Yamen Saadi and Julien Quentin perform Ysaÿe, Franck, and Strauss

Virtuoso violinist Yamen Saadi and acclaimed pianist Julien Quentin join forces in a program celebrating the profound beauty of the Romantic violin repertoire. A tribute to Gabriel Fauré, Ysaÿe’s Poème élégiaque, Op. 12 is a poignant composition based on the tomb scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The marriage of Ysaÿe and Louise Bourdeau in 1886 inspired César Franck’s Violin Sonata in A Major, gifted to Ysaÿe as a wedding present. The work’s cyclic structure, emotional resonance, and perfectly balanced violin and piano parts make it one of Franck’s most esteemed compositions. The concert concludes with Richard Strauss’s Violin Sonata in E-flat Major Op. 18, brimming with vibrant melodies and demonstrating Strauss’s early flair for exuberant orchestration.

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