Poeme for Violin and Piano

(LKM Music). When the great Belgian violin virtuoso Eugene Ysae tried to commission a violin concerto, Chausson declined and suggested a one movement work, Poeme, Op 25. (1896). The premiere took place at the Conservatoire of Nancy in 1896 with Ysae as soloist. The first Paris performance (1897) was a huge success for the composer who was yet relatively unknown. Chausson wrote three versions of the Poeme: with orchestra, with piano accompaniment, and a version with piano and string quartet, the same setting as his Concerto in D for piano, violin, and string quartet, Op. 21 (1892). The violin parts are identical in all three versions. Ysae's helping hand in writing a most violinistic solo part is noticeable throughout the composition.