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Updating the Violin Study Repertoire Using Eugéne Ysaÿe's Op. 27 as a Model
The most commonly studied etudes and caprices in the violin studio are dominated by works composed largely in the earlier half of the nineteenth century. While these works deserve their place in the repertoire, they are unable to accommodate technical, harmonic, and musical developments of the twentieth century and beyond. Part of the difficulty in updating the study repertoire comes from how varied the styles of the twentieth century are. A single composer would be hard-pressed to sufficiently address all of them, especially if one has it in mind to produce works appropriate for various ability levels of students. Therefore, it is both practical and more effective for a composer to delve more deeply into a niche even as specific as a single past composer’s oeuvre, analyze it, and create from it new study repertoire. This work provides an example of the analytical process necessary to update the study repertoire on a grand scale starting with composer and violinist EugeÌ€ne Ysaÿe. His work represents understanding of the instrument to a level still unmatched and a bridge into early twentieth century practices. The aura of difficulty that surrounds these works, while perhaps warranted, does not need to deter young students from playing his music. It is the ultimate goal of this project to provide a template by which to write works that use the same idioms as their model composers and from which younger students will gain the technical and musical tools and confidence to venture into twentieth century and more modern works sooner in their musical lives.</p