Hilary Hahn Records Eugéne Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin

“The sounds you hear aren’t just the product of the notes on the page, but of a centuries-long artistic lineage that has led me to this moment in time.” — Hahn

Released on Deutsche Grammophon (DG), three-time GRAMMY Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn has made a recording of Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Violin Solo, Op. 27. The album is also available on CD, a 2-LP gatefold vinyl edition, and in digital formats including a Dolby Atmos version. 

Recording these sonatas together for the first time, Hahn also celebrates her pedagogical lineage. Having studied with one of Ysaÿe’s pupils, Hahn had long been familiar with his works. "This is my gift to my musical grandfather on his hundredth birthday," she explained.

Composed in June 1923 and inspired by J.S. Bach’s masterful solo violin works, Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for solo violin have since become staples in modern violin repertoire for their technical virtuosity and musical expression. 

Each of his six sonatas was dedicated to a major performer of the time — Joseph Szigeti, Jacques Thibaud, George Enescu, Fritz Kreisler, Mathieu Crickboom, and Manuel Quiroga.

Before recording the sonatas chronologically, Hahn sight-read the complete score and felt that the music had matured within her since she had last played them publicly.

“Just as Eugène Ysaÿe was inspired by Bach to write these six sonatas — and in doing so set a crucial milestone in the evolution of the violin — so too am I inspired by Ysaÿe to continually grow as an artist, to pour all of myself into this music and to commit myself fully to the pieces appearing on this recording,” Hahn said. 

“The sounds you hear aren’t just the product of the notes on the page, but of a centuries-long artistic lineage that has led me to this moment in time — me, standing on my own two feet with just my two hands, a violin, a bow, and four strings.”

To purchase and listen to the album, click here.

Supported by DG and Hahn’s co-producer Antonio Oliart, Hahn’s first recording session was held on November 1, 2022. She began the process by listening to recordings of Ysaÿe’s playing that were shortly made before the First World War.

“I was transported, shocked in the best way. It felt like rummaging around in your grandparents’ attic, opening a box of family photos, and seeing your own face gazing at you from the image of an ancestor,” she said. “Ysaÿe’s sense of gesture and timing felt like the blueprint for what I’ve been working so hard to develop independently and intuitively in my own playing in the past decade. I didn’t realize my artistic process was returning me to my roots. DNA is strong — even symbolic musical DNA.

“In playbacks, I was struck by how surprising my own playing sounded to me,” Hahn continued. “The goosebumps told me I was headed in the right direction. These sonatas are truly hypnotic, and when we’d wrap for the day, I’d step into the winter air in a haze, my brain reharmonized by the tonalities that had vibrated through my jawbone: a sound bath if ever there was one.”

Widely considered to be the first modern violinist, Ysaÿe defined the violin techniques of his day for years to come. A champion of contemporary music, he was the dedicatee of works by Franck, Debussy, Saint-Saëns, and Chausson.