Concert marking the defence of a doctoral thesis in Art and Art Sciences
This concert by Joanna Staruch-Smolec forms the first part of the defence of a doctoral thesis devoted to Eugène Ysaÿe's violin technique. Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931) holds a mythical place in the collective imagination of violinists, his image as a virtuoso often conveyed in a diffuse way, somewhere between admiration and legend. This thesis in Art and Art Sciences (ULB–CrB) offers a systematic study of his violin technique based on material evidence: phonographic recordings and autograph annotations, set within the organological context of his era.
Taking Ysaÿe's reflections on the role of the performer as its starting point, this research establishes both a theoretical and practical framework, supported by an innovative methodology that combines scientific rigour with artistic creativity. The programme of this concert provides an overview of the repertoire explored by Joanna Staruch-Smolec throughout her doctoral studies, illustrating the aesthetic and technical questions at the heart of her approach.
The musicians:
- Joanna Staruch-Smolec (violin) – PhD candidate in Art and Art Sciences at the Musicology Laboratory of the Université libre de Bruxelles, in collaboration with the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles
- Krzysztof Potocznik (piano) – graduate of the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, 2021
- Supervision: Valérie Dufour (ULB–FNRS), Véronique Bogaerts and Vincent Hepp (CrB)
Program:
- Henriette van den Boorn-Coclet – Sonata for violin and piano, first movement
- Eugène Ysaÿe – Adaptation of Frédéric Chopin’s Waltzes Op. 34 No. 2
- Richard Wagner / August Wilhelmj – Walther's Preislied
- Ernest Chausson – Poème for violin and orchestra, Op. 25
