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Top Ten Violinists Today

Niccolò ​Paganini​
Niccolò ​Paganini​

Paganini was one of the world’s great virtuoso violinists. But what is especially fascinating is that part of Paganini’s great success came as a result of a rare physical ailment. Niccolò Paganini was born in 1782 in Genoa, Italy.

Itzhak ​Perlman​
Itzhak ​Perlman​

Itzhak Perlman is one of today’s greatest violinists – so who better to ask for advice on how to get the most out of your practice and tackling nerves? We spoke to the brilliant musician in London’s Savoy Hotel, ahead of the UK leg of his European tour.

source: classicfm.com
Johann ​Sebastian Bach​
Johann ​Sebastian Bach​

Born in Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany, on March 31, 1685 (N.S.) / March 21, 1685 (O.S.), Johann Sebastian Bach came from a family of musicians, stretching back several generations. His father, Johann Ambrosius, worked as the town musician in Eisenach, and it is believed that he taught young Johann to play the violin.

source: biography.com
Yehudi ​Menuhin​
Yehudi ​Menuhin​

Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM KBE (22 April 1916 – 12 March 1999) was an American-born violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century.

Jascha ​Heifetz​
Jascha ​Heifetz​

The most recent film featuring Heifetz, Jascha Heifetz: God's Fiddler, premiered on 16 April 2011 at the Colburn School of Music. It is described as "The only film biography of the world's most renowned violinist, featuring family home movies in Los Angeles and all over the world.

Ludwig van ​Beethoven​
Ludwig van ​Beethoven​

Ludwig van Beethoven (/ ˈ l ʊ d v ɪ ɡ v æ n ˈ b eɪ t oʊ v ən / ( listen), /-h oʊ v ən /; German: [ˈluːtvɪç fan ˈbeːtˌhoːfn̩] ( listen); baptised 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist.

Wolfgang ​Amadeus Mozart​
Wolfgang ​Amadeus Mozart​

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart (1719–1787) and Anna Maria, née Pertl (1720–1778), at 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg. This was the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, an ecclesiastic principality in what is now Austria, then part of the Holy Roman Empire.

Hilary Hahn​
Hilary Hahn​

Hahn commissioned 26 contemporary composers to write short encore pieces for In 27 Pieces: the Hilary Hahn Encores. Among the composers are David Del Tredici, Jennifer Higdon, Du Yun, Elliott Sharp, David Lang, Nico Muhly, James Newton Howard, Valentyn Sylvestrov and Max Richter.

image: npr.org
Joshua Bell​
Joshua Bell​

Joshua Bell: 15 facts about the great violinist From his debut at Carnegie Hall at 17, to some incognito busking on the Washington D.C. subway, Joshua Bell is one of today's great stars of the violin, a best-selling recording artist and now a conductor.

source: classicfm.com
Sarah Chang​
Sarah Chang​

an interview with violinist sarah chang Korean-American violinist Sarah Chang is one of the most distinguished and loved violinists now before us. Admitted to Julliard School of Music before she was 6, and debuting with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra all by age 11, she has performed and recorded with the world’s greatest orchestras for almost two decades.

Fritz Kreisler​
Fritz Kreisler​

Works by Fritz Kreisler at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks) Free scores by Fritz Kreisler at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) An assembled edition of original pieces and arrangements for violin and piano by Fritz Kreisler.

Pablo de ​Sarasate​
Pablo de ​Sarasate​

Born Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascuéz in Pamplona, in the Spanish province of Navarre, on 10 March 1844, Pablo began studying violin at the age of five with his father, an artillery bandmaster. Later he took lessons from a local teacher. He gave his first concert at La Caruña when he was only eight years old.

source: craton.net
image: cmuse.org
Anne-Sophie ​Mutter​
Anne-Sophie ​Mutter​

Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of today’s best-known violinists. Mentored by the late conductor Herbert von Karajan, she rose to fame when she started to play alongside him at the age of 13. She spoke to Classic FM ahead of a performance of the Brahms Double Concerto with Spanish cellist Pablo Ferrández and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra, at Oxford’s Sheldonian Theatre.

source: classicfm.com
Julia Fischer​
Julia Fischer​

7. Julia Fischer. Julia Fischer was born in Munich, Germany. She started her first violin lesson from Helge Thelen. Afterwards, she learnt piano along with her mother, Viera Fischer. For Julia, music is the food of soul, and this is why she loved playing different instruments.

source: top10for.com
David ​Oistrakh​
David ​Oistrakh​

October 25, 1974, Page 81 The New York Times Archives. AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, Oct. 24—David Oistrakh, the premier Soviet violinist, died today in a hotel here.

source: nytimes.com
image: baklol.com
Maxim ​Vengerov​
Maxim ​Vengerov​

Maxim Vengerov was born into a musical family on 20 August 1974 in Novosibirsk, Siberia. His mother sang and conducted, and his father played oboe in an orchestra. Maxim heard music even before he was born.

source: classicfm.com
Antonio ​Vivaldi​
Antonio ​Vivaldi​

Compositions by Vivaldi are identified today by RV number, the number assigned by Danish musicologist Peter Ryom in works published mostly in the 1970s, such as the "Ryom-Verzeichnis" or "Répertoire des oeuvres d'Antonio Vivaldi".

