Violin pieces for newbie

[mcerqueira]

I've mainly focused on classical piano music so far, loving music and listening to all forms (Jazz, Electronica) makes me a jack of all trades and master of none so...

Can you please recommend me some fantastic violin pieces for me to go beyond piano / orchestral works? Some virtuoso/intense pieces, like a Gaspard de La Nuit for violin would be nice Ravel, Debussy, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Bartok are some of my favourite composers.

[ContrapunctusIX]

Try Paganini's 24 Caprices. Itzhak Perlman recorded a full set on one disc for EMI. As good a place to start as any.

http://www.amazon.com/24-Caprices-Perlm ... 182&sr=8-3

[Brendan]

Vivaldi The Four Seasons
Mozart Violin Concerto No 5
Beethoven Violin Sonata No 7
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto Op. 64
Vieutemps Violin Concerto No 5

There is so much great music to explore for the violin. . . Those are the pieces me and my friends have found to be good "introductory" pieces, but they should suggest some ideas for more. Enjoy!

[ContrapunctusIX]

you may also want to check out Bach's Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo. There are plenty of fine renditions, my favorite stereo versions are the recordings of Arthur Grumiaux (on Philips) and Henryk Szeryng (on DGG).

Grumiaux:
http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Sonatas-Part ... 531&sr=1-4


Szeryng:
http://www.amazon.com/Bach-Sonatas-Part ... 467&sr=8-1

[mcerqueira]

Thank you, I will try to check them out. I must say however I lean more towards 19th/20th century sounds, not a big fan of the baroque period (well Bach excluded) or classical. Any more suggestions on that?

[ContrapunctusIX]

Thank you, I will try to check them out. I must say however I lean more towards 19th/20th century sounds, not a big fan of the baroque period (well Bach excluded) or classical. Any more suggestions on that?

Well, others may be able to better help you with this repertoire, but I would suggest you look at Prokofiev's sonatas for solo violin, or Hindemith's sonatas for solo violin. Max Reger also wrote some solo violin sonatas. That said, I'd still strongly urge you to hear Paganini's caprices, which were well ahead of their time in terms of difficulty/virtuosity.

Am I right in assuming you wanted music for violin alone?

[mcerqueira]

Thank you, I will try to check them out. I must say however I lean more towards 19th/20th century sounds, not a big fan of the baroque period (well Bach excluded) or classical. Any more suggestions on that?

Well, others may be able to better help you with this repertoire, but I would suggest you look at Prokofiev's sonatas for solo violin, or Hindemith's sonatas for solo violin. Max Reger also wrote some solo violin sonatas. That said, I'd still strongly urge you to hear Paganini's caprices, which were well ahead of their time in terms of difficulty/virtuosity.

Am I right in assuming you wanted music for violin alone?

Yes, violin

[aurora]

solo violin only? the repertoire is no where near as extensive as for solo piano, although Ysaye has written 6 sonatas for solo violin... it has quotes of the Bach.

Debussy, Ravel, Bartok & Prokofiev all have written violin sonatas (violin & piano).... the Ravel (sonata #2) has some jazzy bits.

ps- for times like these, Youtube is your friend. Poke around there for the recommendations you've gotten here & see if you like them.

[moreno]

Thank you, I will try to check them out. I must say however I lean more towards 19th/20th century sounds, not a big fan of the baroque period (well Bach excluded) or classical. Any more suggestions on that?

You can try this works by Sarasate:
- Zapateado (maybe his most popular work)
- Zigeunerweisen
- Carmen Fantasy
- Jota de San Fermín

[absinthe]

If you like really modern works as difficult as, say, Scarbo is for pianists, have a look at Ferneyhough's "Intermedio alla Ciaconna", not a piece you'd want to face at a sight-reading exam...

http://www.bmic.co.uk/collection/viewscore.asp?id=6633

[Ricordanza]

Can you please recommend me some fantastic violin pieces for me to go beyond piano / orchestral works? Some virtuoso/intense pieces, like a Gaspard de La Nuit for violin would be nice Ravel, Debussy, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Bartok are some of my favourite composers.

