The violin sings.
Joshua Bell
When learning to play any musical instrument, it can help to look for other musicians for inspiration and the violin is no exception.
In this article, we're looking at both the greatest living violinists and the greatest violinists of all time. We haven't been able to include every single amazing violinist, but we think you'll find a few excellent sources of inspiration among them, especially if you're learning to play the violin.
The Great Living Violinists
We thought it'd be a good idea to start with the violinists who are still alive today. There have been many excellent violinists throughout history, but these are still gracing our planet with their presence.
We've also just arranged them in alphabetical order rather than ranking them. You're free to rank them yourself in the comments.
Anne-Sophie Mutter
Anne-Sophie Mutter is a German violinist. Born in 1963, she's been active since the 1970s and plays two of the world's remaining Stradavarius violins: the Emiliani Stradivarius from 1703 and the Lord Dunn-Raven Stradivarius from 1710.
She's a highly decorated musician and has won no less than four Grammy Awards as well as countless others.
Like many of the contemporary violinists we'll mention in this article, Mutter is technically amazing, versatile, consistent, and simply a wonderful violinist and performer.
Christian Tetzlaff
Christian Tetzlaff is another incredible German violinist and one of the greatest living violinists. He used to play a Stradivarius but for over 2 decades has preferred playing a violin made by the German luthier Stefan-Peter Greiner.
Tetzlaff is famous for his unwavering professionalism and integrity. He's an incredibly versatile violinist like Mutter and also tends to play pieces from the Baroque era right up to the contemporary era, choosing to champion the latter.
Gil Shaham
Gil Shaham is an American violinist from Urbana, Illinois. For decades, Shaham has been impressing listeners with his wonderful technique, versatile repertoire, and his commitment to new music.
Shaham isn't the only incredible musician in his family, either. His sister, Orli Shaham, is a decorated pianist who's performed with many symphony orchestras.
For decades, Gil Shaham has played the Comtesse de Polignac Stradivarius from 1699. Much like his sister, he's also played with some of the world's greatest symphony and philharmonic orchestras.
Hilary Hahn
Hilary Hahn is another American violinist and another Grammy Award-winning violinist. Born in Lexington, Virginia, Hahn grew up in Baltimore, Maryland.
She tends to play a couple of violins made by the French luthier Jean-Baptise Vuillaume, two 19th-century instruments that are copies of Paganini's Cannone and the 1715 Alard Stradivarius.
Don't let the term “copy” fool you, though! These are still wonderfully made musical instruments that any violinist would be happy to own and pay.
Itzhak Perlman
Itzhak Perlman is an Isareli-American violinist who's won 16 Grammy Awards and 4 Emmy Awards!
You probably don't need to hear more about Perlman than that, but we will add that he's technically brilliant, expressive, and has a wide repertoire covering classical to contemporary pieces.
Perlman is particularly inspirational due to how he became such an incredible musician despite contracting polio at the age of 4, which is why he always plays the violin while sitting down.
He plays the Soil Stradivarius, which is thought to be one of Stradivari's best instruments.
Janine Jansen
Janine Jansen is a Dutch violinist and violist. She's played some wonderful violins including the Barrere, Baron Deurbroucq, and Rivaz, Baron Gutmann Stradivariuses.
She's played with many different famous orchestras and conductors and made many highly recommended recordings.
You may also be interested in our advice for getting a prime position in an orchestra.
Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell is an American violinist from Bloomington, Indiana. He plays the Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius from 1713.
In addition to playing music from the classical, romantic, and contemporary repertoires, he's also famous outside of classical music and has helped promote classical music in popular culture.
Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Vengerov is an Israeli violinist who was born in the Soviet Union in 1974. Widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world, he's famous for playing classical music and chamber music.
His recordings are very popular and beyond playing the violin, he's also a successful conductor.
Midori Goto
Midori Goto is a Japanese-born American violinist from Hirakata, Osaka, Japan. Often billed simply as “Midori” or “Mi Dori”, she was a child prodigy and debuted with the New York Philharmonic at the age of 11!
