Eugène Ysaÿe was influential in the development of the modern school of violin playing and his Solo Violin Sonatas, Op. 27 are renowned among violinists for their technical difficulty. Each is dedicated to a distinguished contemporary, including Fritz Kreisler, George Enescu and Jacques Thibaud, whose style of playing they reflect. The Second and Fourth Sonatas evoke the music of J. S. Bach, the second quoting directly from Bach’s E-major Partita. Russian-born violinist, Ilya Kaler, was the first violinist to win Gold Medals at all three of the world’s most prestigious competitions, the Tchaikovsky, the Sibelius and the Paganini.