Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 01/08/2015, uploaded on 01/08/2015

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Written for the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, French composer Ernest Chausson took inspiration for his Poème from a story by the Russian novelist Turgenev. The story itself is about a violinist who can communicate his thwarted love for a woman only through the passion of his playing, without words. Chausson himself wrote of the piece, “There is no description, no story, nothing but sensation.” The music, like the story, is a fantasy. There’s no attempt to capture the narrative; rather, the composer blends a wide range of colors over several episodes. There are passages of both lyrical and virtuosic power, each inspiring a passionate response before coming to an ecstatic close on a sequence of trills.        Soran Sophia Lee

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.