Easiest ysaye sonata for violin ???

September 9, 2013 at 10:23 AM · Hi George,

Interesting question, as the Ysaÿe sonatas are all quite challenging! I find the most accessible to be #2, even though most people (including me) started with #3.

If I can make a recommendation to make life easier, it is to follow Ysaÿe's fingerings and understand that there is a logic to them, particularly in the use of intermediate notes for shifts and for planning shifts. Every time I have taught them in lessons, summer festivals or masterclasses, I have found that when people where struggling with shifts, they had either changed the fingerings or where not doing the intermediate notes, or had not planned them. Using Ysaÿe's fingering, planning and using the intermediate notes usually solved the problem almost instantaneously. It is also important to read and follow the instruction list at the beginning. Some of them may appear confusing, and are often misinterpreted in recordings, but they do have a clear direction for the musical thought. This is one of the rare cases in music where we have the opportunity to get very close to the intentions of the composer and I find it quite good to take advantage of it. This is one case where a "Historically Informed Performance" can really help you.

Cheers and enjoy! These sonatas are awesome!

September 10, 2013 at 07:59 PM · Hello Christian,

thank you very much for responding.

Your comments proved to be very helpful in a quick sight-reading of the second sonata that i did.

Especially your point on Ysaye's own fingerings.

I am probably going to start seriously learning a sonata or two, in about a year !

Any additional info from anyone would be appreciated !

September 10, 2013 at 11:45 PM · Hi George,

Glad it helped! If you want additional information, I have plenty. What would you like to know?

Cheers!

September 11, 2013 at 01:10 PM · First of all, which sheet music edition should I consider buying ?

Also I would like to know any rare historical facts about either the sonatas or Ysaye himself..

September 11, 2013 at 02:44 PM · Hi George,

The standard edition by Schrimer is fine. The was a corrections list by Ysaÿe that Joseph Gingold had, but it was never published. However, Yuval Yaron's excellent recording of the sonatas has them. They include for example the fact that ostinato for the second movement of no.4 should be played twice before the movement begins, etc.

As for information, there is too much to write here. The basics in essence is that Ysaÿe composed these works very quickly, inspired by a recital of Bach given by Joseph Szigeti in which he played the G minor sonata, which served as the inspiration for the set and the model for the first sonata. The second sonata reflects Ysaÿe's attempt at escaping Bach's shadow. It is dedicated to Jacques Thibaud. The third is in the style of a virtuoso romantic ballade with some gypsy guts and freedom and is dedicated to Enesco. No. 4 is in some ways the most classical, and includes hints at Bach's d minor sonata, a quartet by Vincent d'Indy in the second movement and the last quotes Kreisler's Praeludium and Allegro (the sonata is dedicated to him). The fifth is in the Impressionistic style and is dedicated to Mathieu Crickboom who was the second violinist of the Ysaÿe Quartet at the premiere of the Debussy Quartet. The sixth is dedicated to Manuel Quiroga and is the most virtuosic while at the same time reflecting the Spanish influence that was prevalent in French music (Lalo, Ravel, for example).

The sonatas are both a resume of the musical currents in vogue during Ysaÿe's career as well as the advances in violin technique. Part of the reason why all the runs often use the entire E string for example is because of the recent arrival of the steel E, and Ysaÿe wanted to exploit its brilliance. The first, second, and fourth sonatas are in some ways Ysaÿe's vision of neo-classicism, bearing in mind that the neo-classical style finds its origins in French chamber music going back to the 1880's and is not only a post-WWI current (there is a great book on this by Scott Messing). The 3rd, 5th and 6th sonata reflect the romantic and post-romantic, as well as impressionist currents that were present in the many works that Ysaÿe premiered during his career.

I could go on, and on, and on, but that is the best quick resume that I can do here.

Another interesting fact is that Ysaÿe never performed the sonatas publicly, although there is an account that he played the third at a private soirée at which Jacques Thibaud was present.

Have to run. Hope this helps.

Cheers!

September 11, 2013 at 06:15 PM · WOW !! Thank you so much for this treasure of information !

September 15, 2013 at 08:02 AM · Is there a source for the Ysaye/Gingold corrections?

September 15, 2013 at 09:20 AM · Hi,

Stephen, Ysaÿe wrote the corrections directly in Joseph Gingold's part. There was a list published at some point (which I was told was incomplete), but I would have to look up the reference (I think that it was in the VSA, but I am not 100% sure). Sadly, the corrected score disappeared when Gingold died and a corrected edition was never published; a great loss.

Cheers!

September 21, 2013 at 09:59 AM · 2 is the most technically doable, all of them are musically very deep and require lots of thought. But two is playable for most college-level students/serious high schoolers id bet.