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Most difficult violin piece ever

Last updated February 1, 2023

Most difficult violin piece

What is the most difficult violin piece ever? Using her 300-year-old Italian violin to demonstrate, violinist Jamie Hutchinson has just finished a recording session at Abbey Road Studios and can tell you all the hardest violin pieces ever written…

P.S. Don’t forget to head over to look at our Beginner’s Guide to the Violin after watching the video…

Table of Contents

Hardest Violin Pieces Ever

When talking about the most difficult violin pieces ever written, it is crucial to consider the technical difficulties of the instrument and factors such as bow control, agility, vibrato, tone quality, tempo, and even emotion.

These are pieces that are not for the faint-hearted! They are all technically demanding, AND a challenge to pull off, musically-speaking. When a violinist is totally “exposed” and playing alone, the pressure piles on. There is nowhere to hide…

List of difficult violin pieces

Most difficult violin piece
Paganini | 24 Caprices
The most demanding technical works for solo violin, Niccolò Paganini’s Caprices make up 24 fiendishly tricky pieces for the string instrument. Crammed with double stops, left-hand pizzicato and endless spiccato bowing. Paganini was the superstar of his day…
Most difficult violin piece
Sibelius | Violin concerto in D minor
Jean Sibelius’ only concerto is one of the most intense and challenging violin concertos ever written. British musicologist Donald Tovey described the final movement as a ‘polonaise for polar bears’, saying, ‘I have not met a more original, a more masterly, and a more exhilarating work’.
Most difficult violin piece
Beethoven | Sonata No. 9 'Kreutzer'
Beethoven dedicated his Sonata No. 9 to Rodolphe Kreutzer, the finest violinist of the day. Sadly for old Ludwig, Rodolphe hated the piece. It is one of the most difficult violin pieces ever written and super long for a sonata.
Most difficult violin piece
J.S. Bach | Partita in D minor BWV 1004
While his sonatas and partitas are known for their difficulty, the concluding Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 in D minor takes things to another level. It’s longer than all the other four movements combined and covers pretty much every violin’s technical aspect.
Most difficult violin piece
Sivan | Transcription of the Liszt B minor sonata for solo violin
Liszt’s B minor sonata commands a great deal of respect in the piano world. It is one of the most challenging pieces ever written for the piano. To transcribe this to this violin, and you may as well set the instrument on fire! Giora Schmidt, the violinist who premiered the piece, called it a “Goliath written for ten fingers”.
Most difficult violin piece
Locatelli | Caprice in D major ‘Il labirinto armonico’
In places, Locatelli’s ‘Labyrinth’ has the style of an Irish jig. The melody has some terrifying ultrasonic pitches up on the E string. Many a finger has been damaged in the playing of this crazy difficult piece.
Most difficult violin piece
Ernst | 'The Last Rose Of Summer'
Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst is not a big name in classical music, but his ‘The Last Rose Of Summer’ is notorious among violinists for being a nightmare to perform. He was an obsessive devotee of Paganini, and to doff his cap to the master, Ernst included a vast amount of stupidly complex pizzicato in his music.
Most difficult violin piece
Bartók | Solo Violin Sonata
Béla Bartók’s work was dedicated to and premiered by Yehudi Menuhin, and is considered one of the most difficult violin pieces. As amazing Menuhin was, he still had to ask the composer to make some tweaks to make the Sonata easier to play!
Most difficult violin piece
Ligeti | Violin Concerto
Ligeti was a madman. Effects are used all over the place in this violin concerto, and his concerto for violin and orchestra is jam-packed with harmonics and moments of microtonality. Really, really difficult.
Most difficult violin piece
Sciarrino | 6 Caprices
This fantastic piece of music is crammed with ethereal-sounding harmonics. The Caprices are incredibly difficult and require the violinist to play incredibly close to the bridge with their left hand.
Most difficult violin piece
Paganini | God Save the King
In 1829, Paganini composed a highly virtuosic set of variations on the theme of England’s national anthem, ‘God Save the King’! It features his signature techniques of left-hand pizzicato and spiccato. I wonder if anyone will write music for the future King of England…?
Most difficult violin piece
Vivaldi | Four Seasons
It may not be technically one of the most demanding pieces ever written; but it is so well known, one bow wrong and the whole world will know about it. For that reason, we put this famous Vivaldi hit in our list of most difficult violin pieces.

Summary

This is a fantastic list of some of the hardest violin pieces ever written. But let’s not forget; what is difficult for me, might be easy for you. And although these pieces are technically demanding, there are plenty of pieces that are technically simple, yet almost impossible emotionally to understand. Violin virtuosity isn’t everything!

Let us know in the comments below if you liked the video.

Most difficult violin piece

FAQ's

The most technically demanding piece for solo violin is the 24 Caprices by Paganini. Although there are many other pieces that people consider just as tricky… Better get practising for those violin lessons!

Paganini’s 24 Caprices has to be one of the most famous violin pieces ever written; and the most difficult. But don’t forget notable works like the Vivaldi Four Seasons. Oh, and the Partita in D Minor!

Niccolò Paganini was an incredibly talented violinist. People thought he sold his soul to the devil so he could become the most remarkable virtuoso in history. And he clearly did something, as hundreds of years later, we are still talking about him!

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  • Jamie Hutchinson

    Jamie Hutchinson is a Welsh violinist, and has recorded and played with artists as diverse as Robbie Williams, Burt Bacharach, Quincy Jones, Peter Gabriel, Procul Harum, Paul Weller, Barbra Streisand, Bryn Terfel and countless others.

    For nine consecutive years Jamie has performed at the BBC Proms, including at the Last Night of the Proms both at the Royal Albert Hall and in Hyde Park. She is frequently to be heard on the radio with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra, all of whom she has toured with internationally.

    In her spare time she is a dedicated Pilates student and a keen runner. She is also a book worm and has tentatively started a blog due to her love of words.

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  1. Olivia Newby says:
    July 5, 2022 at 2:53 pm

    This was a great read. I am looking forward to learning these advanced pieces, do you have similar articles?

    Reply

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