Your Top Violin Concertos!

[carlos]

My list;
Brahms
Tchaikovsky
Goldmark
Taktakishvili first
Rakov first
Miaskovsky
Glazunov
Jatchaturian
Sibelius
Mendelsshon

[BachQ]

Jatchaturian

[Harry Collier]

Harry - I have Ulf Hoelscher's complete St Saens VC set plus extra pieces. Regards - Lee

The second concerto only seems to be recorded as part of a "complete" set; Liviu Prunaru also recorded it (as did Ricci). I've never heard of anyone playing it at a concert (but, there again, violinists tend to play just the same six concertos at concerts -- Sibelius, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, etc).

From Carlos's list, I'll second the Taktakishvili, Glazunov and Myaskovsy.

[Symphonien]

Ligeti!!!

Just discovered this work recently, and it's awesome! That shimmering quality of the first movement with all those natural harmonics and string scordatura, those eerie 2nd and 4th movements with those freaky ocarinas, that awesome third movement where the violin climbs up high with all those scales cascading down around it, and that crazy cadenza in the last movement! Who wouldn't love this piece? I've seen the score too, and it's so cool!

[squarez]

To avoid over-long, I've to pick my favors with restraint for top 10:

Beethoven, Shostakovich no.1, Brahms, Sibelius, Walton, Elgar, Britten, Vieuxtemps no.5, Korngold, Goldmark.

[DetUudslukkelige]

Beethoven
Tchaikovsky
Nielsen
Brahms
Elgar
All of Bach's
Mendelssohn

The Brahms and Elgar did not appeal to me at first, but I love them now (actually, that's true of the two composers in general). Beethoven's is worth it just for the overly-jubilant last two minutes, which never fail to take my breath away, and the rest of it is still among the best. Mendelssohn's, Nielsen's and Tchaikovsky's are just very melodic, beautiful pieces that I can listen to a lot without getting bored. Bach's, I think, are works of skill beyond what I can fathom ever having. While probably not my favorite on this list, they, like most Bach pieces, blow me away every time I hear how beautifully well-constructed they are, how every note sounds like it is the way it would appeal best to me.

Ach, this thread is not helping my ever-growing list of music I need to buy get shorter! I must hear it all!

[Scriptavolant]

Bach's A minor, Sibelius, Bartok 2nd.

Schumann wrote a violin concerto did he? Never heard (of) it.

[Rabin_Fan]

My top 10 in no order is:-

Mozart VC 3, Beethoven VC, Brahms VC, Bruch VC 1 & Scottish Fantasy, Paganini VC 1, Tchaikovsky VC, Wieniawski VC 2, Vieuxtemps VC 5 and Mendelssohn VC in E minor.

If I can expand my sphere to about 20, the others are:- Robert Schumann VC,
Mozart VC 4, Mozart VC 5, Lalo Sym Espagnole, Paganini VC 4 & VC 6, Shostakovich VC 1, Sibelius VC, St Saens VC 3 and Karol Lipinski VC 2.

[Rabin_Fan]

From No 21 to No 30 are:-

Kabalevsky VC, Sinding Suite, Elgar VC, Stravinsky VC, Korngold VC, Prokofiev VC 1 & 2, Dvorak VC, Khachaturian VC, Vieuxtemps VC 4

[Rabin_Fan]

Another 3 Russian VCs that were not in my top 30 list are:- Glazunov, Arensky and Lvov.

[carlos]

Schumann wrote a violin concerto did he? Never heard (of) it.

Don't miss much. IMHO,it's one of the weakest
of his works. Certainly, the worst of his concerti

[Christo]

Don't miss much. IMHO,it's one of the weakest of his works. Certainly, the worst of his concerti

To me, weak Schumann might be the musical equivalent of thin water :-)

[Harry Collier]

Schumann wrote a violin concerto did he? Never heard (of) it.

You ain't missed much.

[op.110]

Brahms
Beethoven
Tchaikovsky
Sibelius
Mendelssohn
Bruch
Dvorak

[bhodges]

Ligeti!!!

Just discovered this work recently, and it's awesome! That shimmering quality of the first movement with all those natural harmonics and string scordatura, those eerie 2nd and 4th movements with those freaky ocarinas, that awesome third movement where the violin climbs up high with all those scales cascading down around it, and that crazy cadenza in the last movement! Who wouldn't love this piece? I've seen the score too, and it's so cool!

A fun piece, and one of my favorites, too.  I just heard it live recently with Christian Tetzlaff, who was superb, and Alan Gilbert conducting the New York Philharmonic.  Prior to that, Jennifer Koh did it with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble (also excellent) and my first live one was in 2003 with Tasmin Little (with Rattle and Berlin).  It is a piece well worth getting to know (especially if you have a fondness for ocarinas  ).

My other faves:

Berg
Shostakovich No. 1 and 2
Prokofiev No. 1 and 2
Barber
Britten
Brahms

And although I only heard it once last summer, Magnus Lindberg has written a very eloquent one that I hope will be recorded. 

--Bruce

[Harry Collier]

And although I only heard it once last summer, Magnus Lindberg has written a very eloquent one that I hope will be recorded. 

I THINK I read somewhere that Lisa Batiashvili has just recorded it (not yet released). What I remember is that she has recorded a Scandinavian concerto I've never heard of (coupled, alas, with yet another Sibelius, I think).

[Christo]

Some more other mid°20th century, personal favourites:

Nikos Skalkottas, Violin Concerto (1938) (always a bit better than Mozart, this gifted Greek)
Ernest John Moeran, Violin Concerto (1942) (great and mysterious)
Joaquin Rodrigo, Concierto de estio (1944)(wonderful opening)
Edmund Rubbra, Violin Concerto (1959)

[Symphonien]

A fun piece, and one of my favorites, too.  I just heard it live recently with Christian Tetzlaff, who was superb, and Alan Gilbert conducting the New York Philharmonic.  Prior to that, Jennifer Koh did it with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble (also excellent) and my first live one was in 2003 with Tasmin Little (with Rattle and Berlin).

Wow! Those sound like some great concerts. I'd give anything to hear that piece live, or any Ligeti for that matter.

It is a piece well worth getting to know (especially if you have a fondness for ocarinas  ).

Ocarinas are cool! Especially what Ligeti does with them; he makes that part sound so freaky... I'd never actually heard an ocarina before until I heard that piece, or at least not playing an actual part like that in an orchestra (I thought they were some kind of toy whistle!) I was quite surprised when they first came in! Know any other pieces that use them?

[Thom]

Also violin Co's by:

- Bax
- Rozsa
- Waxman
- Rawsthorne
- Tüür (!)

just to add some. Tüür will probably be in my short list, not the others.

[S709]

There are thousands of violin concerti so this is really hard!
My top VCs which I can recall right now and which are not be very famous are:

Cristobal Halffter VC1
Gerhard Rosenfeld VC1
Akira Ifukube VC1
Roger Sessions VC
Poul Ruders VC
Bent Sorensen VC

... and from the known ones I really like the Ligeti, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Barber, Glass, Pettersson 2 and Tishchenko 2.