mathnerd Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 My son and I take violin lessons. I am a newbie, but have helped my son practice for a few years and know some piano. I am starting to listen to an hour of classical violin music to improve my knowledge and appreciation of the instrument. I mostly pick pieces and artists to listen to from googling and reading various articles, blogs etc. I want to make a listening list and systematically go through the list this summer. I would like to listen to the best violinists of our times. I usually buy the listening pieces on iTunes or use Amazon Prime Music which has a huge library of classical music. I also listen to our local publicly funded Classical Radio station all the time. If any of the musicians on this forum or any parents of violinists would recommend a list of pieces by great violinists, I would be most grateful. Thanks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 (edited) Itzhak Perlman David Oistrakh - Russian Bach: Partita No 2 in D minor BWV 1004, Chaconne - Jascha Heifetz Ida Haendel Janine Jansen - Swedish Anne-Sophie Mutter - German David Garrett - German (very cool style and personality) Some excellent Americans include: Johann Sebastian Bach - Chaconne, Partita No. 2 BWV 1004 | Hilary Hahn (she does a wonderful version of this amazing piece) Joshua Bell Enjoy listening! Edited May 5, 2017 by wintermom 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Go the the Violin Channel's website: https://theviolinchannel.com/category/vc-artists/ Menu across the top lists VC Artists (choose any of the artists, rising stars, or young artists for some great videos). Also check out their "videos" tab. So, so many amazing musicians playing incredible pieces. Seriously, you won't need another resource. Enjoy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 I forgot to add Pinchas Zukerman. He also plays viola. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 (edited) If you want suggestions for specific pieces, I can list the ones my dd has recently played that I LOVE: Beethoven's Spring Sonata Tchaikovsky, Melodie Bach, Partita No. 2 (she's not doing the Chaconne yet. It's 30 minutes long!) Massenet, Meditation from Thais I love the violin parts in many orchestras by Tchaikovsky (Swan Lake, The Nutcracker Suite, Sleeping Beauty) The Canadian RCM Violin Syllabus has lists of pieces and orchestra excerpts (grade 7 on wards) that give some ideas of great pieces for the violin. The higher the grades, the more challenging the songs. List A are concertos, List B sonatas, List C usually modern and short, List D unaccompanied - almost always Bach. https://www.heritagemusicacademy.ca/files/RCM%20Violin%20Syllabus%202013.pdf Enjoy your musical journey! It's a wonderful idea you have there. Edited May 5, 2017 by wintermom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 (edited) Vivaldi is one of my favorites. Oops. I see you were looking for pieces. Sorry. Edited May 5, 2017 by VaKim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor. Perlman's favorite violinist is the late, great Jascha Heifetz. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 James Ehnes is an award winning Canadian violinist. Ds has been listening to his CDs since he started violin at age 4 (he's now 17). Ehnes was a huge inspiration to him. I'm linking to the list of CD's Ehnes has - there are a ton of them - but, I'd specifically recommend the Mendelssohn - it's fantastic. The M. octet is so beautiful. Also - the Six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin is amazing. And the Paganini - fantastic. http://www.jamesehnes.com/james/index.php?id=62 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 (edited) James Ehnes is an award winning Canadian violinist. Ds has been listening to his CDs since he started violin at age 4 (he's now 17). Ehnes was a huge inspiration to him. I'm linking to the list of CD's Ehnes has - there are a ton of them - but, I'd specifically recommend the Mendelssohn - it's fantastic. The M. octet is so beautiful. Also - the Six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin is amazing. And the Paganini - fantastic. http://www.jamesehnes.com/james/index.php?id=62 Thank you so much for mentioning James Ehnes. As a Canadian, I'm really embarrassed to say I'd never heard of him. He's excellent! I'll be looking and listening a lot more to him, that's for sure. He's living in Florida now, so I'll use this as my excuse. Edited May 5, 2017 by wintermom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Mathnerd - Thanks so much for starting this thread. I've been making much more of an effort to listen to wonderful pieces and masters of violin during the day - and ensuring my dc listen as well. It is very addictive! And I love the fact that the dc walk around the house humming or whistling classical music. They rarely listen to pop music because they are becoming so accustomed to hearing quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 (edited) Whoa--have NO idea how those turned out so big! I thought I was just posting links! Look for Rachel Podger and Hilary Hahn, too. Is that a baroque bow in the first video link? It looks shorter are more curved than a modern bow. The quintet is lovely to listen to! Edited May 7, 2017 by wintermom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Here's one that I hadn't heard of until last year. My ds was pretty obsessed with this for a while - Biber's Passacaglia: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Violin ensembles can be wonderful to listen to as well. My dd and ds are in one led by a Ukrainian conductor and they play pieces like in these links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTMW4V2BXZ4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted May 7, 2017 Share Posted May 7, 2017 Joshua Bell is amazing. But I also love Baiba Skride. Her sister, Lauma, plays piano and they have a wonderful duet album. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 (edited) Yes, Baroque bow. It's rainbow shaped, rather than smiley-shaped like a modern bow. It's held differently, plus there isn't the strength at the ends. It's shorter and pointier at the end. Baroque music seems to have ladies with giant instruments! :laugh: So cool and special. I wonder if Canada has many baroque music groups. I was at a workshop where a lady had made her own baroque guitar. It wasn't as fancy as the instruments in the video you linked. It sounded amazing, though, except with the pressure of 12 strings the bridge snapped off. :crying: My ds 13 is playing a baroque-era piece now, and his teacher said, "He can play baroque music!" I may need to look for more opportunities for him. I'm guessing he just has the style and personality for this type of music. It would certainly be easier for us to build on his strengths rather than harping on his weaknesses all the time. :o Edited May 8, 2017 by wintermom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Also - Duo Concertante. Violinist Nancy Dahn and pianist Timothy Steeves - they are both music professors and they tour extensively. They have also put out a number of albums - their latest, J.S. Bach Six Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard, just won best Classical Recording of the Year in the East Coast Music Awards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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