If you like Ravel, and you're looking for the violin equivalent of Gaspard de la Nuit, you will love Ravel's Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra.

There are numerous good recordings, but the one I have is by Itzhak Perlman (in his prime) with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta. It's on the DG label, and it also contains other virtuoso works you will enjoy: Saint-Saens, Havanaise and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso; Sarasate, Carmen Fantasy; and Chaussone, Poeme.

[ravel30]

Hi mcerqueira,

I don't think I can be much help for your question. However, I saw your taste in piano music and I feel like you and I have a lot in comment. Welcome to CMG.

Matt.

[James]

Bach has been mentioned...that's the highest possible recommendation... the greatest since that for solo violin is Bartok's Violin Sonata op.117, and the example of the great JSB is never far away in this neoclassically structured piece.

[IN278S]

Thank you, I will try to check them out. I must say however I lean more towards 19th/20th century sounds, not a big fan of the baroque period (well Bach excluded) or classical. Any more suggestions on that?

Well, others may be able to better help you with this repertoire, but I would suggest you look at Prokofiev's sonatas for solo violin, or Hindemith's sonatas for solo violin. Max Reger also wrote some solo violin sonatas. That said, I'd still strongly urge you to hear Paganini's caprices, which were well ahead of their time in terms of difficulty/virtuosity.

Am I right in assuming you wanted music for violin alone?

Yes, violin

Unaccompanied violin? That's a much smaller repertoire than, say, piano solo. Do check out the works that have been mentioned, but you must get to know the great 20th-century violin concertos such as the ones by Prokofiev, Bartók, and Berg, and the sonatas for violin and piano by Bartók, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich, just to mention a very few.

[mcerqueira]

Thank you very much all, plenty for me to explore and discover This forum is a great resource and already helped me discover other composers previously.

[Guitarist]

Definitely try Ysaye's 6 Sonatas for Solo Violin. Thomas Zehetmair has a fine recording on ECM, and if you have an SACD system, try Henning Kraggerud's set on Simax. Bernd Alois Zimmerman, Hans Werner Henze, Gyorgy Ligeti, and Per Norgard (harsher 20th century composers) have all written major solo violin works.

[ChrisX]

Thank you, I will try to check them out. I must say however I lean more towards 19th/20th century sounds, not a big fan of the baroque period (well Bach excluded) or classical. Any more suggestions on that?

Check out Hilary Hahn's recordings of the Barber violin concerto and the Schoenberg violin concerto. Both are stellar recordings and performances. Especially the Barber is just a lovely piece with a stunning virtuoso finale.

I have heard the Berg violin concerto a few times and that one is high on my list of pieces to get a good recording.

[James]

I have heard the Berg violin concerto a few times and that one is high on my list of pieces to get a good recording.

Get the Mutter/Levine recording on Deutsche Grammophon, it's one of the greatest moments of classical music.

[ChrisX]

I have heard the Berg violin concerto a few times and that one is high on my list of pieces to get a good recording.

Get the Mutter/Levine recording on Deutsche Grammophon, it's one of the greatest moments of classical music.

... I have that one on a 20th Century all Mutter 4cd set called Back To The Future

[living_stradivarius]

Here are some virtuoso violin works you might like (most are not accompanied, but the violin is the dominant voice and can stand alone in some cases):
-Largo al factotum from the Barber of Seville by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco
(Not many have recorded this for some reason -- Gil Shaham's seems to the be the most prominent one)
-Wieniawski's works: Variations on an Original Theme, Polonaise No. 1, just look him up!
-Paganini's I Palpiti -- double harmonics!
-Paganini's Variations on the theme "Nel cor piu non mi sento"
-Paganini's Moses Variations

More to come! If you're interested in rarer works see the Masters of the Bow thread: http://classicalmusicguide.com/viewtopi ... 10&t=28583