Isaac Stern was an American violinist.
Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama. He has conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Westchester Philharmonic. In 2015, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Perlman has won 16 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and four Emmy Awards.
Jascha Heifetz was a Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, he was soon recognized as a child prodigy and was trained in the Russian classical violin style in St. Petersburg. Accompanying his parents to escape the violence of the Russian Revolution, he moved to the United States as a teenager, where his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. Fritz Kreisler, another leading violinist of the twentieth century, said after hearing Heifetz's debut, "We might as well take our fiddles and break them across our knees."
Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately recognizable as his own. Although it derived in many respects from the Franco-Belgian school, his style is nonetheless reminiscent of the gemütlich (cozy) lifestyle of pre-war Vienna.
Sarah Chang is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. She enrolled at Juilliard School to study music, graduated in 1999, and continued university studies. Especially during the 1990s and early to mid-2000s, Chang had major roles as a soloist with many of the world's major orchestras.
Midori Goto, who performs under the mononym Midori, is a Japanese-born American violinist. She made her debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 11 as a surprise guest soloist at the New Year's Eve Gala in 1982. In 1986 her performance at the Tanglewood Music Festival with Leonard Bernstein conducting his own composition made the front-page headlines in The New York Times. Midori became a celebrated child prodigy, and one of the world's preeminent violinists as an adult.
Anne-Sophie Mutter is a German violinist. Born and raised in Rheinfelden, Baden-Württemberg, Mutter started playing the violin at age five and continued studies in Germany and Switzerland. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan and made her orchestral debut with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1977. Since Mutter gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, she has recorded over 50 albums, mostly with the Deutsche Grammophon label, and performed as a soloist with leading orchestras worldwide and as a recitalist. Her primary instrument is the Lord Dunn–Raven Stradivarius violin.
René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti was a French virtuoso violinist, renowned for his lyrical playing style.
Ruggiero Ricci was an American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Paganini.
Kyung Wha Chung is a South Korean violinist.
Robert Nathaniel Mann was a violinist, composer, conductor, and founding member of the Juilliard String Quartet, as well as a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music. Mann, the first violinist at Juilliard, served on the school's string quartet for over fifty years until his retirement in 1997.
Julia Fischer is a German classical violinist and pianist. She teaches at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts and performs up to 60 times per year.
Jaime Laredo is an American violinist and conductor. He was the conductor and music director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and began his musical career when he was five years old.
Angèle Dubeau, is a retired Canadian classical violinist. She has devoted a large part of her career to making classical music accessible to a wide audience and also frequently played works by contemporary composers. In October 2024, she announced that due to nerve damage in her right hand, she was no longer able to play the violin.
Elizabeth Pitcairn is a renowned American classical violinist who is noted for performing on the 1720 Red Mendelssohn Antonio Stradivari violin. In addition to a solo career, she is the President and Artistic Director of the Luzerne Music Center in Lake Luzerne, New York.
Anne Akiko Meyers is an American violinist. She has been called “the Wonder Woman of commissioning” by The Strad.
Dylana Jenson is an American concert violinist and violin teacher. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her husband, conductor and cellist David Lockington. They have four children. Jenson is the sister of Vicky Jenson, an animated film storyboard artist and director.
Vesko Eschkenazy is a violinist who serves as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's concertmaster.
Leia Zhu is a British-Chinese classical violinist.
Fabiola Kim is an American violinist. A professor of violin at the University of Michigan, she is also on the faculty at the Colburn School, Center Stage Strings in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and the Innsbrook Institute. She is co-founder and co-artistic director of the Sounding Point Academy along with her former teacher Robert Lipsett.
