Henry Vieuxtemps was a violin prodigy who became a towering figure in a line of violinist-composers that stretches from Viotti to Ysaÿe, and whose playing led to Schumann’s statement that he “holds us in a kind of magic circle”. Influenced in part by Paganini, Vieuxtemps’s solo works demand the full arsenal of virtuoso techniques from lightning speed to the purest singing tone. The Etudes, Op. 48 include a piece subtitled ‘Torment’, while the Six Morceaux represent the composer’s homage to Bach in their polyphonic style.
