logo
episode-header-image
Dec 2021
1h 16m

Ysaye Sonatas for Solo Violin

JOSHUA WEILERSTEIN
About this episode

If you’re not a violinist, you might not be familiar with the name Eugene Ysaye. But this violinist and composer was called “The King of the Violin” at the turn of the 20th century. Ysaye’s biggest compositional achievement was inspired by a performance by the legendary Joseph Szigeti in 1923. Enraptured, Ysaye went into his studio and 24 hours later (!), he emerged with 6 solo violin sonatas, each dedicated to one of his favorite violinists. Dive in with us this week to learn all about these amazing works!

Up next
Aug 22
Sticky Notes meets You'll Hear It
I had such a wonderful time joining the jazz podcast You'll Hear It! We talked about the meeting of jazz and classical music, a topic I've explored before, but never in this much depth and never with so much input from jazz musicians and experts like Peter Martin and Adam Maness. ... Show More
1h 10m
Mar 2025
Amy Beach, "Gaelic" Symphony
Amy Beach is a name that might not be familiar to you. She was born in 1867 and died in 1944, and her life was one of the most fascinating and varied in musical history. She was a child prodigy, became a successful pianist, and then pivoted to composing at her husband’s request. ... Show More
1 h
Feb 2025
Sticky Notes en Français! Shostakovich Symphonie No. 13 (Bonus Episode)
Voici un épisode bonus spécial de Sticky Notes en français, en avant-première de mes concerts avec l'Orchestre National de Lille, présentant la 13e symphonie de Shostakovich. Si vous souhaitez écouter la version anglaise de cet épisode, elle est disponible dans les archives. Je m ... Show More
1h 10m
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
Violin Concerto No. 2 by George Tsontakis
Synopsis A concerto, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is “a piece for one or more soloists and orchestra with three contrasting movements.” And for most classical music fans, “concerto” means one of big romantic ones by Beethoven or Tchaikovsky, works in which there is a kind o ... Show More
2 m
Mar 2023
Kernis' Violin Concerto
Synopsis In Toronto on today’s date in 2017 violinist James Ehnes gave the world premiere performance of a new violin concerto by the American composer Aaron Jay Kernis. The work was written specially for Ehnes and was a joint commission from orchestras in Toronto, Seattle, Dalla ... Show More
2 m
Mar 2010
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.When Mendelssohn wrote his Violin Concerto in 1844 he could hardly have imagined how famous and well loved it would become. In this programme, people tell how it has played an important part in their lives. Violin ... Show More
27m 57s
Feb 2022
Two authors tell stories of the weird and wild in the classical music world
Both interviews today will transport you into the exciting world of classical music. No, really! The first is with Brendan Slocumb, whose new book, The Violin Conspiracy, is a mystery surrounding a musician trying to recover his stolen violin. It's also about how hard it is to be ... Show More
17m 26s
Jun 2022
Bruch's Violin Concerto
A Violin Concerto in G minor, Opus 26, became the best-known work of the German composer Max Bruch. Originally written in 1866 it went through many revisions before finally being completed in 1867. It was performed extensively but having sold both the publishing and the manuscrip ... Show More
27m 48s
Jun 2023
Ran's Violin Concerto
Synopsis It was on today’s date in 2003 that a new violin concerto by composer Shulamit Ran premiered at Carnegie Hall – but it would be just as appropriate for us to run this episode of Composer’s Datebook on Mother’s Day – as Ran herself explains: “Thoughts of my mother, Berta ... Show More
2 m
Mar 2023
Beethoven's Op. 127
Synopsis Today in 1825, one of Beethoven's late chamber works, his String Quartet in E-flat, Op. 127, received its premiere in Vienna by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. The Quartet had only received the music two weeks earlier, which, in those days, would be plenty of time for expe ... Show More
2 m
Jan 2021
Joshua Bell the Violin Virtuoso
Joshua Bell debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra at 14. Since then he's received a ton of awards and played with nearly every major orchestra in the world. His performance radiates emotion and rings with precision as the notes from his legendary Gibson Ex-Huberman Stradivarius ... Show More
37m 27s
Oct 2023
Dvorak's Violin Concerto
Synopsis On today’s date in 1883, the premiere of Antonín Dvořák’s Violin Concerto was given in Prague by Czech violinist František Ondrícek with the National Theatre Orchestra, led by Czech conductor Moric Anger, an old friend of Dvořák’s and his onetime roommate. The concerto w ... Show More
2 m
Feb 2021
Violet Violins
Conversation with Alex Rivers, a professional busker and late bloomer trying to make a name for himself as a violinist. I also spoke with Noel Brown, an executive producer, podcast host and musician whose father forced him to learn violin at an early age.See omnystudio.com/listen ... Show More
29m 41s