Thomas Zehetmair - Ysaÿe: Sonates Pour Violon Solo (2004)

Eugene Ysaÿe's six solo violin sonatas were composed at the height of the violinist/composer's technical and expressive powers, and seem an amalgamation of Bach's counterpoint and Paganini's virtuosity. Yet they are imbued with a puzzling tone of reference and reflexivity that is peculiar, unsentimental, and almost modern in flavor. That these sonatas appear in ECM's New Series is a bit surprising, for outwardly they resemble the standard violin repertoire and are far from being the avant-garde fare expected from this cutting-edge label. Thomas Zehetmair's recording of Heinz Holliger's Ysaÿe-inspired Violin Concerto may have provided the impetus to record this set as a follow-up, and ECM may have been persuaded that Ysaÿe's sonatas are odd enough to appeal to the label's loyal fans. Whatever the reason, these pieces are cast in a new light as works ahead of their time. The modernist outlook seems strongest in Ysaÿe's ironic quotations (Sonata No. 2 in A minor), ambiguous tonality (Sonata No. 3 in D minor), and eerie tone production (Sonata No. 5 in G major), and Zehetmair communicates a sense of isolation and dark meditation that makes these pieces more disturbing and daring than Ysaÿe may have intended. ECM's resonant recording is ideal, for it minimizes grittiness and enhances Zehetmair's tone.