Music for unaccompanied violin

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

I'm looking to expand my collection of this genre, so I'm wondering what, aside from the obvious (e.g., sonatas and partitas by J.S. Bach, Paganini Caprices), do you listen to and enjoy?

For my contribution, I highly recommend the little-known music for solo violin by Karl Nielsen--the Introduction and Theme with Variations and the Preludio e Presto, both of which are highly inventive, dissonant pieces full of virtouso fireworks.

[springrite]

There is a lovely KOCH CD of Rozsa's complete works for solo violin played by the lovely Isabella Lippi.

If you like tough ones, Sonata for Solo Violin by the one and only Artur Schnabel!

[some guy]

John Cage, Freeman Etudes

[Drasko]

Eugène Ysaÿe - 6 Sonatas For Solo Violin, Op 27

[val]

Bartok: Sonata for violin solo

Two splendid versions. Menuhin (the creator of the work) and the recent Laurent Korcia.

[Tsaraslondon]

Eugène Ysaÿe - 6 Sonatas For Solo Violin, Op 27

They have also been recorded, quite stunningly, by Thomas Zehetmair.

[Wendell_E]

Bartok: Sonata for violin solo

Two splendid versions. Menuhin (the creator of the work) and the recent Laurent Korcia.

I was going to mention the Bartók.  Also Elliott Carter's Four Lauds.

[FideLeo]

Before Bach there were Thomas Baltzer, Nicola Matteis, Schmelzer, Biber, JJ Walther who had written works for this instrumentation.  Schmelzer, Biber, Walther had been recorded and can be found among their diverse recordings.  Telemann also wrote 12 fantasias for violin solo - Andrew Manze had recorded them.  Manze also reorded some Tartini senza basso - I haven't listened to that disc for some time and cannot recall if he simply omitted the bass or tried integrating the bass (transposed!) into his violin polyphony.

[johnQpublic]

Prokofiev has one and Hindemith has two unaccompanied violin sonatas.

[dirkronk]

IIRC, Steven Staryk did a wide range of solo violin pieces in his 4 (or was it 6?) LP survey of violin music on one of the old Everest labels ("400 Years of the Classical Violin" or some such name). Quite a number of these pieces were not only obscure but really fascinating, as well. Maybe someone has this set handy. If not, I'll look for it when I get home and report.

Cheers,

Dirk

[Keemun]

Andrew Manze plays these solo.

[MichaelRabin]

Try this one - Milstein's Paganiniana (after the 24th Caprice). Superb!

[not edward]

I used to play violin a bit, so I looked into some of these from a playing perspective as well as a listening one.

Favourites would include the sonatas by Ysaye, Hindemith and Bartok; other works worth looking into would include Schnittke's A Paganini, Carter's Four Lauds, and the sonatas by Prokofiev and B. A. Zimmermann.

[Norbeone]

That would be my highest recommendation...after JSBach.

Same.

[orbital]

the sonatas by Ysaye,

I happened to listen to the 1st one in G minor today, and if the rest are comparable, I'd say they are great.

[Tsaraslondon]

I happened to listen to the 1st one in G minor today, and if the rest are comparable, I'd say they are great.

They are wonderful pieces. Influenced by Bach, each one was written for a different violinist.

1. Joseph Szigeti
2. Jacques Thibaud
3. George Enescu
4. Fritz Kreisler
5. Mathieu Crickboom
6. Manuel Quiroga

If you enjoyed the first, I am sure you will enjoy the rest. I don't know the Kavakos performances but the Zehetmair are truly inspiring. I also have his performances of the Bach Sonatas and Partitas, which I bought after I heard him play one of them as an encore at a concert in Grenoble, one of my most memorable concert going experiences.

[orbital]

They are wonderful pieces. Influenced by Bach, each one was written for a different violinist.

1. Joseph Szigeti
2. Jacques Thibaud
3. George Enescu
4. Fritz Kreisler
5. Mathieu Crickboom
6. Manuel Quiroga

If you enjoyed the first, I am sure you will enjoy the rest. I don't know the Kavakos performances but the Zehetmair are truly inspiring. I also have his performances of the Bach Sonatas and Partitas, which I bought after I heard him play one of them as an encore at a concert in Grenoble, one of my most memorable concert going experiences.

Thank you, I heard the Zehetmair performance as well. I will probably get the set from amazon downloads.

[Brian]

I happened to listen to the 1st one in G minor today, and if the rest are comparable, I'd say they are great.

The 'Dies irae' sonata is my personal favorite, but all are extraordinary  0:)

[Drasko]

Thank you, I heard the Zehetmair performance as well. I will probably get the set from amazon downloads.

You can sample Kavakos at eclassical.

[pjme]

A new CD is out - Fuga Libera  704 - "Vioilin faces"

Belgian violinist Wibert Aerts ( he is member of Ensemble Musiques Nouvelles) plays K.A.Hartmann's Second sonata for violin solo, B.A.Zimmermann's Sonata, Luciano Berio's Sequenza VIII and Kee Yong Chong's ( Maleysia) For another better world.