A new age of top-quality string players?

[ahinton]

Elsewhere we have been discussing recordings/performances of Bach string playing and this led me to wonder if members agree that we are living in a new age of top-quality string players.

In no particular order we have some wonderful violinists including Isabelle Faust, Julia Fischer, Alina Ibragimova, Viktoria Mullova, Hilary Hahn, Lisa Batiashivili, Sergey Khachatrian; and among cellists we have Jean-Guihen Queyras, Anne Gastinel, Alisa Weilerstein, Jamie Walton.

Do members agree and who would you add/remove from the examples above.

Well, I certainly do - Alina and Alisa are indeed quite a pair in themselves, but Hahn playing the once thought improbable Schönberg Concerto as though it's the greatest violin concerto ever written is as hard an act as any to follow...

[gurnemanz]

In no particular order we have some wonderful violinists including Isabelle Faust, Julia Fischer, Alina Ibragimova, Viktoria Mullova, Hilary Hahn, Lisa Batiashivili, Sergey Khachatrian; and among cellists we have Jean-Guihen Queyras, Anne Gastinel, Alisa Weilerstein, Jamie Walton.

Do members agree and who would you add/remove from the examples above.

Anne Gastinel was not familiar to me until we saw her on impressive form a few weeks ago in a trio down here in Wilts.

(PS The pianist Philippe Cassard is the marvellous accompanist to Natalie Dessay on their recent French song disc which I have also been greatly enjoying.)

[Stanfordian]

Elsewhere we have been discussing recordings/performances of Bach string playing and this led me to wonder if members agree that we are living in a new age of top-quality string players.

In no particular order we have some wonderful violinists including Isabelle Faust, Julia Fischer, Alina Ibragimova, Viktoria Mullova, Hilary Hahn, Lisa Batiashivili, Sergey Khachatrian; and among cellists we have Jean-Guihen Queyras, Anne Gastinel, Alisa Weilerstein, Jamie Walton.

Do members agree and who would you add/remove from the examples above.

If you put Viktoria Mullova in you also have to put in Anne-Sophie Muuter who is younger. I suggest these are of an older generation than you meant. Of the new generation string players I agree with most on the list but I would certainly like to add the violinist Arabella Steinbacher. I have also seen and have very much enjoyed violinists Hyeyoon Park, Valeriy Sokolov and Eugene Ugorski.

[Sir Velo]

On the strength of his performance of the Barber cello concerto on CD Review's Disc of the Week, I think we need to add Christian Poltera to the list!

[pastoralguy]

On the strength of his performance of the Barber cello concerto on CD Review's Disc of the Week, I think we need to add Christian Poltera to the list!