Ranking the BEST Cadenzas from Violin Concertos 🎻 [Difficulty Tier List]

[@RayChenViolinist]

Want to stay musically motivated? Join the practice community on Tonic: tonicmusic.app/join-in Your live practice journal & community all in one place 🎵

[@shannonmoro401]

Today is 290 days of practicing in a row on tonic.

[@juliancardenas4474]

@RayChenViolinist could you please rank violin show pieces? That would be interesting, insightful, and entertaining.

[@handsomeayden]

Prediction: Hardest Violin Sonatas

[@dylanviolin28]

When I performed with my school orchestra I played your cadenza for Mozart 3. It's very fun to play! Thank you so much for giving me a different view of Mozart's concerto!

[@JohannSebastianBach445]

at multiple points in this video ray is going to flex on us that he can play all of these cadenzas

[@Hannah-CatLady]

Haha you were right!

[@M_SC]

He better

[@JeanDeLaCroix_]

Not the sauret actually

[@JohannSebastianBach445]

@@JeanDeLaCroix_ true but thats because he gave up when he was 19, I bet he could probably learn it now.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

Yeah it's all about him showing off!

[@damshek]

If you aren't a violinist and you want to know how good someone like Ray is- I'm a pretty decent violinist, and I'd agree with his timing rankings... multiplied by 10. I'd need 10 weeks for a piece he'd give himslef one week for. "Death level" stuff would be between 5 years and never. That's the difference between "pretty decent" and "world-level".

[@ac1646]

But I'm sure you are as nice a human being as Ray 😁😁

[@kevingaruccio5758]

Hadelich and Vengerov have their own cadenzas for Brahms and they are insane

[@danielakbari5637]

Also Heifetz

[@richardlehoux]

I have just asked the question. Thank you!!!

[@alejandronarvaez9806]

Vengerov is top tier, Hadelich is just boring and off

[@Y3llow_Submarin3]

@@alejandronarvaez9806 Hadelich is perfect.

[@jasonkanggviolin]

@@alejandronarvaez9806 hadelich's is pretty nice i would say

[@lucienazario2786]

I am always excited with what Ray would share with his audience. I am learning much from him.

[@TheEternaut]

Same here!

[@everythingaboutnothing3190]

This Ray of sunshine warms my heart and plucks its strings so well. He's light and sweet and keeps the beat as mine begins to swell. This Ray of music makes us smile as we all watch him here a while!

[@chuffer595]

Augustin Hadelich has written his own cadenzas for several concertos, including Paganini 1 (I think) and Brahms. They're excellent!

[@alejandronarvaez9806]

His cadenzas are really boring tho, maybe the paganini has an interesting section, but afterwards boring as well, Brahms one is really bad

[@chuffer595]

@@alejandronarvaez9806 I really enjoy his Brahms cadenza. But that's just personal taste.

[@chris-o2o4p]

I don’t play violin and my instrument isn’t even orchestral but I find these videos so interesting and I love them

[@AwesomeWizard1]

What instrument do you play?

[@chris-o2o4p]

@@AwesomeWizard1 euphonium, which has some concertos but isnt orchestral

[@ceticobr]

Same.

[@sabrinai]

Another IntEresTing tierlist! Can't wait to hear which cadenzas are the best from a soloist pov.

[@Lisa_kam7]

How’s this one 5 hours ago?

[@lakatos1683]

Your ranking videos are so interesting and genuine, I really enjoy them. The details you present to explain your opinions are very helpful for any violinist--thank you!

[@SilasViolin]

Thank you so much for reviewing my video (Viotti 22 cadenza) again!

[@ElsweyrDiego]

petition for Ray to play a Mozart Concerto 3 mov.1 with Auer cadenza to be the only one on youtube!

[@Aaron-xq6hv]

I actually love the Auer cadenza so I wish he would.

[@bigbeepian224]

And the carl flesch

[@rebekahweber2413]

I love Ray Chen. He is so engaging, enigmatic, vivacious, as well as energetic when he excites us with his playin, along with the breakdow of the music he brings to us. He makes us all feel like we could just pick up a violin, study for a while, then jump in and play with everyone, even though it is a daunting task to become a great player like him. When I watch, I feel included, not excluded but along for the ride. He is so fun and enchanting, as we are riding on the coattails of his passion for experiencing music. I love listening to any classical and most contemporary songs, but he just takes it over the top with his dazzling smile and inviting presentations. You just feel like he is personally talking to you as well. Thank you so much, kind sir, for including us in your world while igniting a fire in our hearts as well as our minds to play music, the universal language of all our worlds.

