Violin vs. Piano

[Rosalba]

Piano.  It has a greater frequency range, greater dynamic range, and solo music written for the instrument is often more expressive.

I can't see that - even if the written music is potentially more expressive, how can the fine ideas be expressed by an instrument where you just press some keys, harder or softer, or depress a pedal with your foot? With a violin, the sound is more akin to the human voice, and you have many choices to vary the expression, all based on personal judgement - intonation, vibrato, bowing speed, style and pressure.

Playing a piano is like typing - playing a violin is like fine calligraphy.

(Of course, I'm joking - where would we be without either of them.)

[Florestan]

how can the fine ideas be expressed by an instrument where you just press some keys, harder or softer, or depress a pedal with your foot?

I should have thought this question was given a definitive answer by Chopin and Liszt.

[Rosalba]

I should have thought this question was given a definitive answer by Chopin and Liszt.

Touché!

[Gurn Blanston]

Great post, Gurn.

Well I'm not sure if the question was easy or hard,  or if my particular interests allowed me to legally cheat. 🤔 😄  Truth is,  I  adore violin music,  🎻   

🤠😎

[Jo498]

I don't like violin solo very much (not even the Bach solos as much as I probably should) and comparably few select violin concertos (not mainly the fault of the instrument), I like violin chamber music a lot (i.e. + piano or b.c. or other small, violin-dominated ensemble), though. So piano wins for me.

[Symphonic Addict]

Piano for many of the reasons that have been presented already, but I do take the point of Roasted Swan into account.

[DavidW]

I don't like violin solo very much (not even the Bach solos as much as I probably should) and comparably few select violin concertos (not mainly the fault of the instrument), I like violin chamber music a lot (i.e. + piano or b.c. or other small, violin-dominated ensemble), though. So piano wins for me.

I like Bach's sonatas and partitas but honestly for every time I listen to them I listen to Bach's solo keyboard works at least 50x more often and that is sadly not an exaggeration.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Please turn to 16:15
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bmo3MzomJs

"The piano is the most inclusive of all instruments. It can purr like a flute, or thunder like a trombone. It can imitate drums, a guitar, a contrabassoon, even a xylophone. It can compete with the largest orchestra, or play an entire symphony unaccompanied."

But I also love these two guys:
https://www.youtube.com/c/twosetviolin/featured

[Mirror Image]

I can't choose and it really has to do with the fact that both are instruments that I love dearly. The piano can enter a harmonic space that I find completely singular and the fact that you can play chords on it makes it even more appealing to me, but with the violin, it has a way of rising through a texture that can send shivers down my spine. There's a certain loneliness in the violin that I relate to and that cuts deeper than the piano. But, as I said, I love both instruments for completely different reasons.

[Rosalba]

I love violin more than anything else in any case. It might be more of a struggle if it was harpsichord rather than violinX (sorry, I meant to say 'rather than piano'). I like the peanut-brittle sound of the harpsichord better than the milkshake tone of the piano.

[ritter]

Piano...by a country mile.

[LKB]

Violin... by a country mile.

[(poco) Sforzando]

What is a country mile vs. any other kind?

Something like this is wonderfully informative:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAU_6huLGQ8
I love these guys.

[Rosalba]

What is a country mile vs. any other kind?

A 'country mile' does seem longer than one in the town or on the motorway. I know I've seen signposts in the depths of Wales or Ireland that say it's two miles from the nearest village and it seems twice as long. Maybe it's because of the narrow winding roads where you can't go fast, or maybe because you want to see your destination but it's round the bend, behind a clump of trees, or has a hill in front of it.

[Gurn Blanston]

I love violin more than anything else in any case. It might be more of a struggle if it was harpsichord rather than violin. I like the peanut-brittle sound of the harpsichord better than the milkshake tone of the piano.

Me too. And since I only listen to old music, I can justify hearing it on old instruments. I particularly like Tangentenflügel but also clavichord and most of the others too. All the stuff that people will shortly hate on is exactly what appeals to me about old keyboards.

[(poco) Sforzando]

I'm loving these guys. Normally they post videos with a lot of comedy, but they want to be serious musicians too and you'll learn a lot about the violin just from these 15 minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxQN6qdEo_I