Famous Violinists of All Time

From history to modern times, the evolving tastes in violin music have captivated audiences. A person playing the violin is known as a violinist, and this instrument is primarily used in Western music. Famous violinists perform different genres and styles, including classical, romantic, baroque, and jazz, through their performances, compositions, recordings and soundtracks. Let’s recognize the world’s famous violinists’, and their intense performances, contributions, and lasting impact on music.

Top 10 Famous Violinists of All Time

Joshua Bell

• Born: December 9, 1967, Bloomington, Indiana
• Awards:
  • Grammy Award in 2000
  • Avery Fisher Prize in 2004
  • Billboard Classical Album of the Year in 2004
• Recordings & composition:
  • Romance of the Violin
  • Nicholas Maw’s Violin Concerto
  • For the Love of Brahms (2016)
  • Scottish Fantasy (2018)

Joshua Bell was four years old when his mother discovered him plucking rubber bands stretched across the handles of nine dressers to produce a tune. He made his orchestral debut at age 14 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, becoming the orchestra’s youngest-ever soloist. In the 2023-24 season, Joshua Bell embarked on an international tour of his newly commissioned project called “The Elements”. This project features works by renowned composers representing each of the five elements. His technical accomplishments and versatility in classical and popular music have made him one of the most successful and critically acclaimed violinists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Nicola Benedetti

• Born: July 20, 1987, Irvine, Scotland
• Awards:
  • Youngest among the twelve to be awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music
  • Named BBC Young Musician of the Year at 16
  • Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo
  • President of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
• Recordings & composition:
  • HOMECOMING – A Scottish Fantasy
  • Elgar Violin Concerto
  • SHOSTAKOVICH Violin Concerto
  • MARSALIS Violin Concerto

Nicola Benedetti is an Italian-Scottish classical solo violinist and festival director. She began her violin lesson at the age of four. Her soulful presence during performances, mesmerizing violin sound, and ability to captivate audiences make her one of today’s most famous violinists. She has collaborated with renowned artists worldwide, including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, and many others. Her recent endeavors include becoming the first woman to lead the Edinburgh International Festival as its Festival Director in 2022.

George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower

• Born: October 11, 1778, Biała Podlaska, Poland
• Recordings & composition:
  • A ballad Henry
  • Diatonica armonica for pianoforte

George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower was a British musician and virtuoso violinist of African descent. He began his journey by relocating to London when he was 10 and performing as a violin soloist at the Drury Lane Theatre. He obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in 1811. He is renowned today for his connection with Ludwig von Beethoven. He was also featured in films such as Immortal Beloved. He also authored a fiction novel titled “La Sonate à Bridgetower” in 2017. He died in Peckham, London in 1860.

Arcangelo Corelli

• Born: February 17, 1653, Romagna, Fusignano
• Awards: Initiated into the Philharmonic Academy of Bologna
• Recordings & composition:
  • 12 Trio Sonatas for Two Violins and Cello, dedicated to Queen Christina of Sweden
  • 12 Chamber Trio Sonatas for Two Violins, Violone, and Violoncello (or Harpsichord)
  • 12 Concerti Grossi

Arcangelo Corelli was a Baroque Italian composer and one of the famous violinists in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His musical contributions contributed to the evolution of modern sonata and concerto genres. He studied with Giovanni Benvenuti, a violinist from the chapel of San Petronio in Bologna. In his time, Corelli was known as “the new Orpheus” and “the prince of musicians.” He was Pope Alexander VIII’s favorite violinist. He also established the ‘concerto grosso’ as a popular form of composition. Arcangelo Corelli remains a crucial figure in the history of Western music.

George Enescu

• Born: August 19, 1881, Liveni-Vârnav, Romania
• Recordings & composition:
  • Opus 13: Symphony No. 1 in E, major
  • Romanian Rhapsody No. 1 is considered the best composition of George Enescu.
  • Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major titled Suite Villageoise.
  • Violin Sonata No. 2 is the second violin sonata by Enescu.