David Garrett​
David Garrett​

David Christian Bongartz (born 4 September 1980), better known by his stage name David Garrett, is a record-breaking German pop and crossover violinist and recording artist.

Pinchas ​Zukerman​
Pinchas ​Zukerman​

So what is Pinchas Zukerman's standing among the leading violinists of the day? Just ask the people who will be performing with him Monday evening in Symphony Hall. "I think he is the greatest violinist in the world today," declares violist Quintin Ballardie, founder of the English Chamber Orchestra, with which Zukerman will be appearing on this April 15 program.

image: ranker.com
Janine ​Jansen​
Janine ​Jansen​

Janine Jansen comes from a musical family: her father is an organist and harpsichord player (as is one of her brothers), her mother is a singer, and another brother plays the cello in a Dutch radio orchestra.

source: classicfm.com
Henryk ​Wieniawski​
Henryk ​Wieniawski​

Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin 1 on 10 July 1835 into a family who combined an interest in social welfare with a passion for music. Henryk’s father, Tadeusz, held a Master’s degree in philosophy, medicine and surgery, and had an extensive medical practice.

image: quazoo.com
Eugène ​Ysaÿe​
Eugène ​Ysaÿe​

Eugène Ysaÿe Explained. Eugène Ysaÿe (in French øʒɛn iza.i/; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian violinist, composer and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar".

Isaac Stern​
Isaac Stern​

Isaac Stern, who has died aged 81 of heart failure, was not only a superlative musician, one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century; he was also the consummate humanitarian, passionately involved in causes both global and local.

image: baklol.com
Midori Gotō​
Midori Gotō​

Midori Goto (五嶋 みどり, Gotō Midori, born October 25, 1971) who performs under the mononym Midori, is a Japanese-born American violinist. She made her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11 as a surprise guest soloist at the New Year's Eve Gala in 1982.

Felix ​Mendelssohn​
Felix ​Mendelssohn​

Felix Mendelssohn was born on 3 February 1809, in Hamburg, at the time an independent city-state, in the same house where, a year later, the dedicatee and first performer of his Violin Concerto, Ferdinand David, would be born.

Gil Shaham​
Gil Shaham​

Gil Shaham was born in Urbana, Illinois, while his parents, Israeli scientists, were on an academic fellowship at the University of Illinois. His father Jacob was an astrophysicist, and his mother, Meira Diskin, was a cytogeneticist.

Viktoria ​Mullova​
Viktoria ​Mullova​

8. Viktoria Mullova. Viktoria Mullova is a great Russian violinist. She is best known for violin concerti, which are composed by J.S. Bach. Some of her jazz compositions are by Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, The Beatles, and others. Viktoria is a well known violinist, and has all the qualities that make her a great musician of all time.

source: top10for.com
Gidon Kremer​
Gidon Kremer​

Gidon Kremer, the Russian-trained Latvian violin virtuoso who turns 70 next month, has never shied away from connecting his art and his politics. On a North American tour that has just begun with concerto performances in Boston and arrives at the 92nd Street Y with a concert on Feb. 2 by Mr. Kremer’s chamber orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, he is forwarding a social agenda, if not a political one.

source: nytimes.com
Ginette Neveu​
Ginette Neveu​

Ginette Neveu (1919 - 1949) Tragically, Neveu died in a plane crash when she was just 30, something made all the more tragic by just how much promise she showed. She once beat David Oistrakh in the Wieniawski Competition and was already making some classic recordings - it’s tempting to imagine just what might have been.

source: classicfm.com
Kyung-Wha ​Chung​
Kyung-Wha ​Chung​

The anticipated return of violinist Kyung Wha Chung to London after 12 years was overshadowed after she became exasperated with a coughing child in the audience at the Royal Festival Hall.

Ivry Gitlis​
Ivry Gitlis​

Ivry Gitlis is an Israeli virtuoso violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He has performed with the world's top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and many more.

Nigel ​Kennedy​
Nigel ​Kennedy​

Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and has more recently performed in jazz, klezmer and other music genres.

Nicola ​Benedetti​
Nicola ​Benedetti​

Benedetti was born in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire, to an Italian father and a Scottish mother. She started learning to play the violin at the age of four. At age eight, she became the leader of the National Children's Orchestra of Great Britain.

Ida Haendel​
Ida Haendel​

Ida Haendel published her autobiography, Woman With Violin, in 1970. Television Her life has been the subject of several television documentaries, including Ida Haendel: A Voyage of Music (1988), I Am The Violin (2004), and Ida Haendel: This Is My Heritage (2011).

