Ysaye biography

Eugène Ysaÿe (French pronunciation:[øʒɛn iza.i]) (July 16, - May 12, ) was a Belgian violinist, composer and conductor. He was regarded in his day as "The King of the Violin."

Many important violinists of the twentieth century were greatly influenced bygd Ysaÿe's style, especially in playing the music of the Romantic era. A child prodigy, he became the master of the Franco-Belgian school of violin playing and played with Europe's leading orchestras. However, his playing career was shortened due to the effects of diabetes, particularly on his hands.

He served as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from to and had earlier been offered the position of music director bygd the New York Philharmonic. In addition to having a major international career as a solist, Ysaÿe also was a distinguished teacher, conductor and composer.

He died at 72 of the effects of diabetes, shortly after the premier of his only opera. His brother was pianist and composer Th

•

Compositions

Born in Liège, Eugène Ysaÿe ( &#; ) received his first lessons from his father, also a violinist. He soon became a pupil of Vieuxtemps and Wieniawski, and embarked on brilliant tours that took him to major European countries and the United States. He returned eight times to the American continent, where his success never waned.

But his life as a virtuoso should not overshadow his real contribution to the art of music. Indeed, Ysaÿe was a great pedagogue, and during the twelve years he devoted to teaching violin at the Brussels Conservatory, he passed on to his pupils an art and technique rooted in the great masters of the 19th century.

The creation of the concerts that bore his name was also an opportunity for the musician to promote the contemporary repertoire. Many composers dedicated one or more works to him, some for the quartet he founded. These include Chausson, Debussy, Lekeu, Fauré, Saint-Saens&#;

The catalog of his works is not very extensive, but reveals t

•

Eugène Ysaÿe

Belgian violinist and composer (–)

Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (French:[øʒɛniza.i]; 16 July &#;&#; 12 May ) was a Belgian virtuosoviolinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar".

Legend of the Ysaÿe violin

[edit]

Eugène Ysaÿe came from a background of "artisans", though a large part of his family played instruments. As violinist Arnold Steinhardt recounts, a legend was passed down through the Ysaÿe family about the first violin brought to the lineage:

It was told of a boy whom some woodcutters found in the forest and brought to the village. The boy grew up to be a blacksmith. Once, at a village festival, he astonished everyone by playing the viol beautifully. From then on the villagers took pleasure in dancing and singing to the strains of his viol. One day an illustrious stranger stopped in front of the smithy to have his horse shod. The count's servant saw the viol inside an