Greatest living violinists

[mc ukrneal]

Very interesting names mentioned here, incl. Ehnes, who seems to be quite highly regarded. This is a new one for me, although I have at least heard of most of the others. I will have to look for some of their recordings too.

It is interesting that no one has defended Perlman or mentioned him among the living greats. I don't mean to bash him, but I've just never liked his sound or interpretations, despite all the publicity he gets. No mention either of Midori, who I never really liked, or Sarah Chang, who I did--both preferences admittedly based on very little listening. 

I have a Mendelssohn recording with Perlman that is as good as any I have ever heard. I didn't say anything about him because I thought you were looking for the younger crowd, whereas he has been around quite some time. We should add Kyung Wha Chung if we want to talk about recordings. She's done some stellar work.

[Brahmsian]

I don't follow violinists much, but Hilary Hahn is not only one of the finest violinists I've heard on record, she is probably the most assured soloist on any instrument that I've seen in person.  I've seen her twice, playing the Tchaikovsky and Nielsen concertos, and it seemed as if she wasn't even trying.

Ehnes seems to get a lot of praise from various people.  Perhaps I will try some of his recordings.

Listening to this right now, and love this recording!

[asin]B00E5NXR8K[/asin]

Also, really love this recording of Mozart's Violin Concerti, performed with the Mozart Anniversary Orchestra

[asin]B000CZ0S3M[/asin]

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

It is interesting that no one has defended Perlman or mentioned him among the living greats.

I'll certainly defend him (certainly his old Brahms, Sibelius and Berg cto. recordings). I didn't think to mention him just because he's been around for so long.

[jochanaan]

Well, I am very fond of Perlman's Bartok #2 from the 1970s.  And he always has a lovely sound, one of the loveliest of any violinist.

[El Chupacabra]

This thread seems to be veered off the subject. It does not imply "young violinists you like", it demands "living greatests" in your opinion.
I can divvy them up by generation:
Pre-1940: Haendel, Gitlis
1940s: Kremer, Accardo, Perlman (his performances until mid-80s should make him the greatest), Chung, Zukerman PI: Standage, Lamon
1950-60s: Mintz, Mullova, Lin, Mutter, Zimmermann PI: Biondi, Huggett, Manze, Podger
1970-80s: Hahn, Shaham, Faust, İbragimova, Kavakos

Overall, I'd say, the elder the greater, as they proved their caliber over and over again

[Wieland]

If I would have to name only one it would  be

Gidon Kremer

From early baroque to the violin concerto just finished yesterday, he has covered the broadest repertoire of any violinist I know. He has recorded more or less the complete standard repertoire for his instrument und probably done an unprecedented number of first performances. I know that some people don't like his "sound" since it is not as sweet as that of others but in terms of overall musicianship I know no one who comes close.

[Herman]

I have been collecting historic violin recordings almost since I started collecting CDs and LPs in the early 90s. To my chagrin, I have really overlooked living violinists. In my limited experience with the recent performers, I have liked what I have heard from Hilary Hahn, Julia Fischer, but I really do not care for Perlman. What else do I need to investigate, and who are the greats of today?

Viktoria Mullova, Isabelle Faust, Lisa Biatishvili, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos.

[North Star]

Korngold, Tchaikovsky and Bruch (Scottish Fantasy) 

Here you can see Ehnes play the Tchaikovsky with the Toronto SO conducted by Peter Oundjian in Helsinki Finland. 
http://areena.yle.fi/1-3062850

[jfdrex]

Any opinions re. Nikolaj Znaider?  I don't think I've seen his name mentioned yet in this conversation.  (For what it's worth, I've liked what little I've heard of his--just a small handful of recordings, certainly not enough for me to form a fully informed opinion.)  Is he merely very good, or better than that?

And while I'm thinking of it, how about Marat Bisengaliev?

[king ubu]

my favourites:

Isabelle Faust
Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Hilary Hahn
Frank-Peter Zimmermann
Thomas Zehetmair
Julia Fischer
Carolin Widmann


guess Kremer will make the list once I get a bit more familiar, Podger and Letzbor as well ... less sure about Mutter or Janine Jansen ... also the jury's still open on Mullova ...

