Eugène Ysaÿe

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Eugène Ysaÿe

Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (born July 16, 1858 in Liège , † May 12, 1931 in Brussels ) was a Belgian composer and violinist .

biography

Youth and education

Eugène Ysaÿe received his first lessons from his father Nicolas-Joseph Ysaÿe (around 1826–1905) at the age of five. After his father was appointed conductor of the Liège Opera in 1865, he entrusted his son to Désiré Heynberg, who taught at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels . In 1867 he won 2nd prize in a competition. In 1868 he was excluded from classes because of his father's criticism of Heynberg's methodology. From then on, he accompanied his father on concert tours and played in his orchestra. In 1872 he was taken up again as a student of Rodolphe and Leon Massart through the intercession of Henri Vieuxtemps , won first prize in 1873 and the silver medal in 1874. With a scholarship, he continued his education at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Henryk Wieniawski . At the invitation of Vieuxtemps, he studied with the latter in Paris from 1876 to 1879.

Studying with these teachers meant that he became part of the so-called Franco-Belgian violin school, which arose from the development of the modern violin bow by François Tourte (1747 / 1748–1835) and François Nicolas Voirin (1833–1885). Qualities of this École include elegance, a full tone with a feeling for a "long" bow stroke without jerking, precise techniques of the left hand and stroking with the whole forearm, while both the wrist and the upper arm remain calm (in contrast to the "German School ”, in which Joachim bends his wrist and von Auer uses his whole arm).

First concerts

In 1878 he took a trip to Germany and entered Cologne's musical life, where he performed the C minor sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven with Clara Schumann . This trip opened up new horizons for him; Joachim exerted a great influence on Ysaÿe with his Beethoven lecture. In 1879 he became concertmaster of the Benjamin Bilse Orchestra in Berlin, which later became the Berlin Philharmonic. He performed as a soloist at concerts by the “Wiener Nachtigall” Pauline Lucca in Cologne and Aachen. Among his audience in Berlin were Joseph Joachim, Franz Liszt , Clara Schumann and the pianist Anton Rubinstein . The latter asked Bilse to terminate the contract in 1882 so that Ysaÿe could go on a tour with him through Russia and Norway. From 1883 to 1886 he settled in Paris.

Fame

As a soloist, Ysaÿe's career began in 1885 when he was invited to a concert by “ Concerts Colonne ”, where he performed the Symphonie Espagnole by Édouard Lalo and the Rondo Capriccioso by Camille Saint-Saëns. As an encore he played a prelude by JS Bach. As a result, he became famous overnight and was a favorite with other leading composers such as Claude Debussy , Vincent d'Indy and César Franck . He formed a duo with pianist Raoul Pugno and began a long series of concerts that set a new standard.

On September 26, 1886, he married the singer Louise Bourdeau (1868–1924), and Franck dedicated his sonata for violin and piano to him as a wedding gift, which Ysaÿe made famous for his interpretation.

Franck's student Ernest Chausson (1855–1899) dedicated his Poème for violin and orchestra to him. Other musicians also dedicated important works to him: Claude Debussy the quartets and quintets, Camille Saint-Saëns , Edward Elgar , Gabriel Fauré and numerous Belgian composers. On trips to Vienna and Bordeaux he repeatedly caused a stir with Chausson's Poème .

On November 16, 1894, he made his US debut with the Beethoven Violin Concerto and the New York Philharmonic, and completed a successful American tour. After his return he founded his own orchestra Société des Concerts Ysaÿe in 1895 and began his career as a conductor. Here he often appeared with his brother Théo Ysaÿe . In the same year he founded the “Ysaÿe Quartet” (with Mathieu Crickboom , Léon Van Hout and Joseph Jacob ). Debussy dedicated his string quartet to the Ysaÿe Quartet, which it premiered at the Société Nationale in Paris on December 29, 1893.

From 1886 to 1898 he was a professor at the Brussels Conservatory. His students included Josef Gingold , William Primrose , Louis Persinger , Alberto Bachmann and Mathieu Crickboom. When the Germans invaded Belgium in 1914, Ysaÿe went to London, where he stayed during the First World War .

