Paris, capital of the violin: the city could feel proud of this title in the nineteenth century, when musicians went there from all over Europe to study with the famous Baillot, Rode or Kreutzer, then with their successors Habeneck and Alard. What did they seek from these eminent teachers at the conservatory? Musicality, which ought not though to tarnish the relish for virtuosity. So the importance of chamber music for a composer-violinist like Lalo should be no surprise. A violin sonata is also the most important chamber piece composed by Pierné who, in 1900, was influenced by Debussy, taking up the inheritance of his older brothers: a passing of the baton with the turn of the new century.