She's an incredible talent and has been for years. Technically gifted, expressive, versatile, and an excellent performer, Midori's performances and recordings have been critically acclaimed.
The Greatest Violinists from History
The violin has been around since the 16th century so naturally, there have been great violinists for over 500 years.
While we've already looked at the greatest living violinists, here are some of the greatest violinists from history.
Much like with the living violinists, we've simply arranged them alphabetically so you can (politely) argue about which ones are the best in the comments!
You should also take a look at our advice for getting started with the violin if you hope to come anywhere close to the level of these greats.
David Oistrakh (1908-1974)
David Oistrakh was a Soviet violinist, violist, and conductor. He won several violin competitions and was a famed mentor and violin teacher at the Central Music School in Moscow and the Moscow Conservatory.
As one of our more modern examples, you're lucky enough to be able to listen to recordings of his music, but you'll just have to imagine what it would have been like to see him perform live.
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962)
Fritz Kreisler was an American violinist and composer who was born in Vienna, Austria, in the late 19th century.
Like many of the other violinists in this article, he was gifted from a very young age and graduated from the Paris Conservatory at the age of 12. He performed internationally and was considered to be one of the greatest violinists of his time.
Following an injury during World War I while serving in the Austrian army, Kreisler focused on composing but would return to performing after recovering from his injuries.
Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880)
Henryk Wieniawski was a Polish violinist who also showed talent from a young age and studied at the Paris Conservatory like Kreisler.
He played violin throughout Europe and the US and was famous for having an incredible stage presence, especially as a soloist.
He taught at the Brussels Conservatoire and the St. Petersburg Conservatory and helped train the next generation of incredible violinists.
Despite dying from a heart attack at the age of 44, he left an impressive legacy on classical music and the violin through his performances and compositions.
Dive into the rich tapestry of violin history with our captivating beginner violin lessons! Enroll now to unravel the stories and techniques of the greatest violinists from history. Explore their masterpieces, learn the secrets of their artistry, and cultivate your own musical journey. Join us on a melodic adventure, where the echoes of the past inspire the virtuosos of the future. Enroll today and embrace the legacy of legendary violinists!
Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987)
Jascha Heifetz was a Lithuanian-born American violinist. A technically brilliant and expressive violinist, Heifetz started playing at a very young and ended up studying at the Royal Conservatory in Saint Petersburg.
When he made his professional debut in Berlin, he was just 7. After his family moved to the United States in 1917, he made his Carnegie Hall debut the very same year!
Joseph Joachim (1831-1907)
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, and composer. Born in what is now Slovakia, Joachim was recognized as a talent from a young age, collaborated with Mendelssohn, and helped promote his Violin Concerto as part of the violin repertoire at the time.
He also rubbed shoulders with Robert Schumann and his wife Clara Schumann. Promoting Schumann's works and helping him become a huge part of the musical culture in the 19th century.
Joachim wasn't just there to promote the music of other composers, though. Joachim's playing was the real star when it came to his performances.
Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist and composer and is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of all time.
He showed exceptional talent from a young age and toured as a virtuoso before reaching the age of 20. He was so good at the violin that rumors circulated that he'd made a deal with the devil to be able to play so well.
Paganini led an interesting life outside of playing the violin and while the deal with the devil was obviously untrue, his life was just as interesting as if it were.
Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908)
Pablo de Sarasate was a Spanish violinist and composer. Just like every other historically great violinist, he started young, and his talent was immediately recognized.
He was an incredible performer and virtuosic technique. He played in many different cities across Europe and the Americas.
If you dream of playing like any of the violinists we've mentioned today, there are a lot of things you can do to master the violin including work hard, practice regularly, and get help from professional violin teachers or tutors.
Luckily for you, there are plenty of great violin lessons online for beginners on the Superprof website, and by searching violin and where you live, you can start looking at their profiles and deciding which of them would be right for you.
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