Cesar Franck dedicated his violin Sonata as a wedding present to Eugène Ysaÿe, a young Belgian who was in the process of establishing himself as one of the premier violinists in the world. The opening …
David Oistrakh, the great Russian violinist, outstanding pedagogue, and esteemed conductor was born in the city of Odessa in the Russian Empire (now Ukraine). His father was David Kolker and his mother was Isabella Beyle …
The Brahms Double Concerto was a work of reconciliation on more than just the personal level, for it united the elements of the Baroque concerto grosso, its solo group (concertino) pitted against the orchestra, with …
The so-called “Kreutzer Sonata” opens with a slow introduction, a cadenza-like entrance for the violin alone. The piano makes a similarly dramatic entrance, and gradually the two instruments outline the interval of a rising half-step …