Richard Strauss and César Franck
Violin Sonatas

Strauss composed the Violin Sonata under the romantic spell of Pauline de Ahna, whom he later married. The work is full of youthful energy, hope, and anticipation.

Franck’s sonata was first performed in 1886 by the virtuoso violinist Eugene Ysaÿe. The sonata was composed as a wedding gift for Ysaÿe and Franck presented him with the manuscript at his wedding-day breakfast.  Wasting no time, Ysaÿe rehearsed the composition and performed it at his own nuptials. The sonata soon became a signature piece in Ysaÿe’s repertoire.

About Catherine:
"What will absorb you is Manoukian's singing line,
gossamer finesse and passionate rhetorical flourishes."
- Vancouver Sun
Her Marquis recordings / Her bio

About Xiayin:
"an estimable grasp of pianistic color and an ability to maintain and illuminate a strand of melody within the thickest of textures." - New York Times
Xiayin's name is pronounced shy-inn
Her Marquis recordings / Her bio

Catalog: MAR 385


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