Ysaÿe VC in E minor etc.

[Alan Howe]

Forthcoming on February 9th:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9559749--reves-ysaye-concerto-in-e-minor-poeme-concertant

[semloh]

Well, this is fascinating, Alan. A "recently discovered" concerto to add to Ysaye's ouevre.

• The Violin Concerto After Two Poèmes, Opp.18 & 19 that appeared on an old HMV LP, played by Maurice Raskin, is an arrangment, of course.
• IMSLP lists an incomplete Violin Concerto in E major, in addition to the Concertos 1-8.
• Sherban Lupu is soloist in a "recently discovered Violin Concerto in G minor from 1910"
• https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9247167--ysaye-violin-discoveries?country=AU&currency=AUD&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIg4zu1q29gwMVsaVmAh0hGA5mEAQYASABEgIPEfD_BwE

.. I find it all all rather confusing!

[terry martyn]

I think that the now fully discovered mid-1880's D minor concerto will follow this recording. My inference is from YouTube

[Mark Thomas]

Now due out on 16 February.

[Alan Howe]

My copy's now arrived and, naturally, I'm confused about the current state of play with regard to Ysaÿe's concertante works. So: can anyone enlighten me?

Oh, by the way: the Violin Concerto in E minor here sometimes sounds like a fiendishly virtuosic and updated version of Mendelssohn's famous concerto in the same key. I'm just not sure precisely what I'm listening to. Is it some kind of 'Frankenstein's Monster' assembled from disparate sources - or is it really a genuine reconstruction?

[Alan Howe]

To answer my own question, I've found this:

<<The world-premiere recording of the complete Violin Concerto in E Minor by Belgian virtuoso violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe has arrived! Following the recent discovery of a first movement, further manuscripts which complete the work have come to light – one a full orchestration, others for violin and piano – which were found on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Philippe Graffin's close collaboration with Ysaÿe aficionado Xavier Falques led to a page-by-page analysis and painstaking reconstruction of the musical puzzle pieces, resulting in this recording of the full, three-movement concerto which displays Ysaÿe's trademark ardour, intensity, and originality.

For reasons unknown, Ysaÿe abandoned his Violin Concerto in E minor in 1885...>>
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/AV%202650

It's nice music, but an entirely unnecessary purchase. There's no great discovery here.

[Mark Thomas]

It's nice music, but an entirely unnecessary purchase. There's no great discovery here.

I wish I'd read that before I bought it, Alan!

[Alan Howe]

And I wish I hadn't had to write it. 

[terry martyn]

Well,I have now played through the Ysaye. Some sixty or seventy years ago, I played the part of "Everyman" in the mediaeval morality play, and my school performance was described by a well-intentioned critic as "audible".  So is the Ysaye....................

Ok,it is not offensive to the ear, but it sounds like three separate compositions cobbled together,and without a trace of originality.

[Alan Howe]

Just think: while stuff like this gets recorded, mountains of far superior music survives in computer realisations by dedicated members of this forum. They're the true heroes in my book.