Violinist Philippe Graffin's New Album, "Rêves"

Released on Avie Records, the album presents a selection of works by Eugène Ysaÿe, including the world premiere of the recently discovered Violin Concerto in E Minor and Poème Concertant

Violinist Philippe Graffin, a professor at Paris’s Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique and the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels, has released his new album, Rêves.

Released on Avie Records the album was made in collaboration with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the UK’s oldest continuing professional symphony orchestra, conducted by Jean-Jacques Kantorow, and pianist Marisa Gupta.

The album features two world-premiere recordings of freshly discovered concertos by Belgian virtuoso violinist and composer Eugene Ysaye — the complete Violin Concerto in E Minor and Poeme Concertant. Rounding out the album are gems for violin and piano: 2 Mazurkas de Salon, Op.10, and Reve d'enfant.

To purchase and listen to the album, click here.

Following the recent discovery of a first movement, further manuscripts which complete Eugene Ysaye's Violin Concerto in E Minor have come to light — one a full orchestration, others for violin and piano — which were found on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Graffin's close collaboration with Ysayoe aficionado Xavier Falques led to a page-by-page analysis and reconstruction of the musical puzzle pieces, resulting in this recording of the full, three-movement concerto.

"For reasons unknown, Ysayoe abandoned his Violin Concerto in E minor in 1885, but some years later embarked on another, Poeme concertant, which was also recently discovered in manuscript form and is imbued with passion and the love Ysayoe felt for his pupil Irma Sethe," the album description reads. "Their love was mutual but their relationship could not endure, possibly sealing the fate of Poeme concertant which lay undiscovered for over a century but is now brought back to life with this world-premiere recording."

Learn more about the album below: