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/ .
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:
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