[@TwitterChannelOfficial]

I can't understand violin langauge

[@Magidar]

Why does this sound like AI wrote this

[@rebekahweber2413]

@@Magidar Nope. Just me. I always write like this. I have been around since before the internet was even conceived and still write like this.

[@lucainfante1058]

Hirshhorn recording is LEGENDARY💜

[@peggysmith-p5u]

Ray is so cute and upbeat explaining these cadenzas...love his sheepish smile and laugh when he discovers he played the Mozart 5 cadenza instead of No.4. Also funny was when he added the updated tier title "Not advisable or Death", where he says you'll die trying! It was very interesting hearing the differences between the multiple cadenzas available for each piece.

[@christaherwig0404]

I love Cadenza, especially when Ray plays it🎉 Pure pleasure and virtuosity every time 🎻🔥💛

[@nglily7491]

I love the way seeing Ray will make mistakes too. He is human, so close to us. But he has showed lots of practice , no pain , no gain, even x a genius

[@Ракилітеральні]

It's hard to finish watching this video; I am so stimulated to play. Amazing, Ray. Thank you!

[@Tejpek]

This is one of the best tierlists!🎉❤

[@Bebehmonkeh]

0:10 ray what the heck

[@jonathanjunior-r8i]

😂

[@michaelsproule2508]

Kreisler's cadenza for the Brahms has always been my favourite, ever since hearing the Christian Ferras recording. It seems harder to pull off than the Joachim and often performances feel stressed. A great version by David Grimal highlights the gorgeous, lyrical writing of Kreisler, especially in the second half of the cadenza. I hope that more violinists take up the challenge in the future!

[@jasonkanggviolin]

it's so underrated imo, and no offense to joachim, I like kreisler's so much more haha

[@ya_ya_ya.]

16:53 Please check out the Ysaye cadenzas for Mozart 3 and Viotti 22✨️

[@HonneySantos1]

No conocía la mayoría, tuve que ver el vídeo 2 veces, algunas me suenan muy familiar. Que magnífica es la música! Y que admirables y respetables son quienes la interpretan, la conocen, la estudian y la practican.

[@hortehighwind8651]

These cadenza's have a lot of variation, very nice.

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

I used to be in the camp of people who said: If the composer wrote a candenza, play it. But I changed my mind. Of the standard repertoire there are so many recordings available to fill an entire rack in your basement, that if you want to hear those, just pick a recording. But during a live performance I expect the soloist to do what he was supposed to do in the 19th Century: Play their own cadenza. It doesn't even have to be improvised. They can compose it at home, write it down and then practice it. But it should be theirs. This holds even more true in Concerto's like Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Don't play Kreisler, play yours. The only restriction I expect is to stay within the harmonic rules of the time the concerto you are playing a cadenza for. You can't go all early 20th Century in your cadenza when you are playing a Mozart Concerto. No restrictions on the technical difficulties though. You are supposed to show what YOU are good at and that is very individual.

[@YANGJianViolin]

Thank you very much for such a great video and reviewing my son's Viotti 22 cadenza!

[@sabrinai]

Would love for Ray to write his own cadenza for the different concertos. Could be a video idea, maybe, pretty please? 😇

[@Hannah-CatLady]

He wrote some!

[@joshablatzheim9075]

Thank you Ray, how always awesome done🎉🎶🎻= à la Violin Kind regards from that " Classical Tenor-Violist-Panpipeflutist- Guy" from 🇪🇺🇩🇪, to the US 🇺🇸, Yours, Josha 🙋‍♂️

[@Boollish]

Are we taking bets on where Suaret lands on the list? If you're curious, Kavakos performs this one without cuts.

[@charlesgoodrum9168]

I just registered your background: espresso bar, custom keyboard. You're the same kind of nerd as me. I don't know why I've watched so much without subscribing.

[@torrero3113]

Ray! Would love to hear you play some of the tough repertoire on a 5 or 6 string electric guitar!

[@shogb5999]

Franko’s cadenza for the 2nd movement of Mozart 3 is another great one.

[@sampolinad]

Interesting thoughts! Thank you for sharing!

[@ajcochrane007]

So fun. Thank you.

[@jh.y00N]

My heart is already pounding!!!😆

[@OsmondLai]

For the Bruch Cadenza I would argue that the beginning is not the Cadenza but in a recording by Maxim Vengerov at around 6min and 30 seconds there seems to be some short Cadenza. Still arguably easy compared to many other ones.

