Most Difficult Violin Piece

What is the most difficult violin piece ever? Using her 300-year-old Italian violin to demonstrate, violinist Jamie Hutchinson has just finished a recording session at Abbey Road Studios and can tell you all the hardest violin pieces ever written…

P.S. Don’t forget to head over to look at our Beginner’s Guide to the Violin after watching the video…

HARDEST VIOLIN PIECES EVER

When talking about the most difficult violin pieces ever written, it is crucial to consider the technical difficulties of the instrument and factors such as bow control, agility, vibrato, tone quality, tempo, and even emotion.

These are pieces that are not for the faint-hearted! They are all technically demanding, AND a challenge to pull off, musically-speaking. When a violinist is totally “exposed” and playing alone, the pressure piles on. There is nowhere to hide…

Paganini | 24 Caprices

The most demanding technical works for solo violin, Niccolò Paganini’s Caprices make up 24 fiendishly tricky pieces for the string instrument. Crammed with double stops, left-hand pizzicato and endless spiccato bowing. Paganini was the superstar of his day…

Sibelius | Violin concerto in D minor

Jean Sibelius’ only concerto is one of the most intense and challenging violin concertos ever written. British musicologist Donald Tovey described the final movement as a ‘polonaise for polar bears’, saying, ‘I have not met a more original, a more masterly, and a more exhilarating work’.

Beethoven | Sonata №9 ‘Kreutzer’

Beethoven dedicated his Sonata №9 to Rodolphe Kreutzer, the finest violinist of the day. Sadly for old Ludwig, Rodolphe hated the piece. It is one of the most difficult violin pieces ever written and super long for a sonata.

Read the full article here.