From Mozart’s Death to The Nutcracker: Daily Classical Music Anniversaries for December

by Emily E. Hogstad  

December is packed with some of the most famous (and infamous) anniversaries in classical music history.

It’s the month when Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies were heard for the first time in a freezing Viennese hall – the month when Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker dazzled St. Petersburg audiences – and the month when Bach’s Christmas Oratorio first stunned Leipzig churchgoers on Christmas Day.

The Nutcracker with Charlotte Nebres as Clara, 2019 (photo by Erin Baiano / New York City Ballet)

It’s also the month that saw the birth of Maria Callas, Jean Sibelius, and Olivier Messiaen…as well as the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose death on 5 December 1791 marked one of the greatest losses in the history of music.

Today, we’re looking at some of the most important December anniversaries in classical music history.

1 December 1944

Premiere of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra

Béla Bartók

This Concerto for Orchestra by exiled composer Béla Bartók first burst to life in Boston on this day in 1944.

World war was raging, and Bartók was terminally ill. Yet despite that, Bartók succeeded in creating one of the greatest musical masterpieces of the twentieth century.

We wrote an article about Bartók’s heartbreaking final illness and the conditions under which he wrote the Concerto.

2 December 1923

Birth of Maria Callas

Maria Callas sings an excerpt from Norma   

Born in New York to Greek parents, Maria Callas grew up to become the operatic diva of the twentieth century, making countless classic recordings and inspiring multiple biopics.

We wrote an article about the obstacles Maria Callas overcame in her life, including her turbulent love life, a fraught relationship with her mother, and a painful battle with her weight.

3 December 1721

Marriage of Johann Sebastian Bach and Anna Magdalena Wilcke Bach

Excerpts from Bach’s Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach  

When he was 36, Johann Sebastian Bach wed the gifted young court soprano Anna Magdalena Wilcke, who was 20.

So began a personal and professional partnership that would shape classical music history for centuries to come.

Anna Magdalena Bach

We wrote here about what happened to the thirteen (!) children born during their marriage, as well as the surviving children from Bach’s first marriage.

4 December 1881

Premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto   

Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto was a bit of a flop when it made its Vienna debut on this day in 1881, but nowadays it’s one of the most beloved concertos ever written, for any instrument.

We wrote here about the secret gay love affair that helped to inspire the concerto after Tchaikovsky’s disastrous marriage.

5 December 1791

Death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart’s short, incandescent life ended in Vienna when he was just 35 years old. His unfinished Requiem would be his final work.

Henry Nelson O’Neil: The Last Hours of Mozart, 1860s

We went into the details of how Mozart’s health deteriorated and what it was like at his deathbed.

6 December 1933

Birth of Henryk Górecki

Born in a poor Silesian village in 1933, Górecki would grow up to become a major composer.

His Symphony of Sorrowful Songs became a blockbuster hit in the 1970s. We wrote about the extraordinary story behind the symphony, and how it accidentally became a classic.

7 December 1842

First concert of the Philharmonic Society of New York

In early December 1842, the Philharmonic Society of New York launched what would become America’s oldest symphony orchestra, today known as the New York Philharmonic.

8 December 1865

Birth of Jean Sibelius

Jean Sibelius grew up to create the sound world of an entire nation: his beloved Finland.

His musical portrayals of snowy horizons and fierce defiance, colored by moments of triumph and tragedy, are unforgettable.

Jean Sibelius, 1923

Find out how Sibelius grew into Finland’s greatest composer.

9 December 1745

Birth of Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen   

A Venetian violin virtuosa trained by the famous Baroque violinist Giuseppe Tartini, Lombardini Sirmen composed and toured Europe to acclaim, proving that an eighteenth-century woman could hold her own against the composers and soloists of her day.

Her first violin concerto was praised by none other than Mozart’s father.

We wrote an article with thirteen intriguing facts about Lombardini Sirmen’s life and music.

10 December 1908

Birth of Olivier Messiaen

Olivier Messiaen

French composer Olivier Messiaen wrote timeless music that incorporates birdcalls, a veritable rainbow of instrumental colours, and his staunch Catholic faith into radiant soundscapes.

We wrote a beginner’s guide to Messiaen.

