. 27, No. 3 “Ballade”
The Belgian violinist Ysaÿe, hailed as one of the greatest virtuosos
at the turn of the last century, was admired as much for his
faultless technique as for his profound devotion to his instrument
and its traditions. He himself studied with masters: Wieniawski in Brussels and
Vieuxtemps in Paris. To him Franck dedicated his Violin Sonata, and Chausson, his
Concert and Poème. He played in the premiere of Debussy’s String Quartet. Illness
would hamper his technique but he continued to perform while cultivating parallel
careers as a conductor and a composer.
In 1923, after hearing the Hungarian violinist Joseph Szigeti interpret a partita by
Bach, Ysaÿe remarked that here was a musician who “puts technique in the service
of expression;” an experience that prompted him to write for solo violin himself.
Acknowledging the long shadow cast by Bach’s works in the genre, Ysaÿe opined
that “in spite of their difficulty, more in appearance than in reality, [they] do not
constitute an evolution in the instrumental technique”, pointing to the strengths of
pure violin writing in Viotti, de Bériot, Vieuxtemps, and Wieniawski. He thus struck
upon the idea of writing a series of solo sonatas “through and for the violin” inspired
by the playing technique of the virtuosos of the day. According to Ysaÿe’s son,
Antoine, that very night he sketched the outlines of all six Op. 27 sonatas, working
them out in subsequent weeks. The set was published in 1924.
A mysterious recitative-like, slow introduction establishes the improvisatory
character of the concise Third Sonata, dedicated to George Enescu. “I let myself
be drifted with my fantasy,” said Ysaÿe. “The remembrance of my friendship and
admiration for George Enescu and of the performances we gave together in the
music room of that delightful queen, Carmen Sylva, guided my pen!” The Allegro
breathes with fire; at times one hears echos of Bach’s Chaconne, in the same key.
The sonata, brimming with the requisite virtuosity of a caprice or cadenza, lives
up to Ysaÿe’s stated goal of fusing technical wizardry idiomatic to the violin with
Bach’s polyphony and musical vision. Ysaÿe knew Bach was a hard act to follow.
But his profound knowledge of the violin allowed him to explore, compellingly,
novel harmonic and contrapuntal effects. The music thus stakes a happy middle
ground between the sensuousness of the French impressionists and the hard
edges of Bartók.
Copyright © 2017 Robert Rival. Robert Rival is a composer, music writer & teacher. robertrival.com
ARTIST INFORMATION
James Ehnes, violin
James Ehnes has established himself as one of the
foremost violinists of his generation. Gifted with a rare
combination of stunning virtuosity, serene lyricism and
an unfaltering musicality, Ehnes is a favourite guest of
many of the world’s most respected conductors and has
performed with a long list of orchestras including Boston,
Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New York, London Symphony,
Philharmonia, BBC Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, DSO Berlin and the
NHK Symphony orchestras. In the 2016/17 season and beyond, Ehnes premieres
the Aaron-Jay Kernis Violin Concerto with orchestras including the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra/Oundjian. In May 2017, Ehnes was announced as
Instrumentalist of the Year at the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards.
Alongside his concerto work, James Ehnes maintains a busy recital schedule.
He has appeared at festivals such as City of London, Ravinia, Montreux, Chaise-
Dieu, the White Nights in St Petersburg, Festival de Pâques in Aix, and in 2009
he made a sensational debut at the Salzburg Festival performing the Paganini
Caprices. Ehnes is a regular guest at the Wigmore Hall in London and at the 2007
BBC Proms he premiered a new work for violin and piano by Aaron Jay Kernis. In
autumn 2016, Ehnes embarked on the second part of his cross-Canada recital tour
to celebrate his 40th birthday.
As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with leading artists such as Andsnes,
Lortie, Vogler and Yo-Yo Ma. In 2010, he formally established the Ehnes Quartet,
with whom he has performed in Europe at venues including the Wigmore Hall,
Auditorium du Louvre in Paris and Théâtre du Jeu de Paume in Aix, amongst
others. Ehnes is the Artistic Director of the Seattle Chamber Music Society.
Ehnes has an extensive discography and has won many awards for his recordings
including a 2008 Gramophone Award for his live recording of the Elgar Concerto
with Sir Andrew Davis and the Philharmonia Orchestra. His recording of the
Korngold, Barber and Walton violin concertos won a 2008 Grammy Award
for ‘Best Instrumental Soloist Performance’ and a 2008 JUNO award for ‘Best
Classical Album of the Year’. His 2010 recording of the Paganini Caprices earned
him universal praise, with Diapason writing of the disc, “Ehnes confirms the
predictions of Erick Friedman, eminent student of Heifetz: ‘there is only one like
him born every hundred years’.” Ehnes’s recent recording of the Bartók Concerti
was nominated for a 2012 Gramophone Award in the Concerto category. Recent
releases include concertos by Britten, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Khachaturian
and sonatas by Beethoven, Debussy, Elgar and Respighi.
Ehnes began violin studies at the age of four, made his orchestral debut with
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal aged 13, and graduated from The Juilliard
School in 1997. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and in 2010, he was
appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. James Ehnes plays the “Marsick”
Stradivarius of 1715.
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