For our Practice Contest this year, we are earning “Music Points” that can be redeemed for online music ordering.  I thought I’d put up a brainstorm list of music you might enjoy.  There’s everything here from the most classic of classical to fiddle, jazz, and contemporary covers but all of it is in one way or another violin-related.

Please note that you are NOT limited to this list in making your selections—there is so much great music out there that this could only be a starting point, but hopefully it will provide some inspiration and ideas you might not come across on your own.

My personal favorites or recording a lot of students have enjoyed are marked with * as Top Picks.

Albums that are under 50 music points (as of January 2015) are noted.

Also please note that I have not listened to every single recording by every artist.  If I think there’s anything that might require a parental double check I’ll note it with a question mark. 🙂

Classic series:

25 Classics series–here’s one link there should be a whole bunch of related links at the bottom to take you to a whole series of works and composers.  60 pts apiece as of January 2015

Rise of the Masters series–download only, 22 pts apiece.  Again, the link here is to one and there are a whole bunch of other recordings in the series linked below.

Violin Masters:

• Jascha Heifetz. The master.
• Stephane Grappelli  Classic jazz violin
• Arthur Grumiaux
• Yehudi Menuhin
• *Nathan Milstein   Fabulous Bach!
• David Nadien
• Ginette Neveu
• *David Oistrakh  One of my very favorite violinists!
• Joseph Szigeti

 

Contemporary Violinists

• Rachel Barton-Pine–Classical, rock, new music.  She’s a Chicagoan too!
• Joshua Bell–Classical, crossover.  *Romance of the Violin, The Kreisler Collection–both are just great listening!  First is pretty, second is fun.
• Sarah Chang–Classical
• Hilary Hahn–Classical, new music, improv.  Hahn does a lot of interesting and varied stuff.  For classics, try *Hilary Hahn Plays Bach, *Barber and Meyer Concertos (love this one) or Mendelssohn/Shostakovitch (Shostakovitch is not an easy listen but really deep and fascinating.)  For something more adventurous, try Silfra (all improvisation) or 27 Encores which are all brand new works.
• Daniel Hope–Classical.  *East Meets West–Rumanian Folk Dances and Indian ragas!
• Midori–Classical
• Anne-Sophie Mutter–Classical.  (I noticed she also has several recording under 40 pts–check them out?)
• Natalie McMaster–Fiddle
• Mark O’Connor–Fiddle, jazz, fusion.  *Appalachian Waltz with Yo-Yo Ma and Edgar Meyer
• Itzhak Perlman–Classical, film.  *Cinema Serenade–classic film music arranged for violin.  *The Perlman Edition–includes two of my all-time favorite concerti (Korngold was one of the first composers for movies!) and the Sinding Suite is pretty much one of my favorite works for violin, ever. 🙂
• Aaron Rosand
• Gil Shaham–Classical.  His sound. Is. Amazing.
• Lara St John–Classical, folk.  I’d like to listen to more of her stuff, but this one looked fun.
• Maxim Vengerov–Classical.  *I love his Sibelius Concerto

Contemporary acts/ensembles

• Piano Guys 50 pts
• *Time for Three? (Fabulous sound, some content may be a little grown-up)
• Lindsey Stirling
• David Garrett
• Vitamix String Quartet
• 2Cellos?–Have seen some cool stuff from them on Youtube, but noticed recordings include some cover titles that parents might want to double check 50 pts

Film Composers:  This is really a bare sampling including some of the “classics” and only a handful of today’s best-known—seriously, google around and you will find a TON—this is where most of today’s orchestral composition is taking place and a lot of it is phenomenal!  Note that just because I recognize a composer does not mean I recommend all the movies they’ve scored!  🙂

• Erich Korngold (“Father” of orchestral film music)
• George Gershwin (American in Paris) 20 pts
• Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story)
• Ennio Morricone (Gabriel’s Oboe)
• John Williams (Star Wars, Harry Potter)
• Hans Zimmer (Batman trilogy, Pirates of the Caribbean)
• Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings)

Just awesome works:

• Vivaldi: Four seasons 50 pts
• Britten: Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra
• Barber: Adagio for Strings 50 pts
• Elgar: Enigma Variations
• Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
• Beethoven: Symphony #7
• Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
• Anderson: Sleigh Ride
• Bach: Suites for solo violin and cello
• Tchaikovsky: Nutcracker Suite
• Mozart: Violin Concertos
• Dvorak: New World Symphony
• Holst: The Planets 50 pts
• Copland: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Fanfare for the Common Man
• Bernstein: West Side Story
• Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue 20 pts