11 December 1803

Birth of Hector Berlioz, La Côte-Saint-André

Franck: Hector Berlioz, 1860s (Gallica, ark:/12148/btv1b84542182)

Hector Berlioz was born in provincial La Côte-Saint-André, France.

His groundbreaking orchestration and dramatic storytelling helped shape the Romantic Era, and his terrifying obsession with actress Harriet Smithson gave birth to his famous Symphonie fantastique.

We looked at why Berlioz was considered to be such a rebellious enfant terrible.

12 December 1891

Premiere of Johannes Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet

Johannes Brahms’s Clarinet Quintet, Op. 115 is one of his final and most introspective works: a bittersweet masterclass in melancholy.

We looked at a performance of Brahms’ Clarinet quintet by the Jerusalem Quartet and clarinettist Sharon Kam.

13 December 1812

Death of Marianna Martines    

Viennese composer Marianna Martines died on this day at age 63.

A student of Haydn and admired by Mozart, she was one of the few women composers to gain recognition in eighteenth-century Vienna.

We looked at Marianna Martines’s extraordinary life story and how she was able to compete with the great male composers in her orbit.

14 December 1789

Birth of Maria Szymanowska

Maria Szymanowska

Maria Szymanowska was a pioneering concert pianist and composer whose distinctly Polish style anticipated the idiom of poetic pianism later perfected by Chopin.

We explained here why Maria Szymanowska was so ahead of her time, and why Goethe called her “a great talent bordering on madness.”

15 December 1924

Birth of Ida Haendel

Haendel plays the Sibelius violin concerto   

Violinist Ida Haendel was born in Chelm, Poland, on this day in 1924.

A child prodigy who debuted with a number of major orchestras before she turned ten, she sustained one of the longest classical music careers of the century.

She credited her survival of World War II to her musical talents.

We celebrated Ida Haendel and her trademark big hair and high heels.

16 December 1882

Birth of Zoltán Kodály

Zoltán Kodály conducting

Composer and educator Zoltán Kodály was born in Kecskemét, Hungary, on this day in 1882.

Renowned for his choral works and passion for music education, he helped shape Hungary’s modern musical identity, and his pedagogical ideas are still widely embraced today.

Learn more about Kodály’s childhood.

17 December 1770

Baptism of Ludwig van Beethoven   

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7

Ludwig van Beethoven was baptised in Bonn. We observe the date of his baptism because we don’t know for sure which day he was born, although many people believe it would have been December sixteenth.

Of course, we all know that he became the most influential composer of his generation!

We looked at the story of Beethoven’s tragic childhood, and how he survived disturbing parental abuse.

18 December 1892

Premiere of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker ballet   

The Nutcracker

Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker and opera Iolanta premiered as a double bill at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1892, the year before his death.

Both works quickly became staples of the repertoire.

We wrote about The Nutcracker’s premiere and why it is helping to ensure future classical music audiences.

19 December 1888

Birth of Fritz Reiner   

Conductor Fritz Reiner was born in Budapest in 1888.

His controlling precision on the podium helped to define the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s sound during his tenure there as music director…and made him a few enemies along the way.

We wrote an article discussing Reiner’s rocky relationship with his principal cellist János Starker.

20 December 1948

Birth of Mitsuko Uchida

Mitsuko Uchida plays Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20   

Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida was born in Tokyo on this day in 1948.

Celebrated for her insightful interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven, she is one of today’s leading interpreters of the classical canon.

We wrote an article about Uchida’s childhood and how she became so passionate about the piano.

21 December 1953

Birth of András Schiff   

Pianist and conductor András Schiff was born in Budapest on this day in 1953.

Known for his thoughtful musicianship and deep commitment to Bach and Beethoven, he remains one of the most respected pianists of his generation.

We wrote about why András Schiff is one of the greatest pianists of all time.

22 December 1808

Premieres of Beethoven’s Symphonies No. 5 and No. 6, Piano Concerto No. 4, and Choral Fantasy    

During Christmas break in 1808, at Vienna’s luxurious Theater an der Wien, Beethoven conducted a marathon concert featuring the premieres of his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Fourth Piano Concerto, and the Choral Fantasy—all in a single evening.

It is likely the most famous concert in classical music history.

We looked at how Beethoven pulled off this multi-hour monster concert.

23 December 1893

Premiere of Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel   

Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hänsel und Gretel premiered in Weimar under the baton of composer Richard Strauss. The work became an enduring Christmas favourite.

We wrote about what makes Hänsel und Gretel this Christmas classic so charming.

24 December 1835

Birth of Cosima Liszt Wagner

Richard Wagner and Cosima von Bülow Wagner

Cosima Liszt, daughter of Franz Liszt and later wife of Richard Wagner, was born on Lake Como on Christmas Eve in 1835.

She would become the formidable custodian of Wagner’s legacy at Bayreuth, and although she wasn’t a composer herself, one of the most influential women in nineteenth and even twentieth-century music.

Find out the unforgettable way that Wagner celebrated Cosima’s birthday in style in 1870.

25 December 1734

Premiere of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Part I

Elias Gottlob Haussmann: J.S. Bach, 1746 (Leipzig: Bach-Archiv)

J

The first part of Bach’s six-part Christmas Oratorio was premiered in Leipzig in 1734.

This first part celebrates the birth of Jesus.

26 December 1926

Premiere of Sibelius’s Tapiola

One of Jean Sibelius’s final orchestral masterpieces, Tapiola, premiered in New York in 1926.

The work’s haunting soundscape reflected the composer’s imminent – and infamous – soft retirement, which would last for decades, until the end of his life.

We wrote an article called Ten Pieces to Make You Love Sibelius.

27 December 1944

Death of Amy Beach

Amy Beach

Trailblazing American composer Amy Beach was best known for her Gaelic Symphony (the first woman-written symphony ever played by a major American orchestra) and numerous gorgeous piano works.

We wrote about Amy Beach’s fascinating life – and her staggering early genius.

28 December 1916

Death of Eduard Strauss

Eduard Strauss

Eduard Strauss, the younger and last-surviving brother of Johann Strauss II, died at age 81.

His passing marked the end of the original Strauss family line of waltz composers.

We told the story of the wildly dysfunctional Strauss family dynasty.

29 December 1876

Birth of Pablo (Pau) Casals   

Cellist Pablo Casals was born in El Vendrell, Catalonia.

His firm stance against twentieth-century fascism and his revival of Bach’s Cello Suites made him a moral as well as musical icon.

We wrote about why it was a miracle that Casals survived his childhood.

30 December 1904

Birth of Dmitry Kabalevsky

Dmitry Kabalevsky

Soviet composer Dmitry Kabalevsky was born in St. Petersburg on this day in 1904.

He became known for his accessible style and dedication to music education during the Soviet era.

31 December 1962

Birth of Jennifer Higdon

A Pulitzer and Grammy winner, Jennifer Higdon is one of the most frequently performed American composers of the twenty-first century.

Back in 2019 we talked with her about her string quartet Voices appearing at the Intimacy of Creativity festival.

Conclusion

From Bach’s Christmas Oratorio to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, December is filled with classical music anniversaries that changed the course of music history.

The month brings together composer birthdays, landmark premieres, and tragic deaths.

Each and every anniversary is an opportunity to remember how rich the legacy of the art is…and how much it has to give to future generations.

What do you find to be the most meaningful December anniversary in classical music history?

8 Surprising Ways Classical Music Can Help You Focus and Study

by Emily E. Hogstad  November 20th, 2025

Many people, when they’re trying to focus or study, turn to music to help them concentrate.

The right music selection can help you by boosting your mood, lowering your stress, and even improving your mental health.

What genre is the best for this purpose, though?

The science is still coming in, but classical music is an especially promising option.

Here are eight surprising ways that classical music can help you focus and study.

1. Music can alter your brain chemicals in helpful ways.

© psychologistworld.com

When listening to music that you enjoy, your brain releases a neurotransmitter and hormone known as dopamine.

According to the Cleveland Clinic’s website:

Dopamine is known as the “feel-good” hormone. It gives you a sense of pleasure. It also gives you the motivation to do something when you’re feeling pleasure…

If you have the right balance of dopamine, you feel happy, motivated, alert, and focused.

In addition to encouraging the release of dopamine, listening to music can help suppress the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol spikes during stressful situations, and extended exposure to it can lead to anxiety, insomnia, and other symptoms.

Increasing dopamine levels and decreasing cortisol levels can help make it easier for your brain to focus.

2. Music helps us reach a balanced energy state.

Everyone knows how difficult it is to focus when you’re tired…or wired.

There’s a happy middle ground here, and the right kind of music can help you reach it.

Every classical music lover has listened to recordings that have calmed us down, and others that have pumped us up.

Using that fact to our advantage in our listening means that we can impact our energy levels as we’re trying to focus.

3. Music masks distractions.

Even if we manage to stay off our phones while working, there are still distractions all around us.

A dog might be barking down the street. Maybe you’re working in a coffee shop next to a loud espresso machine. Maybe you’re in your dorm or apartment, and you can hear your neighbours talking or fighting.

Even if you can work while these things are going on, just noticing them and anticipating them takes up a portion of your brain’s processing power.

Not only does listening to music help to obscure the most common distractions, it also creates a predictable kind of soundscape that frees up space to focus.

4. Genres with lyrics are distracting…and a lot of classical music doesn’t have them.

© theconversation.com

Many people claim that it’s difficult to concentrate on a task if they’re listening to music with lyrics.

Scientists are still learning about this phenomenon, but one 2023 study suggests that this might be true, depending on the task.

The abstract of “Should We Turn off the Music? Music with Lyrics Interferes with Cognitive Tasks” reads:

Music with lyrics hindered verbal memory, visual memory, and reading comprehension…whereas its negative effect on arithmetic was not credible.

The other genre the scientists tested – hip-hop lo-fi – was an instrumental one.

While listening to lo-fi didn’t improve participants’ performance, it also didn’t hinder it in the way music with lyrics did.

This is a preliminary study, and more research needs to be done about which genres and types of music might be helpful for specific kinds of tasks.

But it’s worth noting that a lot of classical music doesn’t employ singers or lyrics…making it an especially intriguing option for people who are experimenting with using music to improve their concentration.

5. Classical music can impact your brain waves. (Or at least some classical music can.)

According to one study:

The term “brain (or neural) oscillations” refers to the rhythmic and/or repetitive electrical activity generated spontaneously and in response to stimuli by neural tissue in the central nervous system.

(Another term for these oscillations is “brain waves.”)

Alpha waves are a type of brain wave associated with a relaxed but alert frame of mind: perfect for inducing focus.

Some music has been shown to encourage alpha waves.

One study in Rome was recently published in Consciousness and Cognition. It followed thirty participants who listened to Beethoven’s Für Elise and an excerpt from Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D-major, KV 448.   

According to the researchers:

The results of our study show an increase in the alpha power and MF frequency index of background activity in both adults and in the healthy elderly after listening to the Mozart sonata.

Interestingly, Beethoven’s Für Elise did not elicit the same response, suggesting that not all classical music might be equal when it comes to encouraging alpha waves.

6. The tempo of classical music can encourage a calm heart rate.

© onlymyhealth.com

It can be hard to concentrate if you’re stressed out and have a fast pulse.

One technique to bring a pulse down to resting rate is to listen to music with the pulse rate you’re aiming for.

A healthy resting heart rate can vary widely depending on a person’s age, fitness, and gender, but a standard number to shoot for is around 60 beats per minute.

Interestingly, this is a common tempo for a wide variety of classical music. It’s especially common in slow movements from the Baroque era.   

7. The structure of a lot of classical music is very predictable, which enables our brains to focus more easily on other things.

A lot of classical music was composed by using formulas, especially in the Baroque era. These formulas and conventions have to do with tempo, dynamics, and structure generally.

The patterns that make up these formulas mean that the music is just predictable enough to give your brain something to latch onto, without distracting it.

8. Silence can be lonely. Classical music can provide companionship…and make tasks requiring concentration more appealing.

Many people prefer completing overwhelming tasks with supportive company.

Listening to classical music while completing a task can improve your working experience, especially if you are feeling isolated, overwhelmed, or unmotivated.

Most classical music is unamplified and non-electronic, enhancing its human qualities and making listeners feel especially close to the performer.   

Conclusion

There is a lot that scientists don’t know about how music affects people’s concentration. Hopefully, more studies will be undertaken in the years to come so that we can understand both its limitations and its power.

But until all of the science is in, one thing is for sure: classical music is one of the most promising genres to experiment with when you’re deciding what music will help you focus.

10 Greatest Violin Concertos (And the Most Popular Performance of Each)

by Emily E. Hogstad 

Composers have been writing violin concertos since the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Over the next three centuries, composers created thousands of violin concertos.

Most have since fallen into obscurity…but a handful have demonstrated their enduring appeal to both musicians and audiences.

© medium.com

Although it’s a fool’s errand to make an objective list of the ten greatest violin concertos, we’re taking a shot at making a subjective one.

So here’s our list of the ten greatest violin concertos, a brief overview of what makes each one so appealing, and a link to the most popular YouTube performance of each concerto.

10. J.S. Bach: Violin Concerto No. 1 (c. 1720)   

Johann Sebastian Bach’s first violin concerto likely dates from around 1720, when Bach was employed by Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen.

While working for Leopold, he wrote more instrumental secular music than religious music.

One of the pieces dating from this time was this violin concerto.

It has become one of the most beloved violin concertos of the Baroque era. It features a lively, emphatic first movement; a songful slow movement; and a driving, flowing third movement.

The most-viewed version of the concerto on YouTube is played by German violinist Julia Fischer. It’s light and lovely.

The YouTube heatmap indicates that the most popular part of the performance is at the start of the slow movement at 4:30. Fischer’s playing here is especially luminous.   

Max Bruch was a prolific German Romantic composer. Unfortunately, he ended up becoming a bit of a one-hit wonder…but that one hit ended up becoming one of the pillars of the Romantic violin repertoire.

After a while, Bruch became exasperated at the concerto’s popularity, which eclipsed so many of his other works:

Max Bruch

“Every fortnight, another [violinist] comes to me wanting to play the first concerto. I have now become rude, and have told them: ‘I cannot listen to this concerto any more – did I perhaps write just this one? Go away and once and for all play the other concertos, which are just as good, if not better.”

The concerto begins with a slow, theatrical opening marked Vorspiel, the German word for “prelude” or “overture.”

The body of the first movement moves without a break into a warm and placid second movement.

The finale features a triumphant and hummable dance-like theme.

The most popular recording on YouTube is American violinist Hilary Hahn’s performance with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. The most popular moment in her performance is the stormy second half of the first movement, beginning around 4:45.   

Dark, brooding, and painfully personal, Shostakovich’s first violin concerto reflects the composer’s struggles under the oppression of the Soviet rule.

The concerto was written between 1947 and 1948, but Shostakovich knew its style wouldn’t appeal to the conservative tastes of Soviet authorities, so he suppressed it.

It was only able to safely premiere in 1955, two years after the death of Stalin.

It includes a haunting Nocturne, a desperately virtuosic cadenza linking the third and fourth movements, and a fiery finale.

Hilary Hahn once again has the most popular YouTube recording of this repertoire.

7. Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2 (1937-38)    

Bartók’s second violin concerto is a tour de force of thrilling rhythms and striking colours. It is also one of the most technically demanding violin concertos in the standard repertoire.

Written between 1937 and 1938, this concerto draws heavily on the traditions of Hungarian folk music, while also sounding contemporary and cutting-edge.

Béla Bartók, 1927

Violinist Augustin Hadelich’s performance of this concerto is the most-viewed one on YouTube.

According to the YouTube heatmap, the most popular part of the video is the concerto’s breathless final moments, beginning at 36:00 in this performance. The music sounds like an unhinged folk fiddler has been dropped into the middle of a symphony orchestra.    

6. Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 (1775)

Unbelievably, Mozart composed all five of his violin concertos while still a teenager. He wrote the first when he was seventeen and the rest when he was nineteen.

Each one shows his musicality growing by leaps and bounds. By the time he wrote the fifth, his technique was completely assured.

This concerto is known for its contrasts and shifts in character. For instance, the opening begins with a cheery tune in the orchestra, but the soloist then enters with a slow, heavenly, operatic sequence of notes before bustling off.

It is nicknamed the “Turkish” concerto due to the percussive segments in the finale, a remnant of the craze for all things Turkish that swept Vienna and western Europe during the late eighteenth century.