Orchestra conductor and composer

On April 5, 1918, he made his American conducting debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and also directed the Cincinnati May Festival that year. His success was so great that he was offered a permanent position as director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which he held from 1918 to 1922. He then returned to Belgium and took over the direction of his orchestra again.

In later years Ysaÿe was forced to shift his work to conducting because he had difficulties with his fingers and with the movement of his right arm. Due to diabetes , his right foot had to be amputated in 1929. After the death of his first wife, he married Jeannette Dincin, one of his American students, on July 9, 1927.

His compositional work includes 8 violin concertos; 6 sonatas for solo violin; Poème nocturne for violin, violoncello and strings; Les Harmonies du soir for string quartet and string orchestra, Divertimento for violin and orchestra, Méditation for violoncello and string orchestra, Chant d'hiver for violin and chamber orchestra; Trio de concert for 2 violins, viola and orchestra; Amitié for 2 violins and orchestra. At the age of 70 he began composing an opera in the Walloon language, Pier li Houïeu ("Peter the Miner"), which was premiered in Liège on March 4, 1931. He then began a second Walloon opera, La vièrge di Pièr ( La Vierge de Pierre ), which, however, remained unfinished.

For a long time he played a Stradivarius and a Guadagnini violin, most recently he played a Guarneri . He was musical advisor to the Belgian Queen Elisabeth , who initiated a violin competition named after him in 1937, the first prize of which was David Oistrach . In 1951 the competition was renamed Concours international Reine Elisabeth .

Eugène Ysaÿe was a member of the Freemasons Association . He died in his home in Brussels and was buried there in the Ixelles cemetery.

Works (selection)

  • 8 violin concertos from his youth, later called gimmick and destroyed. Only the 8th concert was orchestrated by Ysaÿe's grandson Jacques Ysaÿe.
  • Poème élégiaque, op.12 (Roméo & Juliette) for violin and orchestra or piano
  • Scène au rouet, op.13 for violin and orchestra
  • Rêve d'enfant, op.14 for violin and orchestra or piano
  • Chant d'hiver, op.15 for violin and orchestra
  • Berceuse de l'enfant pauvre, op.20 for violin, flute, 2 horns and string orchestra
  • Poème de l'Extase, op. 21 for violin and orchestra
  • Les Neiges d'antan, op. 23 for violin, flute, 2 horns and string orchestra
  • Divertimento, op. 24 for violin and orchestra
  • Exil !, op. 25 for violins and violas
  • Poème de l'amitié, op. 26 for 2 violins and orchestra
  • 6 sonatas for violin solo, op. 27 (dedicated to famous violinists and their style composed accordingly).
  1. Sonata: Joseph Szigeti
  2. Sonata: Jacques Thibaud
  3. Sonata: George Enescu
  4. Sonata: Fritz Kreisler
  5. Sonata: Mathieu Crickboom
  6. Sonata: Manuel Quiroga Losada
  • Sonata for solo cello, op.28
  • Poème Nocturne, op. 29 for violin, violoncello and orchestra
  • Harmonie du soir, op. 31 for string quartet and string orchestra
  • Fantaisie op. 43 for violin and orchestra
  • Sonata for 2 solo violins, op. Posth. (Dedicated to Queen Elisabeth of Belgium)
  • numerous smaller works for violin and orchestra
  • an opera: Pier li Houyeu ("Peter the Miner", premiered in Liège in 1931)

literature

  • Eugene-Auguste Ysaye. In: Bakers Biographical Dictionnary of Musicians, Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, editor; Laura Diane Kuhn. (6 volume set). Schirmer; 9th edition 2000, ISBN 978-0-0286-5525-3 .

Web links

Commons : Eugène Ysaÿe  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eugene Ysaye Biography
  2. ^ Edouard Lalo: Symphony Espagnole; Camille Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3
  3. ^ Paul Delsemme: Les écrivains francs-maçon de Belgique. Bibliothèque de L'ULB, Bruxelles 2004, ISBN 2-930149-02-7 .
  4. ^ List of Belgian Freemasons
  5. ↑ http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/Eugene-Ysaye-Werke-f-Violine-Orchester/hnum/3493450
personal data
SURNAME Ysaÿe, Eugène
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ysaÿe, Eugène-Auguste (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian violinist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Liege , Belgium
DATE OF DEATH May 12, 1931
Place of death Brussels , Belgium