{"id":50977,"date":"2025-01-02T14:42:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T13:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a229514a-b3f1-4142-a468-4b67b14db3ca"},"modified":"2025-01-02T16:09:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T15:09:25","slug":"best-violin-concertos-15-of-the-finest-works-ever-composed-for-violin-and-orchestra","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/best-violin-concertos-15-of-the-finest-works-ever-composed-for-violin-and-orchestra\/","title":{"rendered":"Best violin concertos – 15 of the finest works ever composed for violin and orchestra"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 02 January 2025 at 13:42 PM<\/p>

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Since its first appearance in northern Italy in the early 16th century, the violin<\/strong><\/a> has been an absolute cornerstone of the classical music repertoire. And, as befitting such a central instrument, the violin has had a huge number of concertos<\/a><\/strong> written for it. Here are some of the very best violin concertos.<\/p>

<\/div> <\/figure> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-best-violin-concertos-of-all-time\">Contents<\/h2> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"#18c\">Best violin concertos: the 18th century<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"#earlyRomantics\">The early Romantics<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"#lateRomantics\">The late Romantics<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"#20c\">The 20th century<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"#contemporary\">The best contemporary violin concertos<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"18c\">Best violin concertos: the 18th century<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bach-violin-concerto-in-a-minor\">Bach: Violin Concerto in A minor (1717-23)<\/h3> <p>Either one of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/johann-sebastian-bach\/\"><strong>Bach’s<\/strong><\/a> two concertos for solo violin could have made our list, as could the wonderful Concerto for Two Violins. If pushed, we might just select the A minor Concerto, which is blessed with one of classical music’s most arresting openings, with the violin grabbing the music by the scruff of the neck shortly after the orchestral introduction.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/bach-for-beginners\">Bach for beginners: the recordings to help you discover Bach<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p>The slow movement is sighingly beautiful, and then there’s that wonderfully carefree, exuberant Finale \u2013 in the style of a Gigue, in case you’re wondering.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Hilary Hahn (violin), Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra \/ Jeffrey Kahane (Deutsche Grammophon)<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B000099156\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy Bach Violin Concertos from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-vivaldi-the-four-seasons\">Vivaldi: <em>The Four Seasons<\/em> (1718-20)<\/h3> <p>This one is, in fact, four violin concertos \u2013 one for each season \u2013 but it’s so well known and loved as one integral piece of music that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/antonio-vivaldi\/\"><strong>Vivaldi’s<\/strong><\/a> endlessly inventive <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/five-unusual-interpretations-vivaldis-four-seasons\">Four Seasons<\/a><\/strong><\/em> has to make our list.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/the-best-recordings-of-vivaldis-the-four-seasons\/\"><strong>The best recordings of Vivaldi’s <em>The Four Seasons<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-classical-music-autumn\">Best classical music inspired by autumn, from Vivaldi to Tchaikovsky<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p>Across its many musical depictions \u2013 from buzzing flies to goatherds snoozing in the sun \u2013 Vivaldi’s famous suite of violin concertos constitutes one of the greatest pieces of musical scene-painting in the entire canon.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/vivaldi-the-four-seasons-plus-concerto-for-strings-and-violin-concertos\/\">Rachel Podger (violin), Brecon Baroque (Channel Classics): our review<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B0794MC75P\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy Vivaldi’s <em>Four Seasons<\/em> from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (Orquesta Reino de Arag\u00f3n)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4rgSzQwe5DQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mozart-violin-concerto-no-5\">Mozart: Violin Concerto No.5 (1775)<\/h3> <p>Which of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/mozart\/\"><strong>Mozart’s<\/strong><\/a> five Violin Concertos to choose for our list? Well, we’ve opted (by a whisker) for the Fifth Concerto. That’s partly because the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/what-instruments-make-up-an-orchestra\">orchestra<\/a><\/strong> has more to do in this final concerto, where in the other four it has largely accompanied the violin part. But there’s also that memorable Finale, with its so-called ‘Turkish’ elements: a nod to a contemporary craze for all things Ottoman.