Ysaye Eugene

Liege Conservatory, Brussels Conservatory

Violinist, Composer, & Conductor

Ysaye Quartet, Ysaye-Pugno Duo, Societe des Concerts Ysaye, Concours Eugene Ysaye (later renamed Queen Elisabeth Competition), Queen Elisabeth Chapelle Musicale

Food, wine, women, hedonism

Methode de violon, Ecole transcendante de violon, Cours de composition musicale, Harmonie et melodie

Art of Violin

Franck, Chausson, Wieniawski, Vieuxtemps, de Beriot, d'Indy, Faure, Debussy, French avante-garde, (I rarely performed my own compositions)

Born July 16th 1858, I began music lessons with my father. I studied in 1865 with Heynberg at the Liege Conservatory, but was kicked out in 1869 because he said I'd never make a good violinist. In 1872 I went back to study with Massart, and won the silver medal. In 1873 I studied with Wieniawski in Brussels, then with Vieuxtemps in Paris (76-79). In 1880, I became the concertmaster of the Bilse Orchestra in Berlin for one year. In 1881 I toured Norway, 1882 Russia, and in 1883 settled in Paris, where I became friends with Franck, Debussy, d'Indy, Saint-Saens, and Chausson. Franck composed his violin sonata as my wedding present. I taught at the Brussels Conservatory from 1886 to 1897. Unlike other great violinists, I wasn't a child prodigy. In fact, I didn't get international recognition until my Vienna premier in 1890, when I was 32 years old. I was very active in the French avante-garde and impressionist movements and gave the premiers of the Debussy Quartet and Chausson Poeme which were dedicated to me. I played with Raoul Pugno, Anton Rubinstein, Busoni, and Clara Schumann. My US debut was in 1894, and in 1898 I was invited to be conductor of the NY Phil, which I turned down. In 1918 I became the conductor of the Cincinnati Orchestra. My favorite violin was a del Gesu, but I also owned the "Hercules" Stradivarius until some asshole stole it from my dressing room in St. Petersburg. I also had a J.B. Guadagnini, a Maggini, a Chanot, another Guarnari, and a bunch of French violins. I taught Crickboom, Gingold, Dubois, Persinger, Bloch, and mentored Oistrakh, Thibaud, Kreisler, Szigeti, Spalding, Elman, Flesch, and Casals. I married in 1886 and had 3 sons and 2 daughters. My wife died, so at 70, I married my 34 year old student. I was considered the greatest violinist who ever lived- heroic, emotional and virtuosic. I had incredible bow technique and many variations in vibrato. I was 6 feet tall, and got fatter and fatter my whole life.

In fact, I drank and ate so much that I later became ill with obesity, chronic diabetes, and phlebetis. In 1929, the lower part of my right leg was amputated. I died in Brussels May 12th 1931. I was very handsome, and had the best hair of any violinist (except Kubelik, maybe). My students affectionately refered to me as "penis fingers" because my fingers were so thick. I was instrumental in the continued synthesis of the "Franco-Belgian" style of playing, and was the first violinist to give a recital that consisted only of Sonatas. In addition to my 6 solo sonatas for violin, I wrote 8 concertos, chamber music (cello sonata) and an opera. I made a recording in 1912, which can be found on collections by Pearl, and my complete recordings are on Symposium. Questions about me? First name: Ysaye, last name: Eugene