(b Liège, 16 July 1858; d Brussels, 12 May 1931). Belgian violinist, conductor and composer. He studied under Wieniawski at Brussels and Vieuxtemps at Paris, forming close ties with Franck, Chausson, d′Indy, Fauré, Saint-Saëns and Debussy. As professor at the Brussels Conservatory (1887-99) he initiated the Concerts Ysaÿe, appearing as violinist and conductor in contemporary French and Belgian music, meanwhile becoming renowned throughout Europe and in the USA (conductor of the Cincinnati SO, 1918-22); the shift to a conducting career was necessitated by his increasingly unsteady bowing arm. Idolized by a generation of violinists for his intense but poetic playing, he also composed with expertise in a post-Romantic style, notably for the violin (Six Sonatas op.27, eight concertos,Poème élégiaque, Caprice ... Saint-Saëns). His brother Theéophile (1865-1918) was a well-known pianist who composed orchestral works, piano pieces and songs.

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