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/mozart-violin-concertos-nos-3-5-symphony-no-29\/\">Sebastian Bohren (violin), CHAARTS Chamber Artists \/ G\u00e1bor Tak\u00e1cs-Nagy (Avie): our review<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"earlyRomantics\">Best violin concertos: the early Romantics<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-beethoven-violin-concerto\">Beethoven: Violin Concerto (1806)<\/h3> <p>Fascinatingly, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/ludwig-van-beethoven\/\"><strong>Beethoven’s<\/strong><\/a> essay in this genre remained lost in obscurity for several decades after its first performance 1806. That all changed when the great violinist Joseph Joachim gave a series of performances of the work, conducted by a certain Felix Mendelssohn.<\/p> <p>The concerto’s first movement is long and relatively peaceful, and the Larghetto verges on the ethereal. The final movement, a Rondo, makes a decisive break with this air of contemplation. Beginning with a famous ‘hunting horn’ theme, it’s a joyous and boisterous finale to one of the more serene violin concertos in the repertoire.<\/p> <div class=\"wp-block-group highlight-box is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"> <div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\"> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/10-great-beethoven-performers\/\">10 great Beethoven performers<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/top-20-beethoven-works\/\">The top 20 Beethoven works<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <\/div> <\/div> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/james-ehnes-performs-violin-concertos-beethoven-schubert-warmth-and-sweetness\/\">James Ehnes (violin), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic \/ Andrew Manze (Onyx). Our review.<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Itzhak Perlman \u2013 Beethoven: Violin Concerto (with Daniel Barenboim, Berliner Philharmoniker)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cokCgWPRZPg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-mendelssohn-violin-concerto\">Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (1844)<\/h3> <p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-melody\">melody<\/a><\/strong> that opens <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/felix-mendelssohn\/\"><strong>Felix Mendelssohn’s<\/strong><\/a> Violin Concerto in E Minor, once heard, is never forgotten. Other composers begin their concertos with an orchestral introduction before the soloist comes in. Not Mendelssohn here: the violin come straight in with a plangent, surging melody that immediately grips the listener.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <\/figure> <p>The second and third movements are, in their way, just as memorable. The former, a soulful <strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-andante\">Andante<\/a><\/em><\/strong>, features a simple yet memorable melody that has all the songfulness and expressivity of an operatic <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-aria\">aria<\/a><\/strong>. The finale, meanwhile, has some of the same quicksilver energy of Mendelssohn’s much-loved <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-overture\">overture<\/a><\/strong> to Shakespeare’s <em>A Midsummer Night’s Dream<\/em>.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/classical-music-inspired-shakespeare\">These 11 Shakespeare plays have inspired some of the greatest music ever written<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/orchestral\/mendelssohn-violin-concertos-nov-12\">Alina Ibragimova (violin), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment \/ Vladimir Jurowski (Hyperion). Our review.<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B008R3JMA6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy Mendelssohn Violin Concerto from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-schumann-violin-concerto\">Schumann: Violin Concerto (1853)<\/h3> <p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/robert-schumann\">Robert Schumann<\/a><\/strong>‘s last completed work, the Violin Concerto in D minor is a wild, impulsive creation, and it’s easy to make the case for it being the product of an unquiet mind. It also had an extraordinary genesis, involving <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/schumann-violin-concerto\">ouija boards, messages from beyond the grave, Nazi propaganda<\/a><\/strong> and more.<\/p> <p>This most unsettled yet absorbing of all violin concertos is fiendishly difficult to play… yet also groundbreaking, with its cyclic structure (the second subject of the first movement is then softly suggested in the slow movement before transforming into the finale’s main theme). The slow movement itself can suggest a sense of dislocation, of searching in vain for a focal point. This questing, however, also gives the movement its heartbreaking beauty.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/schumann-suicide-attempt\">Schumann’s suicide attempt: how mental illness and money woes pushed a great composer close to the edge<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Christian Tetzlaff (violin), Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra\/Paavo J\u00e4rvi (Ondine ODE11952).<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B005OZDY5O\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><strong>Buy Schumann Violin Concerto from Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/li> <\/ul> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"lateRomantics\">Best violin concertos: the late Romantics<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bruch-violin-concerto\">Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 (1866)<\/h3> <p>Some composers seem to achieve a heightened level of expressive power in one particular medium. That certainly seems to be the case with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/max-bruch\/\"><strong>Max Bruch<\/strong><\/a>, whose three Symphonies are pleasant if unspectacular, but whose Violin Concerto is one of the pinnacles of the form.