Camile Saint Saëns (1835- 1921)   

Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, Op. 28

César Franck (1822 –1890)                                     

Violin sonata in A major

1.  Allegretto ben moderato
2. Allegro
3. Ben moderato – Recitativo-Fantasia
4. Allegretto poco mosso

The two works which make up this programme were written by composers associated during their lifetime more with the organ than the violin. Nevertheless, these two compositions have become ‘bestsellers’ in the violin canon!

We open our programme with the “Introduction and Rondo capriccioso”, Op. 28 composed in 1863 by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. He composed the work for his friend, the virtuoso violinist Pablo de Sarasate who programmed it frequently in the years after its publication. In fact, it proved so popular that Claude Debussy arranged it for two pianos and George Bizet made an arrangement for violin and piano.

In his time, the Belgian French composer, César-Auguste Franck, was renowned for his improvisational abilities on the organ and as a teacher. In 1886, he composed a violin sonata as a marriage present for the 28-year-old virtuoso violinist, Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe, who included it in his concerts as much as possible, thereby consolidating Franck’s reputation as a fine composer. It is now considered to be one of Franck’s most celebrated compositions and considered to be one of the finest sonatas for violin and piano.