Ysaÿe was writing his six sonatas for solo violin when he stumbled upon a roadblock at the second sonata. He couldn't seem to get Bach's E Major Prelude (also for solo violin) out of his head, and it threatened to completely derail his project. Instead of letting his obsession with the Bach stop his composing, he chose to incorporate the it into the first movement of the sonata by directly quoting Bach on a number of occasions, most notably at the very beginning, where he interrupts a quote from the opening of the Prelude with an angular, angry figure. The whole movement imitates the figuration of Bach, and Ysaÿe also introduces the Dies Irae theme, which is an ancient theme used to symbolize death and impending doom.

This performance was an encore to Dvorak's Romance (with the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra conducted by Paul Wright) on the 11th of June at Perth's PHC Synagogue.

Recorded by Nic Babic