`Ello all,

Before we start - yes, I did do a search on this before hand

I`m recently >very< interested in the Violin. I`ve been wanting to play for a month or so now (not that long, I know) but I`ve decided to read up a bit before purchasing one. Something that I think will help me decide if I truly want to put so much effort into learning this beautiful instrument is hearing more artists who play Violin. I listen to some Bach, Jean-Luc Ponty and maybe one or two songs from other artists, but I`m interested in expanding that list.

So if you will, please list strictly-violin artists and/or songs? While I`ll take the violin in the background anyday (little or nothing, eh?), I think hearing pieces with ONLY violin will help me better my decision on picking this instrument up.

Thanks all, and appologies if you`ve been asked this a thousand times. I understand how frustrating it can be.

-Crystal

well, if u have Bach`s cd ..then that`s pretty damn good already. He wrote quite alot of substantial things for strings. So did the rest of yr Baroque composers. U might wanna check on Vivaldi as well. Here`re some of my personal fav: Double Concerto for 2 violins in D min by Bach, Vocalise by Rach, Death and the Maiden by Schubert, Haydn`s quartet works ( all of em), violin sonata by prokofiev, concerto by Stravinsky, Sea Symphony by Vaughan Williams(not all strings, but they played the utmost imp. parts, esp. the cello),Perpetuum Mobile by Ottokar Novacek, Csardas by Vittorio Monti, and so many that I simply can`t list all. Strings is really something, right? They produce the most beautiful sounds in the world. BTW, U may wanna check out some violinists as well. My favz are Maxim Vangerov and Anna Sophie Mutter.

Thank you very much, DW!

Yr very much welcome. Adios! Let me know yr fav. when yr done listening. Thank You.

Old hat, I know, but, there is a CD of Kyung Wha Chung playing the Bruch and the Mendelssohn.

For jazz there`s Grapelli and for traditional British there are several by Dave Swarbrick.

I`ve got my KaZaA up and runnin`, thanks folks.

DW - I sure will! May be a while before I can actually *listen* to them though, as company just arrived.

Expect more threads from me soon, asking what brands are best, where to purchase the violin, ect ect

jean-luc ponty for jazz, or the mahavishnu orchestra..

There`s a wonderful recording called "East Meets West" featuring Yehudi Menuhin and Ravi Shankar. It is an extended conversation between the violin and the sitar, with masters playing each. (Or is that too much of an intrusion of another instrument?)

concerto for 4 violins??? uhh i think its vivaldi

march from the love of 3 oranges by prokofiev

humoresque by dvorak

romanza by.... who knows