List of classical violinists

This is a list of notable classical violinists from the baroque era to the 20th century.

For a more comprehensive list of contemporary classical violinists, see List of contemporary classical violinists.

Baroque era

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
• Evaristo Felice Dall'Abaco (1675–1742)
• Matthew Dubourg (1707–1767)
• Carlo Farina (1600–1640)
• Francesco Geminiani (1687–1762)
• Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (1705–1770)
• Jean-Marie Leclair (1697–1764)
• Pietro Locatelli (1695–1764)
• Francesco Manfredini (1684–1762)
• Jean-Joseph de Mondonville (1711–1772)
• Johann Georg Pisendel (1687–1755)
• Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (1623–1680)
• Giovanni Battista Somis (1686–1763)
• Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770)
• Carlo Tessarini (1690–1765)
• Giuseppe Torelli (1658–1709)
• Francesco Maria Veracini (1690–1768)
• Giovanni Battista Vitali (1632–1692)
• Tomaso Antonio Vitali (1663–1745)
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)

Classical era

• Pierre Baillot (1771–1842)
• Franz Benda (1709–1786)
• Bartolomeo Campagnoli (1751–1827)
• Christian Cannabich (1731–1798)
• Franz Clement (1780–1842)
• Ferdinand Fränzl (1767–1833)
• Ignaz Fränzl(1736–1811)
• Johann Gottlieb Graun (1703–1771)
• François Antoine Habeneck (1781–1849)
• Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
• Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766–1831)
• Antonio Lolli (1730–1802)
• Jean-Joseph de Mondonville (1711–1772)

• Leopold Mozart (1719–1787)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
• Pietro Nardini (1722–1793)
• Gaetano Pugnani (1731–1798)
• Pierre Rode (1774–1830)
• Alessandro Rolla (1757–1841)
• Antonio Rolla (1798–1837)
• Anton Stamitz (1754–1796)
• Carl Stamitz (1745–1801)
• Johann Stamitz (1717–1757)
• Giovanni Battista Viotti (1755–1824)

Romantic era

• Jean-Delphin Alard (1815–1888)
• Leopold Auer (1845–1930)
• Antonio Bazzini (1818–1897)
• Antonín Bennewitz (1833–1926)
• Charles de Bériot (1802–1870)
• Franz Berwald (1796–1868)
• Ole Bull (1810–1880)
• Mathieu Crickboom (1871–1947)
• Charles Dancla (1817–1907)
• Ferdinand David (1810–1873)
• Jakob Dont (1815–1888)
• František Drdla (1868–1944)
• Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1814–1865)
• Nahan Franko (1861–1930)
• Sam Franko (1857–1937)
• Jules Garcin (1830–1896)
• Karel Halíř (1859–1909)
• Joseph Hellmesberger, Jr. (1855–1907)
• Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr. (1828–1893)
• Willy Hess (1859–1939)
• Jenő Hubay (1858–1937)
• Joseph Joachim (1831–1907)
• Paul Klengel (1854–1935)
• Franz Kneisel (1865–1926)
• Franjo Krežma (1862–1881)
• José White Lafitte (1835–1918)

• Walborg Lagerwall (1851–1940)
• Karol Lipiński (1790–1862)
• Martin Pierre Marsick (1847–1924)
• Jacques Féréol Mazas (1782–1849)
• Wilma Neruda (1839–1911)
• Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840)
• Maud Powell (1867–1920)
• François Prume (1816–1849)
• Oskar Rieding (1840–1918)
• Franz Ries (1846–1932)
• Achille Rivarde (1865–1940)
• Pablo de Sarasate (1844–1908)
• Émile Sauret (1852–1920)
• Marianne Stresow Scharwenka (1856–1918)
• François Schubert (1808–1878)
• Fritz (Friedrich) Seitz (1848–1918)
• Otakar Ševčík (1852–1934)
• Camillo Sivori (1818–1894)
• Louis Spohr (1784–1859)
• Josef Suk (1874–1935)
• Carl Venth (1860–1938)
• Henri Vieuxtemps (1820–1881)
• Henryk Wieniawski (1835–1880)
• August Wilhelmj (1845–1908)
• Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931)

20th century

Note: This does not include living violinists, who are listed at List of contemporary classical violinists.