The most popular performance of the concerto on YouTube is a 2015 performance by Korean violinist Bomsori Kim at the Queen Elisabeth Competition.   

5. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto (1878)

Tchaikovsky wrote his violin concerto shortly after the breakdown of his six-week-long marriage. (The relationship was doomed because he was gay, and his new wife clearly didn’t understand what she’d gotten herself into.) He fled to Switzerland with a former student/love interest, violinist Yosif Kotek.

Inspired by escaping his traumatic marriage and refreshed by the new surroundings (and company), he wrote his violin concerto in just two weeks.

Although the reaction to the work was initially cool, it has since become one of the most beloved violin concertos ever written.

Yosif Kotek and Tchaikovsky

Violinist Alena Baeva and the Düsseldorf Symphony have created the most-viewed version of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto on YouTube.

The Sibelius concerto is icy, intense, and utterly unique. It is the only violin concerto that Sibelius ever wrote, and is a passionate love letter to his beloved instrument.

He once wrote:

“My tragedy was that I wanted to be a celebrated violinist at any price. Since the age of 15, I played my violin practically from morning to night… My love for the violin lasted quite long, and it was a very painful awakening when I had to admit that I had begun my training for the exacting career of a virtuoso too late.”

Jean Sibelius, 1923

He poured all of his regrets into a deeply emotional violin concerto with a haunting opening, a wistful slow movement, and a finale that has been described as a dance for polar bears.

The most popular performance of the Sibelius concerto on YouTube is one given by Hilary Hahn and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in May 2019.

According to the YouTube heatmap, the moment that listeners keep returning to is the final two minutes of the first movement, starting at 17:00. Sibelius’s passion combined with Hahn’s virtuosity is jaw-dropping.   

Mendelssohn’s violin concerto is one of the most structurally and technically perfect violin concertos ever written.

It is memorable from the very first measures. The soloist enters almost immediately with a thrilling melody that makes full use of the silvery qualities of the violin’s highest string.

Its flowing melodies, dramatic orchestral interjections, seamless transitions between movements, and fairylike finale have made it a favourite of audiences for nearly two centuries…and it shows no hint of ever going out of style.

Taiwanese-Australian violinist Ray Chen’s performance of the Mendelssohn is the most-viewed performance of this concerto on YouTube. For this elegant 2015 performance, he joined forces with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.     

Brahms’s violin concerto was written for his dear friend and colleague Joseph Joachim, one of the greatest violinists of his generation.

It is a muscular, monumental work that demands a huge amount of physical and emotional stamina from the soloist.

Joseph Joachim

Another layer of difficulty is that Brahms was not a violinist, so his string writing can be clunky to pull off and make look effortless.

Despite its demands, the radiating warmth and soul-piercing sincerity of this music shine through at every measure, and it has come to be regarded as one of the very greatest violin concertos ever written.

The most popular version of the Brahms concerto on YouTube was performed by Hilary Hahn and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in March 2014.

There are a few popular moments in this recording, but one of the most popular is Hahn’s powerful entrance at 3:00.   

It’s hard to choose the greatest violin concerto, but nobody will criticise you for having the Beethoven concerto at the top of your list.

In this work, Beethoven gives the soloist gorgeous (and incredibly difficult) lyric lines. He also creates an astonishing dialogue between the soloist and orchestra.

The work is on a massive scale: the first movement alone lasts for around twenty minutes. The slow movement is some of the most beautiful music Beethoven ever wrote, and the closing rondo is some of his most joyful and life-affirming.

The most popular performance on YouTube is, once again, one by Hilary Hahn, this time with the Detroit Symphony.

Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven

Interestingly, the most popular spot in the video is not by Beethoven at all: it’s at 19:45, when Hahn plays a flawless version of Fritz Kreisler’s Beethoven concerto cadenza. Even though modern ears might find it a touch too romantic, it is one of the most famous and beloved violin cadenzas of all time, and an incredible experience to witness being played.

Conclusion

We told you at the start that it’s impossible to choose an objective list of the ten best violin concertos, but this is our best shot at it!

How do you think we did? Which of your favourites did we leave out? And what concerto would be your number one pick