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"\/> <p>The work opens in exhilarating style, with a quiet dialogue between soloist and orchestra. The violin grows in confidence, eventually unfurling its main theme over a taut, expectant background of timpani and <em>tremolando<\/em> strings. That main theme is filled with a sense of \u2013 what? \u2013 foreboding, or mystery; the second theme is a sweeter, more lyrical affair.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/worlds-best-orchestras\/\">The world’s best orchestras<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p>The middle movement has some of the power and emotion of the <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-adagio-in-music\">Adagio<\/a><\/strong><\/em> from Mendelssohn’s concerto, before matters are rounded up with a typically exuberant showcase finale.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/barber-bruch-vaughan-williams-violin-concertos\">Sonoko Miriam Welde (violin); Oslo Philharmonic\/Tabita Berglund (Lawo Classics). Our review.<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-brahms-violin-concerto\">Brahms: Violin Concerto (1878)<\/h3> <p>We’ve already come across Joseph Joachim, above, as the man who helped bring Beethoven’s previously neglected Violin Concerto back into the limelight. The Hungarian <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/greatest-virtuosos-all-time\">virtuoso<\/a><\/strong> also played a key role in another big-hitting German violin work: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/johannes-brahms\/\"><strong>Brahms’s<\/strong><\/a> only concerto for the instrument.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/niccolo-paganini\">The dazzling virtuoso rumoured to be in league with the devil<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-of-brahms\">Best of Brahms: 15 extraordinary works<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"\/> <p>Brahms had promised Joachim a showcase concerto for many years. It finally took the success of the composer’s Second Symphony for him to get around to finishing a work for violin and orchestra. But it was worth the wait.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Brahms: Violinkonzert \u2219 hr-Sinfonieorchester \u2219 Hilary Hahn \u2219 Paavo J\u00e4rvi\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UFl9xuYP5T8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"\/> <p>Like the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/symphony\">symphony<\/a><\/strong> on whose heels it followed, Brahms’s Violin Concerto is essentially an emotional and lyrical work, with moments of profound beauty \u2013 like the beautiful, sighing theme that interrupts the spikier sections of the opening movement at regular intervals.<\/p> <p>We got a great rendition of the Brahms Violin Concerto at the 2024 BBC Proms. Legendary German violinist <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/anne-sophie-mutter\">Anne-Sophie Mutter<\/a><\/strong> performed the work, accompanied by <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/daniel-barenboim\">Daniel Barenboim<\/a><\/strong> and the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/what-west-eastern-divan-orchestra\">West-Eastern Divan Orchestra<\/a><\/strong>, for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/news\/bbc-proms-today-11-august-2024\">Prom 31<\/a><\/strong> on Sunday 11 August.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Jack Liebeck (violin), <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/bbc-symphony-orchestra\">BBC Symphony Orchestra<\/a><\/strong> \/ Andrew Gourlay (Orchid Classics). <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/schoenberg-brahms-violin-concertos\">Here’s our review<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tchaikovsky-violin-concerto\">Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto (1878)<\/h3> <p>Gosh, but 1878 was a good year for the violin concerto. Two great works by two great <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/composer-rivalries\">rivals<\/a><\/strong> burst forth onto a grateful world that year. First the Brahms above, then…<\/p> <p>With its high drama, unabashed emotionalism, rhythmic verve and sackful of good tunes, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/pyotr-ilyich-tchaikovsky\/\"><strong>Tchaikovsky’s<\/strong><\/a> might be the ideal violin concerto to unleash upon a classical music newcomer.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"\/> <p>Not that the 19th-century critic Eduard Hanslick would have agreed, mind. Hanslick, conservative in his tastes, labelled the concerto ‘stinking music’. Then again, Hanslick was famously close to Brahms, who had written his own violin concerto at around the same time. Tchaikovsky had been unimpressed with the latter.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"605\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2025\/01\/Untitled-design-2025-01-02T121153.380.jpg\" alt=\"Tchaikovsky violin concerto\" class=\"wp-image-217780\"\/> <\/figure> <p>Unfettered by this musical tribalism, we can recognise the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/best-recordings-tchaikovskys-violin-concerto\/\"><strong>Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto<\/strong><\/a> for what it is: a hugely powerful, energetic and melodic piece of music in which the violin is used to beautiful, song-like effect across all three movements.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/who-is-patricia-kopatchinskaja\">Patricia Kopatchinskaja<\/a><\/strong> (violin), MusicAeterna \/ Teodor Currentzis (Sony). <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/patricia-kopatchinskaja-plays-tchaikovsky-s-violin-concerto\/\">Here’s our review of this marvellous disc<\/a><\/strong>, which also features <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/igor-stravinsky\">Stravinsky<\/a><\/strong>‘s <em>Les Noces<\/em>.