César Franck

Sonata in A major

Unlike other late works by Franck, the Violin Sonata of 1886 found a friendly reception among critics and public from the outset. It is dedicated to Eugène Ysaye, who was attracting much attention at the time with his flawless violin technique. Ysaye was so inspired by the Sonata that he promised 'I will play this masterpiece wherever I can find an artistically-minded pianist'. Nothing has changed to the present day regarding the work's continuing popularity, but it was time to revise Henle's previous edition to reflect the latest research. In the intervening period it has been shown that Franck was actively involved in reading the proofs for the printed edition, meaning that the first edition, which contains many differences from the autograph, has become the basis for our new one. The markings of the violin part of the edition are by Yehudi Menuhin; Daniel Hope has undertaken the minor changes required by the revised musical text.