James Ehnes​
James Ehnes​

"With this latest recording, James Ehnes proves that he possesses everything to become one of the greatest violinists of the 21st century." (Classica, April 2004) “Ehnes is a world-class violinist and he proves it once again with intense, character, and technically flawless renditions of these Czech gems.

Leonidas ​Kavakos​
Leonidas ​Kavakos​

Today is Greek violinist Leonidas Kavakos‘ 50th birthday. A former 1st prize winner at Sibelius, Naumburg and Paganini International Violin Competitions, he is widely respected as one of today’s pre-eminent instrumentalists.

Nathan ​Milstein​
Nathan ​Milstein​

Nathan Cole, first associate concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, plays Nathan Milstein’s cadenza for the Beethoven violin concerto on the 1716 Stradivari played by the Russian American virtuoso from 1945 to the end of his career, and which took his name.

source: thestrad.com
Ray Chen​
Ray Chen​

Ray Chen is a violinist who redefines what it is to be a classical musician in the 21st Century. With a media presence that enhances and inspires the classical audience, reaching out to millions through his unprecedented online following, Ray Chen's remarkable musicianship transmits to a global audience that is reflected in his engagements with the foremost orchestras and concert halls around the world.

Lindsey ​Stirling​
Lindsey ​Stirling​

Lindsey Stirling (born September 21 ... Stirling wrote a solo violin rock song, ... That same day Stirling performed at The Today Show to promote her album by ...

Mischa Elman​
Mischa Elman​

Mischa (Mikhail Saulovich) Elman (Russian: Михаил Саулович Эльман; January 20, 1891 – April 5, 1967) was a Ukrainian-born Jewish-American violinist, famed for his passionate style, beautiful tone, and impeccable artistry and musicality.

Arcangelo ​Corelli​
Arcangelo ​Corelli​

Although it is unclear quite when Corelli arrived in Rome, he was certainly active there by 1675, when "Arcangelo Bolognese" (as he was referred to) was engaged to play as one of the supporting violinists in lenten oratorios at the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini, as well as in the French national celebrations held each year on 25 August at San Luigi dei Francesi and during the ordination of a member of the powerful Chigi family at Santi Domenico e Sisto.

Vadim Repin​
Vadim Repin​

Vadim Repin was born in Novosibirsk, Western Siberia, on 31 August 1971. He began to play the violin at the age of five with Dmitry Vaks, …

Leila ​Josefowicz​
Leila ​Josefowicz​

Josefowicz was born in Missisauga, Ontario, Canada. When she was a young child her family moved to Los Angeles, California, where she started studying violin at the age of three and a half using the Suzuki method. Her father, physicist Jack Josefowicz, and mother, biologist Wendy Josefowicz, learned with her.

Frank Peter ​Zimmermann​
Frank Peter ​Zimmermann​

19. Frank Peter Zimmerman (b.1965) German. At the heart of Frank Peter Zimmermann’s repertoire are the great violin concertos. ‘I always go over the works I’ve often played as if I had never known them, seeking for fresh perspectives,’ he says.

Joseph ​Szigeti​
Joseph ​Szigeti​

In 1969, he published his treatise on violin playing, Szigeti on the Violin. In it Szigeti presents his opinions about the then-current state of violin playing and the various challenges and issues facing musicians in the modern world, as well as a detailed examination of violin technique as he understood it. A recurring theme in the first part is the changing nature of violinist’s lives during Szigeti’s later years.

Leonid Kogan​
Leonid Kogan​

Leonid Borisovich Kogan was a preeminent Soviet violinist during the 20th century. Many consider him to be among the greatest violinists of the 20th century. In particular, he is considered to have been one of the greatest representatives of the Soviet School of violin playing.

Henryk ​Szeryng​
Henryk ​Szeryng​

In his autobiography I Really Should Be Practicing, pianist Gary Graffman warmly recalls his chamber music collaborations with violinist Henryk Szeryng.

image: discogs.com
Zino ​Francescatti​
Zino ​Francescatti​

A version of this biography; obituary appears in print on September 18, 1991, on Page A00020 of the National edition with the headline: Zino Francescatti Is Dead at 89; Violinist Renowned for Lyricism.

source: nytimes.com
image: flickr.com
Tasmin Little​
Tasmin Little​

Today is English concert violinist Tasmin Little's birthday!

Sayaka Shoji​
Sayaka Shoji​

Who are the top five living violinists performing today? ... Joshua Bell, Sarah Chang (prodigy), Sayaka Shoji and etc. but the above 4 are some I deem to be most fit ...

source: quora.com
Vanessa-Mae​
Vanessa-Mae​

Vanessa-Mae (陈美 Chén Měi) (born 27 October 1978) also called Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson, is a British violinist with album sales reaching several million, having made her the wealthiest entertainer under 30 in the United Kingdom in 2006.