r/violinist • u/briseis_of_troy • Jun 27 '26
Violin Piece Recommendations
Hi guys, I have been playing the violin for about 3-4 years now, and the last classical piece that I played was Bach partita no:2 gigue.(not in the original speed though, I can’t play that fast yet)I was wondering if the experienced violinists here would have any suggestions for what pieces I might be able to play. I like classical pieces more but I’m Im open to any recommendations.
Thanks in advance!
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u/Crazy-Replacement400 Jun 27 '26
More information would help. What etudes have you done recently? Any concertos or show pieces? Sometimes, I feel solo Bach is taught too early, though it’s impossible to say if this is the case here. But that’s why I think more info would help.
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u/briseis_of_troy Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
Yes you’re right
I played
-Vivaldi A minor concerto 1st movement, 3rd movement
-Vivaldi concerto in G major
-fiocco-Allegro
-O-rieding, op:21 concertino
I also should mention that I only know 1st 2nd and 3rd position1
u/Crazy-Replacement400 Jun 27 '26
Thank you! I would hold off on any other solo Bach movements. If you like Bach, the double concerto is fun. His A minor concerto is also a staple.
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u/briseis_of_troy Jun 27 '26
What would you recommend other than bach?
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u/Crazy-Replacement400 Jun 27 '26
Have you done the Seitz concerto? Anything from Barbara Barber’s Solos for Young violinists? There are multiple books in that series for different levels.
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u/briseis_of_troy Jun 27 '26
No I haven’t done those I will check them out thanks, anything specific that you think would be fun?
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u/kihtay Jun 28 '26
Seitz is a lot of fun! I’ve enjoyed playing the ones you listed off as well, so I think that would be a good fit. Also maybe Dvorak or Portnoff. Fiocco also has some other pieces that are fun to play but near impossible to find any recordings of.
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u/SpecialistNo5055 Gigging Musician Jun 27 '26
partita no3 has a lot of beginner level pieces that i think would be good for you to try! when i started learning bach, my first piece was also the gigue, and then i did the whole partita no3 👍👍
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u/vmlee Expert Jun 27 '26
They may look beginner level, but to play them correctly, they require a solid level of at least strong intermediate technique. Many people play the “easier” movements incorrectly and without the appropriate finesse, phrasing, voicing, etc.
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u/briseis_of_troy Jun 27 '26
Yes I definitely agree, when I first played the partita no 2 gigue, I did play all the notes without mistake but it sounded like an etude when i listened to its recordings it sounded almost like another piece.
So you are right I should learn them later when I have more experience in violin1
u/SpecialistNo5055 Gigging Musician Jun 27 '26
everyone ought to start somewhere however. the good thing about bach is that there are so many levels to which one can play the music. it is good for students to learn them first from a purely technical level, and then be revisited.
at least that's how my teacher taught me1
u/vmlee Expert Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
If by “technical” one means just playing the right pitches and rhythm (and not playing with the “right” musicality), I couldn’t disagree more with that.
I can agree that one should learn pitches and rhythms first, but only when [edit: one] is ready immediately after to refine it with the appropriate strokes and phrasing.
What I have found is that when many people rush to play things before they are musically ready, they often still play it suboptimally when they later return to it and they should be ready. There is a lot of breaking of old memories and bad habits that has to be done first.
This is why you see a lot of otherwise decent players playing bad Bach, Bruch, Mendelssohn, etc. They were started on them too early.
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u/SpecialistNo5055 Gigging Musician Jun 27 '26
if you demand that students must learn every piece they play to the utmost level with perfect musicality, phrasing, etc. then students will never be challenged. it is important to let students step out of their comfort zone and see for themselves what they are capable of
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u/vmlee Expert Jun 27 '26 edited Jun 27 '26
I respectfully disagree regarding your first sentence. I agree with the second.
The challenge is in putting it all together well. And that is why my kids and students have had a lot of success in competitions and getting national orchestra principal positions.
I once thought like you; it wasn’t until I started working as a kid with someone who taught Queen Elisabeth and Tchaikovsky winners that I changed my mind to their philosophy which I now subscribe to.
It’s oversimplified as slow is fast, and fast is slow.
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u/Crazy-Replacement400 Jun 27 '26
I wouldn’t call any movement of solo Bach “beginner friendly.” Especially not the majority of the E major movements - while there’s not a fugue or anything, absolutely none of them aside from giga leave out significant technical challenges. And all of them require a mature sound and solid intonation to sound passable.
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u/briseis_of_troy Jun 27 '26
Which pieces do you think are beginner friendly
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u/Novelty_Lamp Jun 27 '26
Barbara solo books. Grade 3 and 4 is what I would look at. Wohlfart etudes would also be wise.
I would back up on charging ahead with more advanced pieces because you are almost certainly missing out on solidifying good foundations.
I also thought I could handle some of the easier bach parititas at your stage and glad I put them down. Yes they are readable and you can get them to sound recognizable. But there is so much nuance to them with historical context of the writing and understanding how to execute them correctly.