Ysaÿe Ballade No. 3

Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Ballade Op. 27

Composer: Eugène Ysaÿe

Date of publication: 1924

Ysaÿe, widely regarded as one of the best virtuosos of his era, authored a set of 6 sonatas dedicated to other famous violinists. However, his third sonata, titled, "Ballade", stands out amongst the rest as his most famous piece and one of the hardest in all violin repertoire. Ysaÿe began composing Sonata No.3 in 1923 as tribute to the well-respected Romanian violinist George Encescu. Ysaÿe held Encescu dear to heart, writing “I have let my imagination wander at will. The memory of my friendship and admiration for George Enescu and the performances we gave together at the home of the delightful Queen Carmen Sylvia have done the rest.” in a later description of his sonata.

Due to Encescu's "warm and intimate [tone], modeled on the cantabile of the human voice", Ysaÿe begins his piece in a surreal, lyrical Lento molto sostenuto. From this melody, Ysaÿe introduces his main theme and motif, Allegro in tempo giusto e con bravura, an intense double-stop passage, through progressively more passionate modulations and alterations of his opening theme. Whereas the opening can be thought of as a testament to Encescu's beautiful singing tone, the main theme and development can only be described as shockingly impressive passages to honor Encescu's knack for showmanship. Ysaÿe does not let up the intensity, only providing brief, calm passages to serve as a breather before picking the vigor again.

Fun Fact: Encescu was the teacher to Yehudi Menuhin, the founder of the famous Menuhin Violin Competition.