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"\/> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-dvorak-violin-concerto\">Dvo\u0159\u00e1k: Violin Concerto (1883)<\/h3> <p>The outer movements of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/antonin-dvorak\/\"><strong>Dvor\u00e1k’s<\/strong><\/a> fiddle concerto, while pleasant enough, don’t rank up there among the Czech composer’s finest work. However, it wins a place in our rundown of great violin concertos thanks to its entrancing slow movement. This begins with a haunting melody played by the violin: the moment, near the end of the movement, when this theme gets another runout (courtesy of the full orchestra this time) is a piece of pure Dvo\u0159\u00e1kian magic.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/the-ten-best-czech-composers\/\">Ten best Czech composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/rachel-barton-pine\">Rachel Barton Pine<\/a><\/strong> (violin), Royal Scottish National Orchestra \/ Teddy Abrams (Avie). <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/dvorak-khachaturian-violin-concertos\">Here’s our verdict<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-sibelius-violin-concerto\">Sibelius: Violin Concerto (1904-05)<\/h3> <p>We’ve entered the 20th century by now, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/jean-sibelius\/\"><strong>Sibelius’<\/strong><\/a> 1904 concerto (and the next one in our list) can sit safely in the Romantic section of our list, as it’s one of the most unashamedly Romantic works in the repertoire. Each of the three movements is bewitching in its own way.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-romantic-composers\">The greatest Romantic composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p>The opening movement features a long-breathed, haunting melody, faintly Slavic in flavour, with certain passages that reach a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-a-rhapsody\">rhapsodic<\/a><\/strong> intensity. There’s then a rather becalmed, reflective <em>Adagio<\/em>, before a terrifically exciting finale that has been compared to the sound of polar bears dancing on the snow.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sibelius Violin Concerto - Maxim Vengerov, Daniel Barenboim, Chicago S.O. (CSO)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YsbrRAgv1b4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p>Initially slow to gain recognition, Sibelius’ composition is now recognised as one of the very finest violin concertos ever written. A good performance can transport you effortlessly to the snowy wastes of northern Finland.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/lisa-batiashvili-performs-violin-concertos-sibelius-and-tchaikovsky\">Lisa Batiashvili (violin), Staatskapelle Berlin \/ Daniel Barenboim (Deutsche Grammophon)<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B01JQZ6T8Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy Sibelius Violin Concerto from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-elgar-violin-concerto\">Elgar: Violin Concerto (1910)<\/h3> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/edward-elgar\/\"><strong>Elgar’s<\/strong><\/a> concerto for the instrument is a substantial work, with a typical performance clocking in somewhere around the 50-minute mark. It’s also one of the most moving pieces written for violin and orchestra, with that recognisable Elgar solemnity mixed with some dazzling solo writing.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Edward Elgar: Concerto for violin and orchestra, Hilary Hahn\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9rCVW_4qwRY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p>It’s also a challenging piece for the soloist, with its constant multiple-stopping and rapid shifts around the instrument. The composer himself made a recording with a young <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/memories-menuhin\">Yehudi Menuhin<\/a><\/strong>, which has remained in the catalogues ever since it went on sale back in 1932.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Thomas Zehetmair (violin), <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/halle-orchestra\">Hall\u00e9 Orchestra<\/a><\/strong> \/ <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/mark-elder\">Mark Elder<\/a><\/strong> (Hall\u00e9). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/orchestral\/elgar-violin-concerto\/\"><strong>Here’s what we thought<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"20c\">Best violin concertos: the 20th century<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-prokofiev-violin-concerto-no-1\">Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.1 (1915)<\/h3> <p>When it comes to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/sergey-prokofiev\/\"><strong>Prokofiev’s<\/strong><\/a> two violin concertos, it’s quite difficult to nominate one over the other. Both are wonderfully dramatic, beautiful, and both rhythmically and tonally adventurous as you’d expect from this composer. The Second has that hypnotic middle movement: however, we’ll take the First, for the first movement’s tangy <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-harmony-in-music\">harmonies<\/a><\/strong> and abrasive <em>sul ponticello<\/em> sections.