Inspired by the example set by J.S. Bach two centuries earlier, legendary Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe wrote the first work in what turned out to be a six-sonata cycle in June 1923. One hundred years later, Hilary Hahn “one of the essential violinists of our time” (The New York Times), has recorded the set on her own wave of inspiration – driven by the impetus of the upcoming centenary to realize one of her dream projects.

“I marvel at my good luck to have inherited Ysaÿe’s artistic legacy,” says Hahn. “Twenty years ago these pieces felt abstract, like they held secrets I would never be privy to. Now, the Ysaÿe sonatas feel natural to me, as if I’ve somehow grown into them.”

Widely regarded as one of the first modern violinists, Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) created technical and artistic standards for his instrument that still stand as benchmarks today. Luminaries such as Franck, Debussy, and Chausson all composed major works for him. In the final decade of his life, Ysaÿe concentrated more on composing. He began writing the violin sonatas after hearing Hungarian virtuoso Joseph Szigeti perform Bach’s partitas and sonatas for solo violin.

Ysaÿe dedicated his sonatas to Szigeti, Jacques Thibaud, Fritz Kreisler, and George Enescu, among other outstanding performers of the younger generation. Like Bach, he exploits the violin’s ability to perform more than one sound at once and play complex polyphonic lines and chords. And, like Bach’s partitas and sonatas, his six works are today established among the supreme tests of a violinist’s technique and artistry. Summing up their significance, Hilary Hahn describes them as “iconic, generation-defining, and a beautiful celebration of the instrument”.