Georges Enesco is regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Romanian history. At age 5, he started experimenting with small compositions for violin and piano. He was the youngest student at the Vienna Conservatory, the second person to be admitted at the Vienna Conservatory due to age exemption, and also the first non-Austrian student. George Enescu founded the Enescu Prize, given to outstanding composers from 1913 to 1946. Pablo Casals called Enescu “the greatest musical phenomenon since Mozart” and “one of the greatest geniuses of modern music”.

Joseph Joachim

• Born: June 28, 1831, Köpcsény, Hungary
• Awards: Honorary for Doctorate of Music from Cambridge University
• Recordings & composition:
  • Henry IV Overture, Op. 7
  • Violin Concerto No. 1 in g minor, Op. 3
  • Schumann’s Phantasy for Violin and Orchestra
  • Hungarian Concerto in D Minor

Joseph Joachim was one of the most famous violinists of the 19th century. He was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer, and teacher. His international debut was in London in 1844, when he performed Ludwig van Beethoven’s Violin Concerto alongside Felix Mendelssohn. He became the director of the Hochschule für Ausübende Tonkunst in Berlin in 1868, where he gained a reputation as an excellent teacher. In 1869, he founded the Joachim Quartet, renowned for its performances of Beethoven’s late string quartets. It quickly gained recognition as the European quartet until Joseph Joachim died in 1907.

Midori Goto

• Born: October 25, 1971, Hirakata, Japan
• Awards:
  • 25th Suntory Music Award in 1993
  • Avery Fisher Prize in 2001
  • United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2007
  • Brandeis Creative Arts Award in 2024
• Recordings and composition:
  • Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin
  • Paganini: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op.1

Midori Goto is a Japanese-born American violinist whose magical violin playing creates a great connection between audiences and music. She made her debut at the age of 11 with the New York Philharmonic at the New Year’s Eve Gala in 1982. She is also an activist and teacher who established her foundation, Midori and Friends, a non-profit organization in New York City and Japan when she was 21. She was appointed a professor at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music in 2004. Her dedication to music, education, and empathy continues to make her one of the most famous violinists of our time.

Hilary Hahn

• Born: November 27, 1979, Lexington, US
• Awards:
  • 3 Grammy Awards
  • Avery Fisher Prize in 2024
• Recordings & composition:
  • Cadenza to Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5
  • “To Russia My Homeland” from the album Worlds Apart

Her attitude, diverse experiences in classical music, and exceptional violin performances have made her a favorite among the people and a renowned violinist. Hilary Hahn began playing the violin around the age of 4. She studied with Jascha Brodsky at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Her orchestral debut was with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1991. She started recording in 1996. Her recordings include both traditional and contemporary elements. She played Beethoven with Bernstein, Schoenberg with Sibelius, and Tchaikovsky with Jennifer Higdon in her albums. She began her film recording career in 2004 for the thriller film “The Village.”.

Jascha Heifetz

• Born: February 2, 1901, Vilnius, Russian Empire
• Awards:
  • Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance in 1964
  • French Legion of Honor in 1957
  • Grammy Hall of Fame Award for Brahms: Trio No. 1 in B Major
• Recordings & composition:
  • Korngold: Violin Concerto
  • Beethoven: Trio No. 1 in E Flat, Op.1

Jascha Heifetz, a Jewish-Russian-American, is one of the most famous violinists ever. When he was 18, he was the highest-paid violinist in the world. In 1917, he was elected an honorary Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia member, becoming the youngest person ever elected. His first recordings for the Victor Talking Machine Company/RCA Victor were made after his Carnegie Hall debut. During World War II, he performed for Allied service men and women, touring dangerous regions and playing from flatbed trucks. The Los Angeles Times described Heifetz as “the greatest violin virtuoso since Paganini.”

Janine Jansen

• Born: January 7, 1978, Soest, Netherlands
• Awards:
  • Dutch Music Prize in 2003.
  • Five Edison Klassiek Awards.
• Recordings & composition:
  • 12 Stradivari
  • Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 8
  • Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

Janine Jansen is a Dutch violinist who belongs to a family of musicians. In 2001, she debuted in London by performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland. She also founded the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht. She has recorded exclusively for Decca Classics, including her unique exploration of 12 great Stradivarius violins. She has performed with famous orchestras and conductors on concert stages worldwide and is regarded as a famous violinist of all time. Currently, she has been teaching at the Kronberg Academy.