[@SL6NtheNorseman]

Khachaturian, Britten, Bartok no.2 etc.

[@brianhawkins8397]

Ray just made those two musicians’ decade by casually calling them out for their impressive performances

[@lucienazario2786]

Watching from the Philippines.....

[@Go-VHE]

I improvised one to mozart 5 mvt 1 a year ago because I had to play it on leas than a days notice and never studied a cadenza to it before, so I just made one up on the fly!

[@songfulmusicofsongs]

Do you have a video?

[@SkunkworksProps]

Which cadenza do you use for the Devils Trill? The Kreisler one seems to be the most famous but I know there are others.

[@marknieuweboer8099]

The Shostakovich cadenza is actually written by Alfred Schnittke, who wanted to use it for the Beethoven concerto. I heard it once on the radio - weird, but not really out of place.

[@NgocAnhNguyen-1501]

Hi Ray, can you do a video about how to play Mozart violin concerto no.3 someday? I watched a performance of you playing Mozart concerto no.3 on KZbin before and I think I want to hear you sharing about how to play it, using your cadenza of course. 😊

[@misscatbirdreal]

I play the Auer cadenza for Mozart 4. I love it so much :>

[@anniexu6645]

I think Maria Duenas (sorry for not being able to type her name correctly) played the Sauret cadenza when she played the Paganini No.1

[@obduratecb]

I love paganini

[@Yoelsan062]

Hi, just wanted to tell you something, as for your mic preferences, you can actually just use the macbook's built in mic instead of external mic,(this is more preferences, I can't force you to use this) but if you don't bring your external mic or using AirPods, using the computer mic could help you substitute the mic choice(its just because MacBooks have so called "studio quality microphones" but they sounds good. Love your videos!

[@h.p.734]

Shoutout to the violinist Keisuke Tsushima. He has all sorts of cadenza excerpts on his channel. Superb stuff rly. And of course great video by Ray once again. Really love these types of "introducing" videos.

[@ismaparra]

szeryng beethoven and brahms cadenzas are insane an beautifull

[@Hosu_a]

Love you too much Ray Cheniii 💜

[@Jaegertiger]

As a trumpet player, all I can say... "Practice like Ling Ling, at least 40 hours a day. So, you can learn ALL of these Cadenzas."

[@AsianDramaniac]

14:05 It would great to witness Ray overcoming this PTSD now though.

[@alejandronarvaez9806]

Check out the [removed] Sibelius' 2nd cadenza for the original version of his violin concerto, its just magestic and Bach-esque, it gives the concerto a whole new meaning and aura, wonder why he removed it from his final version, Kavakos has a great recording on it, the score is not available unless you contact and get special permit from the Sibelius family to record it, but there is a decent transcription in KZbin

[@FallenGoodAC]

Hello, is there any link to the aforementioned recording?

[@alejandronarvaez9806]

@@FallenGoodAC just search Sibelius Violin Concerto Original Version (1903-04), Kavakos has an álbum recording from 1991 which is available in KZbin or Spotify

[@alejandronarvaez9806]

@@FallenGoodAC second cadenza transcription was uploaded by a channel named John S (JohnShinViolinist)

[@davidpalomino3618]

Heifetz's cadenza for Brehms is rally insane!

[@silem1l6941]

Hi, you should look the Sibelius 2nd Cadenza from the original version of the 1st movement composed in 1903.

[@gunnarholmstedt3089]

I'd like to hear you play the Sauret cadenza for Paganini 1.

[@miss_ChaikA]

16:53 let's find out the Khachaturian! 😌

[@robotnik77]

Where the heck do you find the sheet music for cadenzas anyway? Ricci must have had a source since he made a CD of them, but I can never find them in print. Are they stashed in Prof. Galamian's trunk underneath the Brooklyn Bridge? or Dorothy DeLay's lost footlocker?

[@shannonmoro401]

I can not wait to hear it

[@mancraft7555]

Even if you are able to play difficult pieces over time, it does not necessarily mean that you will be able to produce a highly musical performance.

[@jgassman]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Joachim was friends with Brahms and claimed that the Brahms concerto was unplayable because of the difficulty. I love that story. It gave me hope.

[@mattias5157]

Watching him being in love with Sibelius violin concerto, my favorite piece of music, made me feel that i have a soul buddy in Ray Chen. But who does not?

[@TDM-kv9eb]

You should include the Beethoven 3rd Movement Cadenza by Kriesler. It's one of the most famous, flashiest, and also easiest cadenzas.

