High markander

Indeed, it is very subjective. But from a clinical standpoint, I think we can discern the a few qualities a violin concerti by their specific qualities. I'm not even gonna touch symphonies - it's a whole other ballpark. For example, In terms of difficulty: Bartok's VC No. 2 could lie in here. Maybe Schoenberg. Yes, Sib's is tough, but between Bartok's arpeggio crawling and Schoenberg's awkward fingering, I don't think it deserves a place. Really though, difficulty is a personal issue and some violinists are better at some areas than others. Both concerti, though, require very diverse colors of sound, and draw upon a dazzling variety of techniques. In terms of skillful orchestration: Mendelsohn is really the benchmark here as the violin is never overpowered, always working with the orchestra. And he doesn't shy away from violin and orchestra playing together, unlike what he does in his piano concerti. It's hard however to resist mentioning Syzamanowski VC No. 2, as he was so freakin' creative. Bartok pulls hat tricks in his VC No. 2 with a huge, huge orchestra, and no overpowering of the soloist. He, however gets no points for being conservative. Yay for triple winds, humongous brass. This is a complex topic. Brahms is difficult, requires incredible precision. Mendelsohn isn't that hard technically, but requires so much emotion (not to say other pieces don't). Tchaik is a playful piece, has virtuosity, and Tchiak's very Russian colors. Mozart VC6 is poignant. I'm also very surprised nobody's mentioned Lalo's Symph Espangole. But yeah, have fun agreeing on something. I don't think it'll happen. My personal fav is Bartok's Violin Concerto No. 1. Rarely heard, never played anymore. It's a shame. Bartok never even completed it. And you'll get a different answer from me every day of the week if you ask what my favourite symphony is.

This looks neat. Could you add me in as a contestant?

I'm glad I stepped upon this little corner of the web. Quite thankful, actually. In this piece I tried to use alternate harmonies, specifically chromatics. This is merely the first movement, the other 2 are in writers block. Comments would be highly appreciated. Quartetpaper.mid