Ysaye [CD]

Eugène Ysaÿe - "the King of the Violin" - was one of the most influential figures in thehistory of string playing. A performer of dazzling brilliance and expressive depth, Ysaÿetransformed violin technique into a language of pure emotion, inspiring composers fromFranck and Saint-Saëns to Debussy and Chausson, while his own music captures that samefusion of virtuosity and soul. This new album brings together some of Ysaÿe's most evocative and rarely heard works -from the youthful Grande valse de concert and poetic Rêve d'enfant to thepassionate Poème élégiaque, the tender Amitié, and the rhapsodic Extase. In the hands ofaward-winning artists Natalia Lomeiko, Yuri Zhislin, and Iván Martín, the music revealsYsaÿe's extraordinary ability to merge Romantic lyricism with bold harmonic imagination. A journey through nostalgia, friendship, ecstasy, and reflection, this new album of Ysaÿe'sworks reveals the heart of a composer whose music, like his playing, was devoted toexpression over showmanship.