Fastest violin piece you have ever heard?

Question

I would prefer if it weren't something by some obscure musician. Thanks.

Answer 1

Well... any violin piece can go as fast as it is played and no faster :-) Seriously though, different artists often play the same piece at different tempos. I play both fiddle music and classical, and I'd have to say that classical is definitely faster. How about the last (3rd) movement of the Samuel Barber violin concerto? The story goes that the fellow who commissioned it complained that it was too hard to play because it was supposed to be so fast (it IS pretty difficult, but not un-doable). That one might be your best bet if you want something that purely sounds fast and frantic. Or, The last (3rd) movement of the Mendelssohn violin concerto is really fast.

Pablo de Sarasate is a well-known composer who wrote a lot show-off type solo violin pieces with fast passages. Not necessarily fast tempo all the way through, but virtuosic. Try Zapateado or Zigeunerweisen, or there is a really cool violin duet called Navarra.

There are many recordings of all these pieces by various musicians, in fact I bet you could find them all on Youtube.
Give me a little more detail on what you're looking for (something for a solo recital? to put in a film soundtrack? just to listen to?) and I might be able to give some more suggestions. There are lots and lots of fast violin pieces out there.

Answer 2

Fastest Violin Player

Answer 3

Any piece by Mendelssohn. Some of his music is absolutely brilliant and so fast, it makes my head swim. Of course I love all classical music, even the slow pieces. Other fast-paced piano and violin pieces are Lizst's "Hungarian Rhapsodies". Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin have also composed finger-flying music. Have you ever heard Chopin's "Minute Waltz"?

Answer 4

Silver already nailed it with Drum Machines. To me, those were the worst, especially when the technology was new and the rhythms were stiff and the sounds really cheesy. As a bass player, one thing I really hate is Synth Bass. Overused on countless pop and dance-pop songs, synth bass has a tendency to stick to woofers like gum to the soles of your shoes. If a producer's determined to employ synth bass on tracks, at least have it programmed by a real bass player so the grooves breathe & have a little life!

Answer 5

Is a fiddle a violin? If it is then how about "Devil went down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band?

Answer 6

Charlie Daniels, the devil went down to Georgia- fiddle violin same thing lol

Answer 7

Paganiin 24 Caprices. Perlman recorded these when he was 27:

Music:
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/a/item.html?id=186635&item=4295446

Recording:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004R95O/conniesviolin-20

Answer 8

OBVIOUSLY the other people who have answered this poll havent heard classical violin. i play, and it is very fast, and VERY difficult. have you heard Nigel Kennedy?

Answer 9

Does The devil went down to Georgia count? It is a fiddle but the same.

Answer 10

The Devil Went Down To Jamaica, he was lookin for some weed to buy..