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Vadim Gluzman (violin), Estonian National Symphony Orchestra \/ Neeme J\u00e4rvi (BIS). Read our review <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/vadim-guzman-performs-prokofievs-violin-concertos-nos-1-2\/\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-berg-violin-concerto\">Berg: Violin Concerto (1935)<\/h3> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/alban-berg\/\"><strong>Alban Berg<\/strong><\/a> may be best known as one of the proponents, alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/anton-von-webern\/\"><strong>Anton von Webern<\/strong><\/a> and their teacher <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/arnold-schoenberg\/\"><strong>Arnold Schoenberg<\/strong><\/a>, of the Second Viennese School \u2013 a musical movement that travelled from late-Romantic tonality into a chromatic, often atonal Expressionism. Some of this music can seem thorny and inaccessible.<\/p> <p>The sublime Violin Concerto, however, is Berg at his most emotional, and it is a quite beautiful work \u2013 one of the most unashamedly romantic and expressive such pieces from the 20th century.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"\/> <p>Written on the death of Manon Gropius, the 18-year-old daughter of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/who-was-alma-mahler\/\"><strong>Alma Mahler<\/strong><\/a> and the architect Walter Gropius, Berg’s Violin Concerto achieves a sublime synthesis between traditional tonality and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-serialism\">Serialism<\/a><\/strong>, the 12-note system espoused by the Second Viennese School.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"\/> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> James Ehnes (violin), BBC Symphony Orchestra \/ <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/conductor-andrew-davis-1944-2024\">Andrew Davis<\/a><\/strong> (Chandos). Read <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/orchestral\/berg-three-pieces-for-orchestra-passacaglia-etc\">Misha Donat’s review<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-barber-violin-concerto\">Barber: Violin Concerto (1939)<\/h3> <p>When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/samuel-barber\/\"><strong>Samuel Barber’s<\/strong><\/a> Violin Concerto was premiered in 1941, 20th-century Modernism was at something of a high water mark in classical music. However, you wouldn’t know it from this beautiful, lyrical concerto, which looks back to composers such as Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/sergey-rachmaninov\/\"><strong>Rachmaninov<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><a class=\"standard-card-new__article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/barbers-violin-concerto-best-recordings\/\"><strong>Barber’s Violin Concerto: three of the best recordings<\/strong><\/a><\/li> <\/ul> <p>The first movement is sweet-toned and vigorous; the second has a plangent quality that can bring out goose pimples in the right performance, and a major-key resolution that can feel quite overwhelming.<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Gil Shaham | Barber: Violin Concerto\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/arZzczeU_0c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Gil Shaham (violin), <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/the-london-symphony-orchestra-five-famous-conductors\">London Symphony Orchestra<\/a><\/strong> \/ <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/artists\/andre-previn\">Andr\u00e9 Previn<\/a><\/strong> (Deutsche Grammophon).<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bacewicz-violin-concerto-no-3\">Bacewicz: Violin Concerto No.3 (1948)<\/h3> <p>The Polish composer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/six-best-works-grazyna-bacewicz\/\"><strong>Gra\u017cyna Bacewicz<\/strong><\/a> wrote no fewer than seven violin concertos, although the Sixth was not published or performed during her lifetime. Among these, it’s quite hard to pick a favourite, though we’ll opt for the Third for its expressive qualities, constant tonal and rhythmic surprises, and successful incorporations of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/what-is-folk-music\">folk music<\/a><\/strong> styles. Something for fans of Prokofiev, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/bela-bartok\">Bart\u00f3k<\/a><\/strong>, Szymanowski and other adventurous 20th-century fiddle concertos.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/polish-composers\">The best Polish composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Joanna Kurkowicz (violin), Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra \/ \u0141ukasz Borowicz (Chandos). Here’s our glowing review of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/orchestral\/bacewicz-violin-concertos-nos-2-4-5\">companion disc<\/a><\/strong>, featuring Concertos 2, 4 and 5.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/dp\/B002BZET5O\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Buy Bacewicz Violin Concerto from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-best-violin-concertos-korngold-ligeti-mendelssohn-and-more\">Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No.1 (1948)<\/h3> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/dmitri-shostakovich\/\"><strong>Shostakovich<\/strong><\/a> wrote two Violin Concertos: the Second is an understated piece that offers up its rewards slowly, but the First is immediately apparent as one of the greatest works ever written for violin and orchestra. In particular, the third movement \u2013 a deeply felt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/discovering-music-passacaglia\/\"><strong>passacaglia<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 contains music of transcendent beauty. The searching, introspective violin melody, once heard, is never forgotten.<\/p> <p>A challenging piece for the soloist, Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto is instantly accessible to the listener.