The Sonata in A for Violin and Piano is one of Franck's best known compositions, and considered one of the finests sonatas. It is an amalgam of his rich native harmonic language with the classical traditions he held in high value. Written in 1886 as a wedding present to violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, it was shown to him the very morning of his wedding and, after a hurried rehearsal with pianist Léontine Bordes-Pène, played to the wedding guests. Ysaÿe kept the Violin Sonata in his repertoire for the next 40 years of his life. His championing of the sonata contributed to the public recognition of Franck as a major composer. It regularly appears on concert programs and is in the core repertoire of all major violinists. The work is cyclic in nature, all the movements sharing common thematic threads. This was a technique Franck had adapted from Franz Liszt, in which themes from one movement reappear in subsequent movements, but usually transformed. The Violin Sonata in A exists in versions for different instruments. The setting for cello and piano was the only alternative version sanctioned by Franck. This was created by the renowned cellist Jules Delsart. It has often been speculated that the work was first conceived as a sonata for cello and piano and only later reset for violin and piano when the commission from Eugène Ysaÿe arrived.
