Ysaÿe Six Sonatas For Solo Violin

Description

This first recording by David Grimal on La Dolce Volta brings together the 6 Sonatas for Solo Violin by Eugène Ysaÿe, an extraordinary violinist who in his day played a role comparable to that of Niccolò Paganini. They are pinnacles of virtuosity that few violinists can even contemplate tackling. The all-too-rare absolute fidelity to the text (and to Ysaÿe’s very precise markings) as well as to its spirit deserves to be noted here. The maturity of the performance is fully realized, with David Grimal having made the very essence of each movement his own, with its architecture and direction, its transcendent technique, always a humble and faithful servant of the work. The broadest palette, with renewed colors, accents, and dynamics, makes it possible to give musical truth to this album recorded in July 2019. The emotion is there, beyond admiration for the mastery. For the violinist David Grimal, Eugène Ysaÿe is one of the leading figures of the violin at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and a source of inspiration. He sees in this corpus “a testimony to astonishing creative power that looks to the past, reflects the present, and offers itself to the future.” Interpretations and explorations with David Grimal as Ysaÿe’s masterful servant.