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/concerto\/shostakovichs-violin-concertos-nos-1-2-performed-david-oistrakh\">David Oistrakh (violin), Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra \/ Yevgeny Mravinsky<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"contemporary\">Best violin concertos: contemporary<\/h2> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ligeti-violin-concerto\">Ligeti: Violin Concerto (1989-93)<\/h3> <p>First performed in 1990, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/composers\/gyorgy-ligeti\/\"><strong>Gy\u00f6rgy Ligeti’s<\/strong><\/a> Violin Concerto can be a bewildering experience for the first-time listener \u2013 in particular its outer movements, where Eastern European folk themes are mixed with more otherworldly effects and where the musical argument can be difficult to follow at times.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"\/> <p>Our regular contributor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/author\/stephenjohnson\/\"><strong>Stephen Johnson<\/strong><\/a> has called the concerto ‘a kind of cornucopia of effects and techniques, a wild collage of atmospheres and colours’ that employs ‘<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/musical-terms\/microtones\">microtonality<\/a><\/strong>, rapidly changing textures, comic juxtapositions… Hungarian folk melodies, Bulgarian dance rhythms, references to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/medieval-music-guide\">Medieval<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/a-guide-to-renaissance-music\">Renaissance<\/a><\/strong> music and solo violin writing that ranges from the slow-paced and sweet-toned to the angular and fiery.’<\/p> <figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"> <div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ligeti: Violin Concerto \/ Kopatchinskaja \u00b7 Rattle \u00b7 Berliner Philharmoniker\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dtnEyAKkpc8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/div> <\/figure> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-medieval-composers\">Best Medieval composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-renaissance-composers\">The Renaissance era’s greatest composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> Agustin Hadelich (violin), Norwegian Radio Orchestra \/ Miguel Harth-Bedoya (Warner Classics).<\/p> <h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-higdon-violin-concerto\">Jennifer Higdon: Violin Concerto (2008)<\/h3> <p>Composed for the violinist Hilary Hahn<a title=\"Pulitzer Prize for Music\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Music\">,<\/a> the Violin Concerto by American composer Jennifer Higdon opens with playful harmonics, followed by some ethereal <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/percussion-instruments\">percussion<\/a><\/strong> effects. The gutsy violin part achieves a perfect balance with the orchestra throughout.<\/p> <ul class=\"wp-block-list\"> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/best-american-composers-ever\">Greatest American composers<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-percussion-music\">The best percussion music<\/a><\/strong><\/li> <\/ul> <p>The second movement, \u2018Chaconni\u2019, develops from a series of repeated chord progressions, through which the soloist weaves energetic filigrees. Then there’s a final movement, inspired by the fantasy of Hahn running her way to an Olympic medal, is full of energy and rhythmic verve.<\/p> <p><strong>Recommended recording:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/orchestral\/higdon-tchaikovsky-violin-concertos\">Hilary Hahn (violin), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra \/ Vasily Petrenko (Deutsche Grammophon)<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Thursday, 02 January 2025 at 13:42 PM Since its first appearance in northern Italy in the early 16th century, the violin has been an absolute cornerstone of the classical music repertoire. And, as befitting such a central instrument, the violin has had a huge number of concertos written for it. Here are some […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":50978,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"12"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2025\/01\/best-violin-concertos-15-of-the-finest-works-ever-composed-for-violin-and-orchestra.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2025\/01\/best-violin-concertos-15-of-the-finest-works-ever-composed-for-violin-and-orchestra-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2025\/01\/best-violin-concertos-15-of-the-finest-works-ever-composed-for-violin-and-orchestra-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2025\/01\/best-violin-concertos-15-of-the-finest-works-ever-composed-for-violin-and-orchestra-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2025\/01\/best-violin-concertos-15-of-the-finest-works-ever-composed-for-violin-and-orchestra-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2025\/01\/best-violin-concertos-15-of-the-finest-works-ever-composed-for-violin-and-orchestra.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2025\/01\/best-violin-concertos-15-of-the-finest-works-ever-composed-for-violin-and-orchestra.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Thursday, 02 January 2025 at 13:42 PM Since its first appearance in northern Italy in the early 16th century, the violin has been an absolute cornerstone of the classical music repertoire. And, as befitting such a central instrument, the violin has had a huge number of concertos written for it. Here are some…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/50977"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}