The Classical Violin Music Has The Unique Ability To Convey Emotion

The history of the violin is a story of an astonishing and exciting instrument.The violin is the backbone of the symphonic orchestra. It is the most important component of any ensemble. The famous orchestrator Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov said that composers should learn to write for the violin before anything else.The first modern violins started appearing in the 16th century, in Italy. They were stronger than any string instruments that had come before, which gave the new instrument a beautiful singing tone.

The violins were still different from ones played today though. The entire violin was shorter and stouter, and had gut strings.The violin was originally considered a crude instrument, unworthy of being played. But during the 17th and 18th centuries musical giants such as Vivaldi, Mozart, and Monteverdi popularized it enormously in their operas and concerti. This was a turning point in the history of the violin.

By the middle of the 18th century the violin was a hugely important part of chamber music ensembles, often carrying the melody.In the 19th century, the violin's importance and prestige grew with the new Romantic era of music. Dazzling virtuosos like Nicolo Paganini took violin technique to new heights.

As symphonies orchestras got bigger and bigger, more and more violinists were needed to fill out the sound. Modern symphony orchestras usually have two groups of 16 violinists each!Richard Wagner created such dense and complicated violin sounds that many listeners were confused and baffled by his effects.

Classical music dates back to the Baroque era (1600 to 1750) that followed the Renaissance and was subsequently followed by what is known as the classical era. Baroque composers included Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Monteverdi, and many others you've no doubt heard of. It was during this period that music and instrumental performance expanded in both scope and complexity and opera was established as a new musical genre. The violin has the unique ability to convey emotion and is said to produce 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.