Favorite Violin Concertos

[Mirror Image]

To be honest though, it doesn't interest me even half as Schoenberg's. I'll keep trying it, it's well written but not as gripping (emotional or otherwise). Sibelius' on the other hand.....

Of course, I was joking around. For me, however, I love Berg's VC and it's as emotionally gripping as any concerto I've heard. When I first heard the Mutter/Levine performance of it, I was so moved by the work that I listened to it ten more times.

[TheGSMoeller]

Brahms
Prokofiev No.2
Britten
Vivaldi "The Four Seasons" Winter RV297
Vivaldi "The Four Seasons" Summer RV315
Tasks "Distant Light"
Glass No.2 "The American Four Seasons"
Stravinsky
Respighi Concerto Gregoriano

[SymphonicAddict]

Brahms
Prokofiev No.2
Britten
Vivaldi "The Four Seasons" Winter RV297
Vivaldi "The Four Seasons" Summer RV315
Tasks "Distant Light"
Glass No.2 "The American Four Seasons"
Stravinsky
Respighi Concerto Gregoriano

Great choices all of them. I would add the Glass' 1st violin concerto, too

[TheGSMoeller]

Great choices all of them. I would add the Glass' 1st violin concerto, too

Yes! I guess should've added his 1st as well, there was no limit given on how many VCs we could choose. 

[The new erato]

Vivaldi "The Four Seasons" Winter RV297
Vivaldi "The Four Seasons" Summer RV315
Tasks "Distant Light"

You ran out of V's after the Vivaldis?

[JRJoseph]

1  Beethoven
2. Sibelius
3.  Brahms
4.  Tchaikovsky
5.  Mendelssohn
6.  Barber

I guess I am an antique compared to you guys/

[springrite]

I may not rank Berg #1 here but, if I were to only keep one violin concerto, I am sure it'd be Berg.

[vandermolen]

Agree about the Barber and the Britten.

[Brian]

Barber. It's not just in my old age that I've grown soft; I've had the softest of spots for this concerto since I was about eight. Ehnes/Tovey is a newcomer to my collection but pretty much spot on.

I've seen Ehnes do this live (Montreal/Nagano) and it is truly heartrending.

[Sergeant Rock]

A baker's dozen with favorite performances:

Vivaldi Violin Concerto E minor RV277  Mullova/Antonini/Il Giardino Armonico

Bach Violin Concerto A minor BWV1041  Mutter/Accardo/English Chamber Orchestra

Mozart Violin Concerto #5 A major K.219  Mutter/Mutter/London Philharmonic

Mendelssohn Violin Concerto E minor  Jansen/Chailly/Gewandhaus Leipzig

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto D major  Belkin/Ashkenazy/New Philharmonia

Elgar Violin Concerto B minor  Chung/Solti/London Philharmonic or Bean/Groves/Royal Liverpool

Havergal Brian Violin Concerto C major  Bisengaliev/Friend/BBC Scottish

Berg Violin Concerto  Chung/Solti/Chicago Symphony or Watanabe/Sinopoli/Dresden

Prokofiev Violin Concerto #2 G minor  Mullova/Previn/Royal Philharmonic

Dvorak Violin Concerto A minor  Mutter/Honeck/Berlin Phil

Korngold Violin Concerto  Schmid/Ozawa/Vienna Phil

Stravinsky Violin Concerto  Mullova/Salonen/Los Angeles

Walton Violin Concerto  Chung/Previn/LSO


Sarge

[vandermolen]

One of the most underrated of all IMHO is Malcolm Williamson's Violin Concerto. Does anyone else here know it?
Also William Alwyn's VC which was, to their shame, rejected by the BBC and never performed In Alwyn's lifetime and yet I think it is one of his finest works - especially the beautiful end of the slow movement.