Favorite Violin Concerto?

[Luke]

The Elgar - the very essence of the violin, the most sensitive and poetic of concerti. It's a big work but I can happily listen to it on repeat

Which is not to say that others don't rank with it in my mind.

Amongst those others, by the way, is one I doubt anyone else will mention but which I adore in the same way I adore the Elgar - for its ability to distill what a violin 'is' in the most touching of ways: Janacek's 'The Wandering of a Little Soul' concerto which, as I've said before is about the most concentrated, echt-Janacek orchestral work of all (ironically, given that he discarded it and that others made it performable).

To me these two very different concerti do things that no other concerto does. But that said, Brahms, Berg, Sibelius, Szymanowki 1, Mendelssohn.... Plus I have a very weak spot for the Walton, though the Viola Concerto is even better.

[NumberSix]

Amongst those others, by the way, is one I doubt anyone else will mention but which I adore in the same way I adore the Elgar - for its ability to distill what a violin 'is' in the most touching of ways: Janacek's 'The Wandering of a Little Soul' concerto which, as I've said before is about the most concentrated, echt-Janacek orchestral work of all (ironically, given that he discarded it and that others made it performable).

I have never even heard of this one! I found a Christian Tetzlaff recording to stream. I might check it out when I finish this Schumann piano concerto currently playing.

[Symphonic Addict]

Number 1: Shostakovich 1 - Glad others have mentioned it too and with good reason. A flat-out masterwork.

Other I like very much:

Brahms
Respighi Concerto gregoriano
Saint-Saëns 3
Castelnuovo-Tedesco 2
Pfitzner
Hindemith
Penderecki 1
Britten
Szymanowski 2

[Symphonic Addict]

Frank Martin

Very fond of this one too.

And to give some contrast, not a big fan of these ones for different reasons each: Sibelius, Nielsen and Elgar.

[Wanderer]

I don't have just one favourite. Violin concerti that I love and listen to the most are those by Beethoven, Sibelius, Schumann, Skalkottas, Britten, Elgar, Dvořák and Brahms.

[Florestan]

Five off the beaten tracks:

Auber
Wolf-Ferrari
August Enna
Sergei Bortkiewicz
Arthur Somervell

[ritter]

We already had a "Top Favorite 10 VCs" poll: https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,22228.0.html

My (second) answer then:

That makes two of us...

Not really my favourite genre, but here goes (in alphabetical order):

Beethoven VC
Berg VC
Berio Corale
Carter VC
Maderna VC
Mozart VC No. 3
Schoenberg VC
Skalkottas VC
Stravinsky VC
Walton VC

EDIT:

Turns out I had answered this a couple of years ago: 

Let's give this a try (in alphabetical order by composer):

- Beethoven
- Berg
- Carter
- Ginastera
- C. Halffter VC #1
- Maderna
- Mozart VC #3
- Saariaho Graal théâtre
- Schoenberg
- Stravinsky

Yes, that makes 10...

Relatively consistent, I'd say. 

[Wanderer]

WE already had a "Top Favorite 10 VCs" poll: https://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,22228.0.html

Thanks for the detective work, Rafael, I was certain there was an older thread for this. I see that in that thread, in addition to those I listed here, I'd also mentioned the concerti by Tchaikovsky, Szymanowski, Prokofiev, Korngold and Mendelssohn; all favourites still. 

[DavidW]

WE already had a "Top Favorite 10 VCs" poll:

That thread was started eleven years ago!

[Karl Henning]

The Elgar - the very essence of the violin, the most sensitive and poetic of concerti. It's a big work but I can happily listen to it on repeat

Which is not to say that others don't rank with it in my mind.

Glad you spoke up for the Elgar, really a magnificent piece. and I probably owe you thanks for bringing Janáček's  Putování dušičky to my attention.

[relm1]

One of my favorites is Tishchenko's Violin concerto No. 2 and George Rochberg's Violin Concerto (original, longer version).  These are both dramatic, long violin concertos that are full of passion, long melodies, and symphonic development.

[Maestro267]

+1 for the Tishchenko

[Brian]

Five off the beaten tracks:

Auber
Wolf-Ferrari
August Enna
Sergei Bortkiewicz
Arthur Somervell

You should try Tor Aulin No. 3!

[Florestan]

You should try Tor Aulin No. 3!

Drat! I forgot Aulin, whose three violin concertos I have and enjoy a lot! Thanks for the reminder.

[kyjo]

You should try Tor Aulin No. 3!

All three Aulin concerti are fine works guaranteed to please lovers of Romantic VCs. They can all be found on CPO in excellent performances:

[kyjo]

Very fond of this one too.

And to give some contrast, not a big fan of these ones for different reasons each: Sibelius, Nielsen and Elgar.

    

That's surprising to hear, Cesar! To be fair, I recall being rather underwhelmed the first time I heard the Nielsen and Elgar concerti, but subsequent hearings made me fall in love with them.

On a similar note, two VCs I'm not very fond of by composers I normally love are Atterberg's in E minor and Lloyd's for Violin and Winds (the one for violin and strings is better, if not a masterpiece). In particular, the Atterberg is strangely bereft of the composer's typical generous melodic inspiration, at least until the finale which is the strongest movement.

[vandermolen]

Pettersson No.2
Malcolm Williamson
David Morgan
Both by Shostakovich
Bloch
Respighi (Gregoriano)
Castelnuovo-Tedesco ('Prophets')
Roy Harris
Alwyn

[Elgarian Redux]

So I told myself, 'Come on you blighter, make a list! Can it be so hard?' But it is, honest Guv. Because I've been so overwhelmed through most of a lifetime by the Elgar concerto, and I've listened so carefully to it, knowing how much it meant to Elgar himself, that I can't find anything else to compare with it. I'm sure there are others of comparable stature (see all the posts above), but for me, there aren't.

And then there's the fact that the other VCs that I've enjoyed tend to be wildly romantic, even hackneyed and obvious: maybe embarrassing to talk about in the same post, even.

So look, pulling myself together and making a stab at this, there's
1. Elgar.
2. Sibelius.

I'm OK so far, right? But now it gets silly. There's a huge gulf in perception, so I have to represent that somehow. OK here we go, way, way down - and please no sniggering from the back:
103. Bruch. (Great tunes)
104. Tchaikovsky - but hang on, I hardly ever listen to this ...


You see how daft this is becoming.

So really it comes down to this. Elgar, in sparkling lights, with a special mention for Sibelius, whom I would not be without. And then I just don't know or care. In fact I wonder how I summoned the audacity to add to this worthy thread. You might wonder too.

When it gets like this, David Hume's advice is best: go home and enjoy your dinner.
 

[Christo]

Heard the Khatsaturian on the radio again and yes: it remains one of my favourites. At least out of ten.

[Maestro267]

You mean Khachaturian?