Hommage à Eugène Ysaÿe

Eugène Ysaÿe’s Poème élégiaque in D minor, Op. 12 - Dan Zhu, violin; José Gallardo, piano

Poème élégiaque in D minor, Op. 12 my very favourite piece from my violin ancestor, Eugène Ysaÿe “The King of the Violin”, dedicated to his composition mentor Gabriel Fauré and was influential to another impressionistic master Ernest Chausson’s famous Poème, Op. 25. This crucial work of Ysaÿe's, which ignited his passion for poem compositions, was inspired by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Ysaÿe builds on the virtuoso pieces of the 19th century and utilizes devices such as scordatura, in which the violin's lowest G string is tuned down to F throughout the piece, give it a darker and warmer timbre, perhaps also reflects Ysaÿe’s affection to the Viola instrument. The truly great virtuosity intertwined in between dramaticism and lyricism, it is the essentially the best representation of romantic and impressionistic. With this piece, Ysaÿe seems to have found his own voice, stating "I think that 'Poème élégiaque' marks a definite step in my work as a composer for it contains clear evidence of my desire to link music and virtuosity—the true virtuosity which had been neglected since the instrumentalists, departing from the example set them by the early masters, had ceased composing themselves and had left this art to those who ignored the resources of the violin."