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.
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 Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 Dvorak: Violin Concerto in A minor Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 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. 5 mv. 4 Mahler: Symphony no. 9 mv. 2 Mozart: Symphony Concertante Shostakovich: Symphony no. 5 and 9 Beethoven: Symphony no. 5 and 9 Holst: The Planets Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition Ravel: Daphnes et Chloe Debussy: La Mer Mozart: Symphony No. 40 Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 Dvorak: Slavonic Dances Rimsky-Korsakov: Sheherazade Schoenberg: 5 Orchestral Pieces Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 Elgar: Enigma Variations Brahms: Symphony No. 3 Brahms: Hungarian Dances Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 Copland: Appalachian Spring Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine |
Chamber Works
Dvorak: String Quartet Schubert: Death and the Maiden Quartet/Quintet? Debussy: Harp Trio Borodin: String Quartet Beethoven: Shostakovich: Quartet No. 3 and 8 Britten: String Quartet No. 2 Schumann: Piano Quintet No. 2 Additional Pieces Copland: Clarinet Concerto Ravel: Violin and Cello Sonata Elgar: Cello Concerto Bernstein: Westside Story Suite Bizet: Carmen Misty - Jazz Standard 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 Jascha Heifetz Fritz Kreisler Yehudi Menuhin David Oistrakh Isaac Stern Eugene Ysaye |
Viola
Tabea Zimmermann Antoine Tamistit Nobuko Imai Kim Kashkashian Cynthia Phelps Paul Neubauer Lawrence Power Roberto Diaz Atar Arad David Carpenter 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:
Viola:
- "The 7 best pieces EVER written for the viola" www.classicfm.com/discover-music/best-pieces-viola/, from classicfm published February 4, 2019
- "Five of the best pieces for the viola" www.classical-music.com/features/articles/five-best-pieces-viola/ , from BBC Music Magazine published September 5, 2018
- "10 Great Classical Viola Music - Music for Viola" www.cmuse.org/classical-viola-music/ , from CMUSE published September 25, 2017
- "Viola essentials: 10 pieces you should know" www.cbc.ca/music/viola-essentials-10-pieces-you-should-know-1.5035458, from CBC published January 15, 2019
Violin:
- "These are factually the 17 best violin pieces in existance" https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/violin/features/best-violin-pieces/, from classicfm published December 8, 2016
- "36 Best Violin Solos of All Time (played by 36 different violin soloists)" https://violinlounge.com/article/36-best-violin-solos-of-all-time-played-by-36-different-violinist-soloists/, from Violin Lounge published June 1, 2022