• Helen Armstrong (1943–2006)
• Adolf Busch (1891–1952)
• Guila Bustabo (1916–2002)
• Alfredo Campoli (1906–1991)
• Mary Canberg (1918–2004)
• Isidore Cohen (1922–2005)
• Gioconda de Vito (1907–1994)
• Samuel Dushkin (1891–1976)
• Mischa Elman (1891–1967)
• George Enescu (1881–1955)
• Broadus Erle (1918–1977)
• Joan Field (1915–1988)
• Christian Ferras (1933–1982)
• Eugene Fodor (1950–2011)
• Zino Francescatti (1902–1991)
• Walter Fried (1877–1925)
• Erick Friedman (1939–2004)
• Joseph Fuchs (1899–1997)
• Ivan Galamian (1903–1981)
• Elizabeth Gilels (1919–2008)
• Bronislav Gimpel (1911–1979)
• Szymon Goldberg (1909–1993)
• Boris Goldstein (1922–1987)
• Alexei Gorokhov (1927–1999)
• Arthur Grumiaux (1921–1986)
• Daniel Guilet (1899–1990)
• Boris Gutnikov (1931–1986)
• Sandor Harmati (1892–1936)
• Sidney Harth (1925–2011)
• Josef Hassid (1923–1950)
• Julius Hegyi (1923–2007)
• Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987)
• Philippe Hirschhorn (1946–1996)
• Bronisław Huberman (1882–1947)
• Piotr Janowski (1951–2008)
• Oleg Kagan (1946–1990)
• Kaoru Kakudo (1947–2004)
• Louis Kaufman (1905–1994)
• Eda Kersey (1904–1944)
• Leonid Kogan (1924–1982)
• Rudolf Kolisch (1896–1978)
• Hugo Kortschak (1884–1957)
• Boris Koutzen (1901–1966)
• Tosca Kramer (1903–1976)
• Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962)
• Georg Kulenkampff (1898–1948)
• Isidor Lateiner (1930–2005)
• Sergiu Luca (1943–2010)
• Leonora Jackson McKim (1879–1969)
• Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999)
• Roberto Michelucci (1922–2010)
• Nathan Milstein (1903–1992)
• Mischa Mischakoff (1885–1981)
• Alma Moodie (1898–1943)

• Erika Morini (1904–1995)
• Konstantin Mostras (1886–1965)
• Ginette Neveu (1919–1949)
• David Oistrakh (1908–1974)
• Kathleen Parlow (1890–1963)
• Louis Persinger (1887–1966)
• Enrico Polo (1868–1953)
• Ruth Posselt (1914–2007)
• Váša Příhoda (1900–1960)
• Michael Rabin (1936–1972)
• Eric Rosenblith (1920–2010)
• Albert Sammons (1886–1957)
• Karl Scheurer (1885–1982)
• Wolfgang Schneiderhan (1915–2002)
• Toscha Seidel (1899–1962)
• Berl Senofsky (1926–2002)
• Oscar Shumsky (1917–2000)
• Julian Sitkovetsky (1925–1958)
• Semyon Snitkovsky (1933–1981)
• Eduard Sõrmus (1878–1940)
• Albert Spalding (1883–1953)
• Tossy Spivakovsky (1906–1998)
• Steven Staryk (1952–2003)
• Isaac Stern (1920–2001)
• Josef Suk (1929–2011)
• Zoltán Székely (1903–2001)
• Henryk Szeryng (1918–1988)
• Joseph Szigeti (1892–1973)
• Gerhard Taschner (1922–1976)
• Henri Temianka (1906–1992)
• Jacques Thibaud (1880–1953)
• Andor Toth (1925–2006)
• Anahit Tsitsikian (1926–1999)
• Tibor Varga (1921–2003)
• Cedric Wright (1889–1959)
• Florian ZaBach (1918–2006)
• Efrem Zimbalist (1889–1985)

Contemporary

• See List of contemporary classical violinists

Further reading

• The Art of Violin Playing Books 1 & 2, Carl Flesch. Edited by Eric Rosenblith. Carl Fischer Music ISBN 0825828228 and ISBN 0825865905
• The Armenian Bowing Art, Anahit Tsitsikian,Published by “Edit Print” print house Yerevan, 2004.(in Russian)
• The Art of Violin Playing, Daniel Melsa, Foulsham & Co. Ltd.
• Biographical Notice of Nicolo Paganini, by F.J. Fétis (c.1880), Schott & Co.
• The Book of the Violin, edited by Dominic Gill (1984), Phaidon Press. ISBN 0-7148-2286-8
• The Devil's Box-Masters of Southern Fiddling by Charles Wolfe (1997), Country Music Foundation Press. ISBN 0-8265-1324-7
• An Encyclopedia of the Violin, by Alberto Bachmann (1965/1990), Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80004-7
• The Great Violinists, by Margaret Campbell (1980/2004), Robson Books. ISBN 1-86105-623-0
• Paganini-The Genoese, by G.I.C. de Courcy (1957), University of Oklahoma Press
• Stuff Smith-Pure at Heart, edited by Anthony Barnett & Eva Løgager (1991), Allardyce Barnett Publishers. ISBN 0-907954-15-4
• Szigeti on the Violin, by Joseph Szigeti (1969/1979), Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-23763-X
• Tartini-His Life and Times, by Prof. Dr. Lev Ginsburg (1968), Paganiniana Publications Inc. ISBN 0-87666-590-3
• Unfinished Journey, Yehudi Menuhin (1976), Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-354-04146-0
• The Violin, by Yehudi Menuhin (1996), Flammarion. ISBN 2-08-013623-2
• The Violin and I, by Kato Havas (1968/1975), Bosworth & Co. Ltd.
• Violin Playing-As I Teach it, by Leopold Auer (1921/1960), Gerarld Duckworth & Co Ltd.
• Violins & Violinists, by Franz Farga (1950), Rockliff Publishing Corporation Ltd.
• Ysaÿe, by Prof. Dr. Lev Ginsburg (1980), Paganiniana Publications Inc. ISBN 0-87666-620-9

External links

• Legendary Violinists (a public arts website)
• Famous Violinists of To-day and Yesterday by Henry Charles Lahee, an 1889 publication at Project Gutenberg
• Violinists and Violists on the Web Alphabetical listings of web pages on string players, past and present.