Your ten favourite Violin Concertos

[Barbirollians]

I think Perlman has pretty much retired now. He was a very talented businessman as well as being, arguably, the worlds finest violinist so no doubt he has lost the urge to live out of a suitcase. I was lucky enough to hear him AND Zuckerman play the Mozart Sinonia Concertante in Washington 5 years ago. A wonderful occasion.

Having said that, I heard Zuckerman a week ago playing in Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh Festival. Probably the most gorgeous sound I've ever heard emit from a violin.

Perlman's website suggests lots of concerts over the next year but the vast majority in the US and a few in Japan .

[carol_fodor]

Yes, agreed about the 'gorgeous sound' but, oh dear, can NOBODY be bothered to spell the poor guy's name correctly?
Even the BBC () gets it wrong much of the time.
Although he may have perhaps the 'sweetest' violin sound in the world, there is no 'C' in his name, as in 'ZUCKER ( sugar - get it? )
ZUKERMAN
ok?

[pastoralguy]

Perlman's website suggests lots of concerts over the next year but the vast majority in the US and a few in Japan .

I stand corrected! I did read in 'The Strad' some time ago that he was cutting back on his performing activities. Clearly, he's been talked out of it. (Mind you, if I was earning $40,000 a concert I'm sure I could be persuaded...)

[antongould]

As best I can salymap without a spreadsheet ......

Top Dozen

1 Elgar
2 Beethoven
3 Brahms
4 Sibelius
4 Bartok 2
4 Mendelssohn
7 Britten
7 Walton
7 Berg
7 Szymanowski 1
7 Prokofiev 1
12 Schoenberg

As to the list of less well known to send to R3 there seemed to be about 83 different entries....so a person of more knowledge and discernment needs to be employed...

[pastoralguy]

As best I can salymap without a spreadsheet ......

Top Dozen

1 Elgar
2 Beethoven
3 Brahms
4 Sibelius
4 Bartok 2
4 Mendelssohn
7 Britten
7 Walton
7 Berg
7 Szymanowski 1
7 Prokofiev 1
12 Schoenberg

As to the list of less well known to send to R3 there seemed to be about 83 different entries....so a person of more knowledge and discernment needs to be employed...

Good selection, Anton.

[Beef Oven!]

As best I can salymap without a spreadsheet ......

Top Dozen

1 Elgar
2 Beethoven
3 Brahms
4 Sibelius
4 Bartok 2
4 Mendelssohn
7 Britten
7 Walton
7 Berg
7 Szymanowski 1
7 Prokofiev 1
12 Schoenberg

As to the list of less well known to send to R3 there seemed to be about 83 different entries....so a person of more knowledge and discernment needs to be employed...

Nice work Anton, and thanks.

[salymap]

Yes indeed, many thanks anton

[Sir Velo]

I don't know how I came to overlook the Barber! A very special work IMHO.

[Nick Armstrong]

I don't know how I came to overlook the Barber! A very special work IMHO.

V special, with extra resonance for me - early in my first year away from home living in Paris, I happened to catch (and tape) an evening concert on the radio, with Isaac Stern playing the Barber concerto, Kiril Kondrashin conducting The piece became a key part of the 'theme music' to that formative year, and transports me back to being a fancy-free youth in that city...

[EdgeleyRob]

As best I can salymap without a spreadsheet ......

Top Dozen

1 Elgar
2 Beethoven
3 Brahms
4 Sibelius
4 Bartok 2
4 Mendelssohn
7 Britten
7 Walton
7 Berg
7 Szymanowski 1
7 Prokofiev 1
12 Schoenberg

As to the list of less well known to send to R3 there seemed to be about 83 different entries....so a person of more knowledge and discernment needs to be employed...

Thanks Anton.

I'm surprised this didn't get more nominations.

[Serial_Apologist]

Thanks Anton.

I'm surprised this didn't get more nominations.

Possibly because the piece is not your typical Vaughan Williams, being quite neo-classical; but though I love it, personally, it's just not in my top 10.

[Stanfordian]

Nice work Anton, and thanks.

Thanks Anton for undertaking the listing. I am in Berlin at the moment and I believe that the list would certainly be different over here, for example the Elgar would not be anywhere as high and I don't believe that the Walton and the Britten would in the top ten. I think a German list would have the Dvorak, Shostakovich 1, Tchaikovsky the Bruch 1 and maybe the Barber.

My top 10 list of the ones that I play most often:
Brahms,
Beethoven,
Shostakovich 1
Britten,
Elgar,
Sibelius,
Walton,
Mendelssohn,
Bruch 1,
Shostakovich 2
I also play the Barber and the Prokofiev 1 fairly often.

[EdgeleyRob]

Thanks Anton for undertaking the listing. I am in Berlin at the moment and I believe that the list would certainly be different over here, for example the Elgar would not be anywhere as high and I don't believe that the Walton and the Britten would in the top ten. I think a German list would have the Dvorak, Shostakovich 1, Tchaikovsky the Bruch 1 and maybe the Barber.

My top 10 list of the ones that I play most often:
Brahms,
Beethoven,
Shostakovich 1
Britten,
Elgar,
Sibelius,
Walton,
Mendelssohn,
Bruch 1,
Shostakovich 2
I also play the Barber and the Prokofiev 1 fairly often.

No Stanford Stan ??

[antongould]

Thanks Anton for undertaking the listing. I am in Berlin at the moment and I believe that the list would certainly be different over here, for example the Elgar would not be anywhere as high and I don't believe that the Walton and the Britten would in the top ten. I think a German list would have the Dvorak, Shostakovich 1, Tchaikovsky the Bruch 1 and maybe the Barber.

My top 10 list of the ones that I play most often:
Brahms,
Beethoven,
Shostakovich 1
Britten,
Elgar,
Sibelius,
Walton,
Mendelssohn,
Bruch 1,
Shostakovich 2
I also play the Barber and the Prokofiev 1 fairly often.

Yes stan, as I was five bar gating I thought the Brits are doing OK here - I hoped we might have had a blast from vints by now. There were of course a number of non-UK lists......

[Sir Velo]

I am in Berlin at the moment and I believe that the list would certainly be different over here, for example the Elgar would not be anywhere as high and I don't believe that the Walton and the Britten would in the top ten. I think a German list would have the Dvorak, Shostakovich 1, Tchaikovsky the Bruch 1 and maybe the Barber.

Doesn't that just show that audiences are as insular elsewhere as they are so often claimed to be over here? After all, it was a German who claimed that Elgar's first symphony was the "finest in modern times" and an Austrian that his VC was the "finest since Beethoven".