Eugène Ysaÿe

Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as “The King of the Violin”, or, as his former student Nathan Milstein put it, the “tsar”. Early years Born in Liège, Ysaÿe began violin lessons at age five with his father. He would later recognise his father’s teaching as the foundation of everything he knew on his instrument, even though he went on to study with highly reputed masters. In 1867, Ysaÿe entered the Royal Conservatory of Liège to study with Désiré Heynberg, and in the process won a shared second prize with the Viotti 22nd Violin Concerto. He then went on to study with Henryk Wieniawski for two years in Brussels and Henri Vieuxtemps in Paris. Ernest Bloch, Jascha Brodsky, Mathieu Crickboom, George Enescu, Charles Houdret, Julia Klumpke, Louis Persinger, Oscar Shumsky, and Jacques Thibaud. () During his tenure as professor at the Conservatoire, Ysaÿe continued to tour ever more widely, visiting all of Europe, Russia, and the United States. Despite health concerns, particularly regarding the condition of his hands, Ysaÿe was at his best when performing, and many prominent composers dedicated major