Lineage
Lineage: From Bach to Ysaÿe to the 21st Century
Lineage is my ongoing commissioning project, exploring the evolution and breadth of unaccompanied violin writing, inspired by the solo violin works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Eugène Ysaÿe. I have always been drawn to solo violin playing—if I could choose just one piece to practice every day for the rest of my life, it would be Bach’s Chaconne—and I am thrilled to be expanding the unaccompanied violin repertoire through this project.
When I was studying with my beloved mentor Jaime Laredo, I learned and performed Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin. Jaime’s teacher, Josef Gingold, studied with Ysaÿe, and when learning those works I felt a direct link to the composer. Jaime often spoke about how Ysaÿe was deeply inspired by Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas and that inspiration reflects in his own sonatas, which are challenging and serious works in their own right.
In the spirit of this tradition, and inspired by the direct lineage I felt to Ysaÿe, I am commissioning six contemporary composers to write new solo works, each reflecting their own voice while drawing from the rich history of violin writing. I plan to record all six works as well.
Lineage: From Bach to Ysaÿe to the 21st Century
Lineage is my ongoing commissioning project, exploring the evolution and breadth of unaccompanied violin writing, inspired by the solo violin works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Eugène Ysaÿe. I have always been drawn to solo violin playing—if I could choose just one piece to practice every day for the rest of my life, it would be Bach’s Chaconne—and I am thrilled to be expanding the unaccompanied violin repertoire through this project.
When I was studying with my beloved mentor Jaime Laredo, I learned and performed Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Solo Violin. Jaime’s teacher, Josef Gingold, studied with Ysaÿe, and when learning those works I felt a direct link to the composer. Jaime often spoke about how Ysaÿe was deeply inspired by Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, and that inspiration is reflected in his own sonatas, which are challenging and serious works in their own right.
In the spirit of this tradition, and inspired by the direct lineage I felt to Ysaÿe, I am commissioning six contemporary composers to write new solo works. Each piece reflects not only the rich lineage of unaccompanied violin writing, but also the composer’s individual voice and her personal connection to the instrument—drawing inspiration from the musical ideas, traditions, and lineages that speak most deeply to her.
