My List of Top Violin Sonatas

Written by Daniel Broniatowski
Published: April 1, 2015 at 3:24 PM [UTC]

Dear readers,

Today I would like to introduce you to my list of top violin sonatas. There are, of course, many many more amazing pieces out there, but this is a great start for the uninitiated! I guarantee that after listening to these, you will be spellbound and will want much more. Be sure to listen to all of them to hear the different styles of each composer!

Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer who lived from 1770-1827. His Kreutzer Sonata is a monumental work composed in May 1803 written in three movements. Initially dedicated to violinist George Bridgetower (1778–1860) at the Augarten Theatre but subsequently rededicated to Rodolphe Kreutzer after the first dedicatee insulted a women Beethoven was fond of. The entire work can be heard below:

Franck's Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano

César Franck was a French composer born in Liège (now Belgium) who lived from 1822-1890. Written in 1886, this piece was written as a wedding present for the famous violinist Eugène Ysaÿe who performed the piece widely over a forty year period. There are four movements and they are held together in a cyclic form. In other words, common themes (albeit transformed) link all of the piece together.

The entire work can be heard below:

Schumann's Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Minor

Schumann was a German composer who lived from 1810-1856. His first sonata was composed September 12-16, 1851 and was premiered by pianist Clara Schumann (Robert's wife) and violinist Ferdinand David. You can hear the entire work below:

Tartini's Devil's Trill Sonata

Giuseppe Tartini was an Italian composer who lived from 1692-1770. His Devil's Trill sonata was really initially called the Violin Sonata in G Minor but after hearing of Tartini's dream about an encounter with the devil, the sonata became known by the composer by its more colloquial name. You can read about this dream here.

You can hear the sonata below: