Violin Sonata No. 3 (Ysaÿe)

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.”[2] The sonata is a single movement written in two sections.

The first section, marked Lento molto sostenuto, is a slow introduction in the manner of a recitative, which hints at some of the motifs to be heard later in the piece.

It makes use of the whole tone scale, as well as many disjunct melodic leaps, and a large amount of dissonance and chromaticism.

The introduction leads directly into the main section of the piece, marked Allegro in tempo giusto e con bravura.

After a calmer middle section with rapid legato triplet passages, the dotted rhythm theme returns.