Huggett, Biondi, Manze, Standage or Lamon I've enjoyed recordings of, but again I don't feel their music is familiar enough yet (guess I could say that about Widmann as well, but the Feldman disc just won me over).

[North Star]

Violinist Augustin Hadelich wins inaugural Warner Music Prize, worth $100,000
The prize for musicians under 35 also includes the opportunity to make a recording for Warner Classics

The 16 nominees for this year's prize were drawn from young singers and instrumentalists who had taken part in Carnegie Hall's 2014-15 concert season. Hadelich, who appeared at Carnegie Hall on several occasions during the season, was selected by a jury of respected classical musicians and music industry leaders.

[Cato]

my favourites:

Isabelle Faust
Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Hilary Hahn
Frank-Peter Zimmermann
Thomas Zehetmair
Julia Fischer
Carolin Widmann

One of my favorites: the BUSONI Violin Concerto!

[asin]B0009NDHM6[/asin]

[Herman]

Janine Jansen (the most exciting violinist of this era)
Lisa Biatishvili (fascinating mix of hot and cold in her playing)
James Ehnes (amazing technique)

[Herman]

Ehnes in Chausson Poeme:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzSOKyhFexk

[Herman]

Lisa Biatishvili in Sibelius (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4aOgRjqHrc

[Herman]

Janine Jansen in Bernstein's Serenade, recently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp868n6rem8&t=1403s

[bwv 1080]

Irvine Arditti

[Mandryka]

Lisa Biatishvili (fascinating mix of hot and cold in her playing)

Batiashvili

[Herman]

Batiashvili

you're absolutely right.

I guess my mind's going...

[king ubu]

Lisa Batiashvili was impressive recently at Tonhalle, playing the Brahms unter Antonio Pappano ... my first encounter with her. I've just got my tickets for the upcoming season at Tonhalle and that includes a chamber soirée with Batiashvili-Capuçon-Thibaudet.

Funny enough, I just heard Frank Peter Zimmermann again, who a few years ago played the Brahms at Tonhalle w/Zinman - my first in concert encounter with that work, and a very fine one, too. This time around, Bernard Haitink was scheduled to conduct but Manfred Honeck jumped in - and he put the orchestra on fire during the Egmont overture and then kept it going when FP Zimmermann joined for the Beethoven concerto - outstanding!

One more favourite (but not top favourite) violinist is scheduled to play the Mendelssohn (which I've so far not heard in concert ... well, I did, once, but unexpectedly Isabelle Faust kinda flubbed it, I neither liked her approach to the work nor her playing that night, although I admire most of what she does otherwise, from Bach to Schumann and beyond, and have seen her in concert more often than any other violinist currently on the scene - doing the Bach solo, in trio w/Queyras-Melnikov, and three times as as soloist w/band) ... anyway, this time it will be Julia Fischer, and Blomstedt will conduct at Tonhalle (Mahler 1 in the second half) ... Fischer isn't a top favourite in theory (on disc that is - though her Mozart concertos are quite wonderful ... but then FP Zimmermann's take may be my favourite again, in front of Zehetmair and again Isabelle Faust's recent release w/Antonini), but in concert I've found her much more engaging than I'd ever expected (once doing the "Kreutzer" and op. 96 w/Igor Levit, the other time doing the second Bartók concerto w/Tonhalle under Charles Dutoit), so I am really looking foward to next Friday!

Another violinist new to me, thanks to a concert this season, is Vilde Frang - I only caught one of three (!) appearances at Tonhalle this season (first one I had a ticket but was a few thousand kilometres away that night, third I had to skip as well) ... she played chamber music by Enescu, Veress and Arensky, and that was mighty good, but I'd like to hear her in a concerto - the one I had a ticket for but missed was with Trevor Pinnock and it seems to have been wonderful, my parents went there, one of them using my ticket ... they liked it enough to join me for the chamber night as well, which to them was a bit too challenging, 'xept for the Arensky - or in a recital as well).