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Ysaye 150th !! birthday at 16-7-2008 exhibition in Brussel, Belgium, Europe

September 15, 2008 at 8:46 PM

In the last week I have been to the Ysaye-exhibition with a violinfriend. It is a pity that only 70 people every week visit the exhibition. Apart from the family of Ysaye no well known violinists visit the exhibition. But I was glad I saw this exhibition of my idol in Brussel, Belgium, just under the Netherlands.During the exhibition you could hear Ysaye playing Rondino of VieuxtempsIn a book of the exhibition there was a cd of this piece played by Ysaye. Someone has uploaded that Rondino of Vieuxtemps played by Ysaye on Youtube:

The violinbox of Ysaye was there:And his hand grabbing the fingerboard:
Also some very big pictures of Ysaye:
Afterwards we visit his grave in Brussel in the neighboorhood. I hate funerals and graveyards and I have not been to a funeral for 17 years (perhaps only very direct family) and I even was not on the funeral of an aunt and my great-mother (the second one, because my biological grand-mother died before my existence) but for Ysaye (and earlier Vieuxtemps) I made an exception.
Ok a lot of composers are easily forgotten after their dead, but perhaps a Youtube video with fragments can keep them a little bit alive:

As I wrote before the first fragment I hear every time when I get an email at my work. The 2th fragment I hear every day when starting up and closing down my computer at my work. So even colleagues who has nothing with classical music or Ysaye now know his music.
You can still see the digital exhibition in Brussel on internet: YSAYE EXHIBITION BRUSSEL
Ysaye wrote a opera which was performed just before he died. It was a story about a mineworker Pierre the mineworker. In the end of his life Ysaye conducted teh orchestra of Cincenatti, USA
Do you think Schoenberg deserve an exihibition after 16 year when he will be 150 years or do you think Ysaye is more important?? Comments please.
I now realise that I miss a chance to make a video of the exhibition in Brussel of Ysaye for Youtube, to give people, who live too far from Brussel, a chance to see the exhibition . That is a pity, but perhaps the photo's can compensate this a littele bit.