Your favorite violinist(s)

I don't think I've seen a thread about this before, which is odd (only Favorite Virtuoso, which is far more generic). But being the violinist I am myself, and one who enjoys listening to a variety of them (and judging them mercilessly :D) I felt compelled to create this thread.

I can't pick one favorite violinist since they're all so different and are great in different areas. So these are my favs in no particular order.

Jascha Heifetz

I can't believe this guy. I seriously can't. Most people agree he was the most technically impressive violinist of the 20th century. You can tell why. He often played stuff faster than usual simply because he could - but he never became a wanker thanks to his amazing fiery tone and musical vivacity. Though not every one of his performances sets the standard to me, I find it hard not to enjoy any of them. Personally I feel that virtuoso romantic pieces fit him the best, above all Wieniawski's and other show pieces like Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (his version of it being one of my favorites.) His 2nd Wieniawski concerto is the best version on record to me, and his Tchaikovsky and Brahms concerti are also jaw dropping.

This is the kind of piece which I feel was best suited for Heifetz. He has the speed, accuracy and intensity all perfectly in place. A formidable virtuoso in every sense of the word. The fact that he uses only 1-4 in the ending octaves of the piece shows he had a solid ground in glissando technique.

Christian Ferras

I call him the emo of violinists. Once you listen to him - and watch him as well - you'll understand why. He was a bitterly depressed man who commited suicide at 49, and while he lived he poured every once of his pain and misery into most of what he played. His rendition of the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Zubin Mehta is by far my favorite, and his interpretation of the 2nd movement the most wonderfully melodramatic I've ever heard. Watching its video, you can notice Ferras is crying. Truly the epitome of romanticism.

This incredibly bitter and angst filled performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto's 2nd mov makes all others sound boring and cold to me.

Josef Hassid

Hassid's career was a shortlived one. A child prodigy, he happened to be in London at the time WW2 broke out, and could not return to his native Poland - where he would be arrested for being a Jew. His frail, emotional personality comes through the 9 recordings he made at age 16 in England - the most heartwrenching being perhaps that of the Hebrew Melody by Achron. He began showing signs of schizophrenia in 1941 and was put in a mental hospital, where he was lobotomized in 1950, dying a few days later, at 26. People close to him, including the violinist Ivry Gitlis, claim the last straw that broke his frail mind was the intense love he felt for a non-Jewish girl. Her parents didn't consent to their relationship, and neither did Hassid's. A very sad affair, given that Kreisler once remarked that a Heifetz comes every 100 years, but a Hassid only every 200.

This is, to me, an absolutely perfect rendition, outshining all other performances. Hassid pours his soul into a typical jewish nostalgia filled melody.

Yehudi Menuhin

There's a reason Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Baron of Stoke d'Abernon managed to be born a poor son of immigrants in New York City, yet acquire those titles later in life. After the 1950's he mostly dedicated himself to conducting, philantropy and other music related activities. He was, however, first famous for being the most widely acclaimed child prodigy of the century. By 12 he was performing with the greatest orchestras and conductors in the world, with the technique and musical maturity of an adult musician. The fact that everything he played, though, was done naturally, became a double edged sword. After extensive, tiresome touring during WW2, he wasn't able to recover his technique, which had depended merely on an enormous talent which faded away with age. He continued to perform, but as an extremely flawed violinist, and eventually dedicated himself to other ventures.

There are very few recordings of Menuhin in his years as a prodigy on Youtube, but this one is one of my favorites.

What we're hearing here is the 3rd movement of Paganini's 1st Violin Concerto. The audio is a recording by the 18 year old Menuhin from 1934, which was superimposed over a video of Menuhin playing the same piece in 1963, at 47. While the 1963 audio would reveal a horrible scratchy sound, the young prodigy's performance which was inserted here has a lot of miracles going on, above all the hair rising double stop harmonics (!) passage after the first theme.

Yea I have to say that Jascha Heifetz is one of my favs as well.

Also high on the list is definately Nigel Kennedy...Lots of people don't like him, but I do, he's a good performer (in my opinion).

But my favourite would have to be, hands down one of my friends...I mean, he's not famous and he's not the best violinist...But that fact that he's my mate and he's better than me makes him my favourite.

Mark Feldman

YouTube - Masada String Trio - Bikkurim

Carla Kihlstedt

YouTube - Tin Hat Trio - The Clandestine Adventures of Mrs Mertz

YouTube - Tin Hat Trio - Invisible Mobile

YouTube - Tin Hat Trio - The Clandestine Adventures of Mrs Mertz

Didier Lockwood

Alex Balanescu

YouTube - Model - The Balanescu Quartet (HD Audio)

^ if you were gay I would marry you. :P

Yay! Necroposting!

