A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, which is nearly always accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque period.

Ludwig van Beethoven (ⁱ/ˈlʊdvɪɡ væn ˈbeɪt.hoʊvən/; German pronunciation: [ˈluːtvɪç fan ˈbeːt.hoːfən] ( listen); baptized 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers.

Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire, Beethoven moved to Vienna in his early 20s, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. His hearing began to deteriorate in his late twenties, yet he continued to compose, conduct, and perform, even after becoming completely deaf.

Beethoven was the grandson of a musician of Flemish origin named Lodewijk van Beethoven (1712–73) who moved at the age of twenty to Bonn. Lodewijk (Ludwig is the German cognate of Dutch Lodewijk) was employed as a bass singer at the court of the Elector of Cologne, eventually rising to become Kapellmeister (music director). Lodewijk had one son, Johann (1740–1792), who worked as a tenor in the same musical establishment, and gave lessons on piano and violin to supplement his income. Johann married Maria Magdalena Keverich in 1767; she was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Keverich, who had been the head chef at the court of the Archbishopric of Trier.

Claude-Achille Debussy (French pronunciation: [klod aʃil dəbysi]) (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions. In France, he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1903. A crucial figure in the transition to the modern era in Western music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers.

His music is noted for its sensory component and for not often forming around one key or pitch. Often Debussy's work reflected the activities or turbulence in his own life. In French literary circles, the style of this period was known as symbolism, a movement that directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant.

Andrew Manze (born 14 January 1965, Beckenham) is an English violinist and conductor.

As a guest conductor Manze has regular relationships with a number of leading international orchestras including the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Munich Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish and Swedish Chamber Orchestras. Manze’s future guest conductor engagements include debuts with Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Danish Radio Symphony, Residentie Orkest and Hallé Orchestra. In the United States, Manze makes his debut with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York.

After reading Classics at Cambridge University, Manze studied the violin and rapidly became a leading specialist in the world of historical performance practice. He became Associate Director of The Academy of Ancient Music in 1996 and then Artistic Director of The English Concert from 2003 to 2007. Both as a conductor and violinist Manze has released a variety of CDs, many of them award-winning.

Richard Egarr is a British keyboard performer , on the harpsichord, fortepiano and modern piano , and conductor. He received his musical training as a choirboy at York Minster, at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, and as organ scholar at Clare College, Cambridge. His study with Gustav Leonhardt further inspired his work in the field of historical performance.

Egarr has worked with all types of keyboards and performed repertoire ranging from fifteenth-century organ intabulations to Dussek and Chopin on early pianos, to Berg and Maxwell Davies on modern piano. In 2006 he was appointed to succeed Christopher Hogwood as Music Director of The Academy of Ancient Music with effect from the start of the 2006–07 season (Hogwood assuming the title of Emeritus Director). For many years he was director of the Amsterdam-based Academy of the Begijnhof. A regular guest director with such other ensembles as Handel and Haydn Society and Tafelmusik, he is increasingly sought-after by non-period orchestras ranging from the Scottish, Swedish and Australian chamber orchestras to the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Berlin Konzerthausorchester, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He conducts a broad range of repertoire from Monteverdi to Mendelssohn. The Handel and Bach oratorios lie at the heart of his repertoire, andhe has a growing reputation in the operatic field – current plans include Mozart’s La finta giardiniera with the Academy of Ancient Music at the Barbican Centre and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino with the Netherlands Opera Academy. He made his Glyndebourne debut in 2007 conducting a staged version of Bach's St Matthew Passion. Richard Egarr is in demand across Europe, Japan and the USA for his scintillating solo and concerto performances. In chamber music, Richard Egarr has also been active. For many years he formed an "unequalled duo for violin and keyboard" (Gramophone) with violinist Andrew Manze.