1. Sibelius
2. Tchaikovsky
3. Brahms
4. mendelsshon
5. carmen fantasy (sarasate edition)(i know it's cheating, but I have yet to listen to beethoven's. and although it is called Carmen Fantasy, it is a violin concerto)
Not really. Its name is quite descriptive and efficiently describes the genre of the piece: a fantasy for violin and orchestra, on themes extracted from an opera.
You may say it's a concertante for violin and orchestra (or piano too, but that's not relevant), but even then you wouldn't be completely accurate.
I know we can't actually define a violin concerto as a three movement work (being them moderately fast, a slow one, and a faster final one), but we can be sure a concert fantasy doesn't really qualify.
I can list five, but there are so many interesting there, that I can not assure this really reflects my preferences.
1. Brahms
2. Shostakovich's 1st
3. Mozart's 5th
4. Sibelius (the standard version, not the original)
5. Saint-Saens' third. (Only by Perlman and Barenboim. Eventually Francescatti, but his recording is not complete, and this is enough to discard him).
Why do you treat the concerti grossi like solo concerti?
To my knowledge the form of concerto grosso is not the one of a solo concerto (at least in theory), even if the Concertino group only consists of two violins (in op. 6 there's also a cello).
And I see that even great Haydn-fans won't nominate his violin concertos...
I feel so prosaic: I'm going to list some of the "usual suspects:"
Brahms- sweeping the boards so far Tchaikovsky Bruch- no support for Bruch so far. Interesting. Sibelius- appreciated it more as I matured Prokofiev 1- when teamwork is in evidence, it comes off a treat. Is this why Heifetz didn't incorporate it into his repertoire?
I thought it was because Szigeti already had the concerto for himself. However, when it comes to reflection, Heifetz hijacked Glazunov from Milstein; so I don't think the concept of stealing material really forbade him.
I'm with Opus67. My question when I first read the post title was "are there five good ones?"
I'm only half kidding.
I can think of only two, off-hand, that are truly wonderful pieces of music, regardless of (sub)genre, and that's Bartok's 2nd and Ligeti's. I know Janacek's, but I only like it because it uses bits from House of the Dead.
Maybe you just have to be Hungarian...?
I have heard Beethoven's played by a girl from Asia somewhere that was a pretty spectacular performance. Can't remember her name, sadly. (And "Asia" covers a lot of territory, so that's no help.)
Just think if Helmut Lachenmann were to write a violin concerto. Whew. Now that would be something to write home about. And if you were home, you could go away, and then write.
1) Bach's Double - A fugue to start this concerto! How awesome!
2) Brahms - Absolute bliss, an epic masterpiece.
3) Elgar - So soulful, exactly what I imagine Elgar's personality to be like.
4) Mendelssohn - Very tuneful, I like tunes!
5) Sibelius - Oooh yeah!
1) Of the people who enumerated 5 concertos, Brahms was listed on 10 of 13, a whopping 77%! This is domination of the kind that we almost never see in such tallies. If someone asked us what Brahms' Magnum Opus was, I don't know if it would have crossed many of our minds to say "the Violin Concerto," but we really could make a case for it, couldn't we?!
2) Inspired by Maestro K's trademark dialectic with Keemun, I repaired to the test-den to re-audition Bruch 1, followed by Mendelssohn. I didn't change my mind, but I did (re?)discover that one of Mendelssohn's melodic themes (in movement 1) was used in virtual quotation by Arthur Sullivan in the conclusion of Act I of The Mikado.
I didn't change my mind, but I did (re?)discover that one of Mendelssohn's melodic themes (in movement 1) was used in virtual quotation by Arthur Sullivan in the conclusion of Act I of The Mikado.
And his violin concerto is his Op. 77. If I believed in numerology I would think we have something interesting here.
If someone asked us what Brahms' Magnum Opus was, I don't know if it would have crossed many of our minds to say "the Violin Concerto," but we really could make a case for it, couldn't we?!
Great minds think alike -- this was the very first thing that popped into my head as well, when I heard the 77% I don't believe I submitted a list in this thread, but had I done so, I would've had Brahms on the list too, and then we'd be above 77%. Sad, but true
Morigan said:
Really? I'm familiar with both works and I have never noticed!
*starts changing the playlist on his iPod* I _must_ notice it. *_
Hope Daniel isn't reading this thread, open expressions of preference are frowned upon in this forum...
I think you should put concerti grossi into a category on its own, in which case Handel wins hands down.
If we are concerning ourselves with usual Classical period and beyond concept of the violin concerto - Beethoven's of course, and I leave you guys to squabble over the other 4 also-rans! But not the ponderous and lead-laden gypsy syrup that is usually made of this piece. There is really only a single recording of B's violin concerto as it should be on the market - that with Bruggen and the Orch of the C18th with soloist Zehetmair on the Phillips label. This is the only one that actually sounds like a Beethoven concerto!
1. Hindemith
2. Brahms
3. Sibelius (I think it is equal to Brahms, except that Brahms has this obviously superior beginning of its second movement )
4. Schnittke (viola concerto)
5. Beethoven
Tchaikovsky
Beethoven
Mendelssohn (Op.64)
Brahms
Bach (A minor)
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Classical Music Forum
2.6M posts
40.5K members
Since 2004
A forum community dedicated to classical music for musicians and other enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about composers, compositions, arrangements, collections, recordings, techniques, instruments, styles, reviews, classifieds, and more!