[@richardlehoux]

Are they any present violinists known to compose or improvise a cadenza?

[@shannonmoro401]

Have a question. How do you know if you pass the last diamond 💎. On tonic. Last week I was number 3.

[@AluminumHaste]

What keyboard is that on the wall? Oh, nice playing as usual!

[@merodeadorNocturno]

Where would you rate the Jinx Cadenza?

[@flamez9020]

0:11 what if instead of ray chen it was freak chen and instead of stroking the bow he stroked the meat?????

[@WhirledPublishing]

As an opera singer, there is * no * cadenza in classical opera that I could not * master * in a couple days - when you say " months " or a " year " ... I wonder what is going on here - because as a musician, you are at a much higher level than I am - nearly all the famous cadenzas are in my performance repertoire - but some are more amateur while others are more challenging: Mozart's Queen of the Night, Gonoud's Juliet, Verdi's Violetta, Vivaldi's Giustino, etc.

[@danielakbari5637]

Heifetz Brahms Cadenza is cool too

[@loganm2924]

"No cadenza's gonna take a year to practise" The Ades cadenza for Ligeti's concerto has something to say about that.

[@miroslavburysek5276]

Try cadenzas by Jan Kubelík! (Paganini, Beethoven, Brahms)

[@NICOLASBALOG-tm3id]

Hey, can you make video about scales and études?

[@sabrinai]

8:49 Ray sounds so Australian here 😂

[@MusicalScreaming]

Ray Chen's B tier is like my 'not even attempting this' tier

[@ssatjapot]

"Remember that these time frames are based upon MY OWN ability..." If we were to apply this to a skill level chart, Ray would be at the "DEATH" level, and I would be at the below the barrel level.

[@rikspector]

Ray, Thank you, your talent is prodigious. Do you think if you didn't have this channel and devoted your time completely to Practice and performance you would be even higher in your rankings? Cheers, Rik Spector P.S. I thought once an Aussie, always an Aussie:)

[@lad4694]

Cant wait

[@peterwimmer1259]

As to the Brahms, please see Ruggiero Ricci's CD with 17 (!) different cadenzas.

[@bigbeepian224]

um

[@WISH-Art-s6o]

Ray!!

[@hanswurst6873]

What about Beethoven Kreisler and Beethoven composer?

[@hlarjay7503]

Ray is getting real sneaky with how he’ll start stealth teaching me about Tonic🧐

[@tetama2agani]

Oh cool that's really interesting❤❤

[@wadrianalefe6490]

There is no cadenza in the first movement ofshosty's VC 😅. It would technically be after the 3rd movement, the Passacaglia

[@gky7170]

the tiered rating system applies to Chen; however, most violinists would require different time frames to master these cadenzas, up to AND including ..."FORGET it, not in this lifetime!"

[@lari-san8345]

Es muy similar a los vídeos que ya había hecho el canal de "TwoSetViolin". 🤨 Pero admito que lo disfruté, porque amo el violín.

[@_Fiinch]

I’m currently practising the cadenza where you just play the open A string until everyone around you gets annoyed

[@DerekNordicTan]

Try playing Paul Hindemith violin sonata in G minor, and Rachmaninoff Violin Prelude in G Minor

[@DerekNordicTan]

Also the Nel Cor piu mi sento by paganini

[@Hingo818]

I practise a lot. 😊❤❤

[@WISH-Art-s6o]

Gosh, I'm distracted cuz he's handsome

[@mattias5157]

Stay focused! 😅

[@七绝师太]

We need a pure edition of Shostakovich! Any chance in my life?😭

[@grgryl]

Glazunov is another cool cadenza.

[@arkoma.5845]

Where is Kreisler's Devil's Trill cadenza???? I wanted to see that😂

[@lucienazario2786]

I like the eyeglasses that is superimposed on you here. You look good with it.

[@fuqiang826]

I think the cadenza that Hilary Hahn wrote for Mozart No. 3 is sooo difficult. You can hear that in her video about Mozart No. 3.

[@BlaqViolinist]

To be honest it's gonna take me more upto a year to master any of all those cadenzas😂 9:20 don't mind ray saying two weeks😂

[@IcyCat-t9f]

Where is the cadenza from the Devil Thrill?)

[@sidneygan2065]

I'm a fan and I'm sub to your video and I have tonic and your hair looks like my dads hair

[@aaron.greymtn6170]

Tor Aulin 1st violin concerto cadenza is pretty good

[@charleslucero7168]

Where is bachs cadenza from his 5th brandenburg concerto?😢