A violin in its purest form is not music for everyone. This tool acquired its current form in the 16th century, quickly becoming popular. In recent years, this popularity has been lost, but the sound of the violin has learned to organically weave into the most unsuitable at first glance genres.
Nevertheless, talented violinists are in demand even now, although a fairly narrow circle of listeners knows their names. We decided to correct this injustice and talk about the 10 most famous violinists in the world of the past and present.
10. Janine Jansen
Netherlands violinist Janine Jansen Born in 1978, she first picked up a musical instrument at the age of 6. It immediately became clear to teachers that they had a real talent, since the girl incredibly quickly mastered the basics and began to play complex games.
Participating in competitions, where she regularly won prizes, Yanin gradually grew up and she was invited to the big stage.
In 2001, she made her debut: together with the Scottish National Orchestra, she performed Brahms Violin Concerto.
Her talent has been repeatedly awarded prestigious awards: an award from the Ministry of Culture of the Netherlands, an Edison Award, Echo Classic, etc. .. Also, the BBC Radio twice recognized it (“Artist of the New Generation”) .
9. Yitzhak Perlman
In the second half of the 20th century, it is difficult to find the names of violinists who could compare with Yitzhak Perlman.
The instrument interested him in 4 years, when he heard a concert of classical music on local Israeli radio. When he turned 10, his performances were already on the radio.
World fame came to him in 1958, after a visit to the Ed Sullivan show, which was one of the most popular on American television.
In 1963, when Perlman was only 18 years old, he first performed at Carnegie Hall, on the stage of which not every adult musician manages to get on.
In addition to playing the violin, he is also a conductor and teacher who has trained more than a dozen talented performers.
His collection of awards inspires respect: for which there are only 5 Grammy statuettes and the Presidential Freedom Medal.
8. Hilary Khan
Like Perlman, Hilary Khan She started playing at 4 years old and at 10 she performed her first recital.
At the moment, the assets of the 40-year-old violinist are two Grammy awards, but over time they will surely become more.
During her career, she managed to give over 800 concerts, most of which were accompanied by an orchestra.
She visited with performances in nearly three dozen countries, 200 cities and worked with 150 conductors.
Her “working instrument” deserves special attention: Hilary plays the violin of 1864, which was made by the famous master Jean Baptiste Wiillom (the bow was also made in the 19th century).
7. Sarah Chang
American with Korean roots Sarah Chang born in a family of musicians: father was a violinist and mother was a composer. It is not surprising that she took the violin in her hands at the age of 4, and at 10 she released her first album, calling it "Debut".
Her mentor was Dorothy DeLay, who, in turn, studied with the best: Yitzhak Perlman, Shlomo Mints and others.
Now Sarah, who is only 38 years old, continues to actively tour around the world, giving an average of 150 concerts a year.
In her repertoire you can find both works by Vivaldi and “European romantics”: Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Brahms, etc.
6. Victoria Mullova
Victoria Mullova She was born in the Moscow region in 1959, and already in the 80s she began to win major competitions: first, after Sibelius in Finland, and after - after Tchaikovsky in Moscow. By that time, she had graduated from the conservatory, but there were no concerts.
Without the necessary connections to break into the realities of the USSR, in 1983 she simply fled when she was in Finland. Having become a refugee, she received a visa to the United States, where she was settled in Washington, and her career rapidly went up.
She became one of the best in the world that she would never have achieved by staying in the Union (in her own opinion).
Interesting fact: Before her escape, she played the Stradivarius violin, which belonged to the State Fund. Not wanting to be known as a thief and have problems, she left her at the hotel before leaving so that she could be found and handed over to officials.
5. Fritz Kreisler
One of the most famous violinists of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries began to hone his skills at 4 years old, and already at 7 entered the Vienna Conservatory, becoming the youngest student in history.
Children from 14 years old were accepted for training, but seeing talent Fritz Cruiser the selection committee decided to make an exception and did not fail.
Interesting fact: at different times in the musician’s personal collection were instruments of such masters as Stradivarius, brothers Guarneri, Carlo Bergonzi and others. Guarneri’s violin Del Jézu was one of his favorites, but he had to part with it because of problems with the US tax service. To resolve the issue, he presented the instrument to the Library of Congress, where it is still stored.
4. Niccolo Paganini
Great violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini He began to play the violin at age 6 with the filing of his father, who noticed musical abilities in his son.
Paganini Sr. was pretty cruel to little Nicolo, punishing him for laziness and lack of diligence. In the future, the child really began to like music, so he stopped being lazy.
As a child, he composed several works (they have not survived to the present day), which not every adult could perform because of their complexity, although Nicolo himself played them without difficulty.
His figure had a great influence on classical music and culture, and the first film was shot in 1923. Variations on the music of Paganini were recorded by such masters as Brahms, Rachmaninoff, Chopin and others.
3. Leonidas Cavacos
Leonidas Cavacos He graduated from the Athens and Greek Conservatoires, continuing his studies at Indiana University under the guidance of Joseph Gingold.
In 1985, when Leonidas was 18 years old, he won his first international competition, of which there were many more.
A special place in the work of Kavakos is occupied by the concert of Sibelius, which brought him popularity, as well as the music of Tchaikovsky, Paganini, Schubert, Debussy and others.
2. Arcangelo Corelli
Italian violinist Arcangelo Corelli Born on February 17, 1653, and information about the first half of his life was practically not preserved.
It is known for certain that from 1681 until his death in 1713, he lived with Cardinal Ottoboni in full support. The cardinal, being a well-known philanthropist of his time, fully provided Corelli so that he could deal exclusively with music.
Arcangelo's works are considered an excellent guide for learning to play the violin, especially his sonatas. In this regard, he achieved, if not perfection, then the highest skill.
The pinnacle of his work is a collection of 23 violin sonatas "Folia" on the theme of the Spanish-Portuguese folk dance.
1. Antonio Vivaldi
We’ll end the list with another famous Italian whose name everyone knows - Antonio Vivaldi. A violin virtuoso, composer, conductor and even a Catholic priest, he managed to create a rich heritage in his life. Four violin concerts “The Seasons” are considered the greatest work of the genre in the XVIII century.
He had a huge impact on many areas: virtuoso playing, recital instrumental concerto, and even created his own manner of performance, nicknamed the "Lombard".