Listening Essentials

Listening to great music inspires us to create such music ourselves. Because there exists such a plethora of wonderful music to engage with, I am compiling a list of what I call 'essentials' - pieces or artists you simply cannot miss. I hope you will enjoy exploring these pieces and learn something from the artists that perform them. I also hope you will share pieces and performers with me that you discover as well.
Suzuki Violin and Viola Repertoire

Because I use the Suzuki repertoire for nearly all of my students, I encourage you to listen to what you are learning! There are both cds and digital downloads available. For a list of available downloads, please visit ​www.alfred.com/suzuki-method/suzuki-audio-downloads/ .
Viola Concerti

Bartok: Viola Concerto
Hindemith: Der Schwandndreher
Walton: Viola Concerto
Stamitz: Viola Concerto in D Major
Hoffmeister: Viola Concerto
J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto no. 6
Berlioz: Harold in Italy
Telemann: Viola Concerto in G Major

Viola Sonatas

Vieuxtemps: Viola Sonata
Rebecca Clarke: Viola Sonata
Bax: Viola Sonata
Hindemith: Op. 11 No. 4
Hindemith: Op. 25 No. 1
Brahms: E-flat Sonata
Brahms: F Viola Sonata
Schubert: Arpeggione
Shostakovich: Viola Sonata
Ligeti: Viola Sonata

Other Viola Works

J.S. Bach: Cello Suites 1-6
Schumann: Märchenbilder
Bruch: Romanze
Bruch: Kol Nedrei
Glazunov: Elegy
Vieuxtemps: Capriccio
Britten: Lachrymae
Penderecki: Cadenza
​Joan Tower: Wild Purple
Violin Concerti

Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D
Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor
Barber: Violin Concerto Op. 14
Bartok: Violin Concerto No. 2
Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1
Mozart: Concerto No. 5
Korngold: Violin Concerto in D Major
Paganini: Concerto No. 1 in D Major and in and B minor
Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1
Dvorak: Violin Concerto in A minor
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2
Wieniawski: Violin Concerto in D minor
Vieuxtemps: Violin Concerti Nos. 4 and 5
Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole for Violin
Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto in B minor
Haydn: Violin Concerti in G Major and C Major
Bach: Violin Concerto in E major, Violin Concerto in A minor, Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, “Brandenburg” Concerti
Vivaldi: “L’estro Harmonico”

Violin Sonatas

Beethoven: Violin Sonata no. 5 and 9
Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1, 2, and 3
Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor
Frank: Violin Sonata
J.S. Bach: Violin Sonatas 1-3
J.S. Bach: Violin Partitas 1-3
Ysaye: 6 Sonatas
Mozart: Sonatas K301, 304, 376, 526

Other Violin Works

Ravel: Tzigane
Tais: Meditation
Sarasate: Carmen Fantasy
Sarasate: Zigunerweisen
Saint-Saens: Introduction and Rondo
Bartok: Romanian Dances
Dvorak: Romance in f minor, Op. 11
Sarasate: Havanaise, Op. 83
Kreisler: Praeludium and Allegro
​Sarasate: Zapateado
Orchestral Works

​Strauss: Zarathustra
Mahler: Symphony no. 1, 2, 4, 5, 9
Mozart: Symphony Concertante
Shostakovich: Symphony no. 5 and 9
Beethoven: Symphony no. 5, 6, 7, and 9
Holst: The Planets
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Ravel: Daphnes et Chloe
Debussy: La Mer
Mozart: Symphony No. 35, 39, 40, 41
Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World"
Dvorak: Slavonic Dances
Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade
Schoenberg: 5 Orchestral Pieces
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5
Elgar: Enigma Variations
Brahms: Symphony No. 2 and 3
Brahms: Hungarian Dances
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6
Copland: Appalachian Spring
​Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Prokofiev : “Peter and the Wolf”
Britten: “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”
Bach: “Brandenburg” Concerto No. 3
Haydn: Symphony No. 94 “Surprise”
Schubert: “Unfinished” Symphony
Tchaikovsky :“The Nutcracker”
Grieg: Holberg Suite
Mendelssohn: Overture to “Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Prokofiev :“Classical” Symphony
Ravel: “Bolero”
Copland: “Appalachian Spring”
Wagner: Overture to “Tristan and Isolde”
Strauss: “Till Eulenspiegel”
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra
Stravinsky: “The Firebird”, “The Rite of Spring”
Piazzolla: “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires”
Ligeti: “Lontano”
Berio: “Sinfonia”
Chamber Works

Dvorak: "American" String Quartet, Piano Quintet in AM, Op. 81
Schubert: Death and the Maiden Quartet (No. 14 in d minor), String Quartets, Cello Quintet, Lieder, Voice and Piano
Debussy: Harp Trio
Borodin: String Quartet
Beethoven: String Quartets, Piano Trios
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 3 and 8
Britten: String Quartet No. 2
Schumann: Piano Quintet No. 2
Haydn: String Quartets
Mozart: String Quartets, Piano Quartets, String Quintets
Ravel: String Quartet, Piano Trio
Janacek: String Quartet No. 2 “Intimate Letters”
Barber: String Quartet
Bartok: Quartet No. 3, "Contrasts" for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano
Schoenberg: “Verklarte Nacht”, “Pierrot Lunaire”
Mendelssohn: String Quartets, Octet
Faure: Piano Trio
Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Songs Op. 91 for Viola, Voice,
and Piano
Stravinsky: “A Soldier’s Tale”



Additional Pieces

Copland: Clarinet Concerto
Ravel: Violin and Cello Sonata
Elgar: Cello Concerto
Bernstein: Westside Story Suite
Bizet: Carmen
Erroll Garner: Misty - Jazz Standard
Charlie Parker: Yardbird Suite
Artists to Emulate
Violin
Hilary Hahn
Itzhak Perlman
Midori
Leonidas Kavakos
Joshua Bell
Ann-Sophie Mutter
Gil Shaham
Janine Jansen
Nicola Benedetti
Sara Chang
Christian Tetzlaff
Pinchas Zuckerman
Ida Haendel
Nikolaj Znaider
Frank Peter Zimmermann
Julia Fischer

Jascha Heifetz
Fritz Kreisler
Yehudi Menuhin
David Oistrakh
Isaac Stern
​Eugene Ysaye
Fritz Kreisler
Nathan Milstein
Michael Rabin
Henryk Szeryng
Arthur Grumiaux
Ginette Neveu
Emanuel Vardi
Mischa Elman
Viola
Tabea Zimmermann
Antoine Tamistit
Nobuko Imai
Kim Kashkashian
Cynthia Phelps
Paul Neubauer
Lawrence Power
Roberto Diaz
Atar Arad
David Carpenter
Lillian Fuchs

William Primrose
Lionel Tertis
Paul Hindemith
​Karen Tuttle
Quartet
Emerson String Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Takacs Quartet
Borodin Quartet
Arditti Quartet
Guaneri Quartet
Cleveland Quartet
Tokyo Quartet
Orchestra
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
New York Philharmonic
Cleveland Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
Los Angeles Philharmonic
​London Philharmonic
Articles on this topic:
Viola:
Violin: