Classical Violin Music – Beginners List
Classical violin music dates back to the Baroque era (1600 to 1750) which followed the Renaissance and was subsequently followed by what is named as the classical era. Baroque composers like Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, and quite a few other composers you have no doubt heard of. And it was during this period of time that music and instrumental performance expanded in both scope and complexity and opera was established as a new music genre. The violin has the distinctive ability to convey emotion and is said to create notes closest to the human voice in tonality.
Classical violin is typically associated with the orchestra and orchestral groups such as the string quartet in which all the members of the instruments family play a part. This instrument family includes the stringed instruments the viola, cello, and double bass and they all play a role in the orchestra. The violin is the real star of the show however and represents the largest number of musicians typically in two sections. The sections are known as first and second and classical composers generally specify the first violins to play the melody and the second are assigned the harmony or other deviations such as playing the melody an octave lower than the first.
Some well known classical violin pieces include:
Tchaikovsky’s concerto for violin in D major
Zigeunerweisen by Pablo Sarasate
Three Violin Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach
Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor by Max Christian Friedrich Bruch
Violin Concerto in D major by Ludwig Van Beethoven
Concerto for violin in D major by Johannes Brahms
Although the violin was not initially well accepted as a valued musical instrument, it soon proved to be the showpiece of the orchestra. Into the 1800′s many virtuosos proved the instrument worthy of its stature in the orchestra and in the hands of such masters as Paganini and Sarasate, The violin truly had a voice.