Vasa Prihoda is a Czech violinist who was born in 1920; died in 1960. Sadly, not many people know of him. There are only a dozen or so recording on youtube, and the videos are all from some movie. (Some of you might have seen me post his stuff in the shoutbox from time to time.)

I chose this piece because it showcases a few of different skills: stops, left hand pizz, runs.

This next one is my favorite by his:

My favorite violinist is Hilary Hahn.

Just saying her names speaks more than enough for why she is amazing.

Menuhin is easily my favorite. I like a lot of younger violinists, actually, like Hilary Hahn and Ilya Kaler (second favorite, but he isn't young anymore...).

Thibaud, Heifetz, and Gitlis are also among my favorites.

I just love Itzhak Pearlman's work for Schidler's List. Wow. Another one of my favorites is Henryk Szeryng's recording of Bach's Six Sonatas and Partitas. It's so clean and so precise, yet expressive, that it just blows me away.

I like Milstein's solo Bach best, although I also admire Hahn's very crisp style. And of course, her double-stops are always perfect.

ARDITTI! His Freeman Etudes are amazing, especially since he's basically the only person who can play them...how the hell does he do it?

I haven't heard Ysaye, but the reason I picked Kaler was mostly because of his Ysaye recordings (and his Sibelius, of course). Kaler is easily my favorite living violinist.

Enescu was also very good.

Hilary Hahn. She premiered the Higdon concerto! And her Schoenberg recording was amazing. Plus her doubles stops are indeed perfect. I think, however, that her Barber recording was not as good. The last movement was played too fast (if that's possible, for that concerto!)

I don't have a favorite...although, I love...Gringolts, Janine Jansen(gorgeous new violinist) Perlman, Shaham, ummm....yeah

Janine Jansen is great; her performance of the Lark Ascending was phenomenal. I forgot to mention: ANNE AKIKO MEYERS! Her Barber interpretation was good. And her Saint-Saens interpretation. :D

My favorite violinist is my wife:

KU School of Fine Arts - Strings

My favorite violinist is my wife:

KU School of Fine Arts - Strings

I'm guessing you may be a little biased there. :hmmm:

Szigeti was pretty cool. Never heard his playing, but he was an awesome person.

I just like the way Hahn plays double-stops. :D

I'm guessing you may be a little biased there. :hmmm:

:) yep, but oh well, it's a good bias!

Paganini and Salvatore Accordo. :)

Where have you heard a recording of Paganini? I don't believe he lived long enough to make any...

A favorite, although obviously not THE BEST in many respects.

a favorite nonetheless

Stephane Grappelli

It really all depends on what they're playing... I love Hilary Hahn's Bach work, she brings a sort of romance to it that Baroque purist despise, Kremer is amazing also for his Virtuoso feats, so Is Ilya Kaler, Christiane Edinger (Her's was the first Bach S&Ps I listened to), Michael Rabin for his beautiful recording of Wieniawski's 1st Violin concerto.

Heifetz for the Bruch,Sibelius,Vieuxtemps no.5, Conus, Perlman for Beethoven,Brahms,Tchaikovsky, Sarah Chang for Paganini no.1, Hilary coming in at a close second(I liked her nice easy romantic style) and the Spohr what a lovely concerto, Midori for the Glazunov, Aaron Rosand (whom my teachers say I sound like him,) Joachim Hungarian Violin Concerto. Rachel Barton Pine for bringing back violin concertos by Joseph White, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. I haven't really found a Favorite for the Ernst concerto in F#, as much as I don't like his face, Vengerov for the Ysaye Sonatas, Joshua Bell for the Red Violin and any and all works of Kreisler, Ruggiero Ricci for just being alive and taking an interest in the lost Bravura Virtuoso Art, and Issac Stern for the Mozart.

Heifetz. He was got me hooked on a lot of violin show-pieces. That and he is awesome.

Perlman. People say that he is overrated, but I think he is as awesome as everyone says he is. He is the greatest living violinist in my opinion.

omfg.

Gidon Kremer.

Mark Feldman

YouTube - Masada String Trio - Bikkurim

Carla Kihlstedt

YouTube - Tin Hat Trio - The Clandestine Adventures of Mrs Mertz

YouTube - Tin Hat Trio - Invisible Mobile

YouTube - Tin Hat Trio - The Clandestine Adventures of Mrs Mertz

Also my favorites. Got to see Mark play live with the Masada String Trio and Bar Kokhba at the Zorn residency in San Fran. Havent seen Carla with Tin Hat, but many times with Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.

Gidon Kremer.

of course, I should have thought that before....

Gidon Kremer

It is also my favorite. I appreciated this violinist. I really love to play violin.:(