Violin sheet music is of utmost importance to violin music as with all instruments in western classical music. Below are listed some of the greatest violin music, which includes the 4 famous violin concertos, violin composers and their compositions with links to violin sheet music and virtual sheet music.

A prolific violin composer who wrote nearly 500 concertos and 70 sonatas, his most famous violin concertos are  the Four Seasons(1725). Each of the four violin concertos for strings and solo violin in The Four Seasons musically represents a different season of the year. Four seasons are marked by vigorous rhythms and strong contrasts. Click here  for Four seasons violin sheet music.   Click on each to buy violin sheet music for each season.

Autumn    Winter    Summer    Spring     Click  here   for Four seasons' downloadable virtual sheet music.

The standard three-movement format, in which a slow movement appears between two fast outer movements is attributed to Vivaldi. He was among the first to introduce cadenzas—passages of extraordinary technical virtuosity—for soloists. Vivaldi is considered one of the composers who brought Baroque music to evolve into a classical style. The great Baroque era composer Johann Sebastian Bach was deeply influenced by Vivaldi's concertos and arias. Bach transcribed a number of Vivaldi's concertos for solo keyboard. Vivaldi was almost forgotten after his death, his works were rediscovered toward the end of the 19th century through Bach’s transcriptions.Vivaldi’s popularity grew steadily during the late 20th century.

Nicolo paganini who is considered by many as the greatest violinist who ever lived was born in Genova, Italy. He started his violin lesson  at the age of seven and made his first public performance by twelve.  At the age of twenty three he became director of music to Napoleon's sister Elisa Baciocchi, Princess of Lucca. Paganini's violin was a Guarnieri's violin called  "The Cannone." This was named by paganini himself because of the cannon like sound produced by the violin. His compositions included 24 caprices for unaccompanied violin. These are among the most difficult works written for violin. Paganini employed many tricks and techniques while playing like plucking the string with left hand (left-hand pizzicato),  bouncing the bow on the strings and extensive use of harmonics. Paganini was also a virtuoso guitarist.
Click  here  for sheet music of paganini caprices. Concerto No:1,  Concerto No:2 
Click here  for Paganini Virtual sheet Music.

Beethoven was the most important composer of the romantic era and is considered by many as the most important composer in western classical music. His Violin Concerto in D major is one among the "4 great violin concertos." Beethoven's violin concerto was written in 1806. His concerto was little performed in the following decades and was revived in the 1840s, well after Beethoven's death, with performances led by Felix Mendelssohn. Ever since it has been one of the most important works of the violin concerto repertoire, and it is frequently performed and recorded today. No violin cadenzas were written by Beethoven even though he wrote one piano version. Joseph Joachim, Fritz Kreisler and many other celebrated violinists wrote violin cadenzas. The cadenzas by Fritz Kreisler are most often used.

Beethoven was a very important transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras of musical history. It was Beethoven, who transformed symphony from the rigidly structured four-ordered-movements form to a fairly open ended form that can contain as many movements as necessary.

Click here for sheet music of Beethoven's violin concerto, here  for "cadenzas for Beethoven's violin concerto" by Joseph Joachim.
Click here  for Virtual sheet Music of Beethoven.

Brahms’ concerto for violin in D major came out in 1878 and is considered as one among the "4 great violin concertos."  The work was dedicated to his friend Joseph Joachim who was the leading violinist of that period.  As requested by Brahms, Joachim wrote the cadenza (solo part).  Joachim’s cadenzas for the work are the most frequently used even though other famous violinists like Leopold Auer,  Fritz Kreisler, and George Enescu  have provided their own.

The solo part demanded extreme technical ability. Henryk Wieniawski called the work "unplayable."  Violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate refused to play it because he felt the oboe played the only melody in the piece.  Initially only joseph Joachim and a few others had only attempted to play it,  but later more and more violinists began playing it and by 1900, it had become one of the most frequently played of all violin concerti.

 J.Brahms: Concerto in D major  for virtual sheet music.
"Johannes Brahms: Major Works For Orchestra"  is a collection of all his major works for orchestra on a CDrom. This can be viewed in a computer and is printable. This includes his Violin Concerto in D Major.

Mendelssohn’s violin Concerto in E minor written in 1844 is one among the “4 great violin concertos." Many violinists have started their solo careers with a performance of this concerto. Mendelssohn was second only to Mozart as a child prodigy.   Mendelssohn's violin music is special for its unsurpassed elegance and lyrical qualities. In 1829, at the age of 20, Mendelssohn conducted the first performance of the St. Matthew Passion since Bach's death nearly eighty years before and is responsible for the revival of interest in Bach in the 19th century.

At the age of 16 in 1825 he wrote his String Octet in E Flat Major, and In 1826 at the age of 17, he composed the Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, based on the Shakespeare's play. These showcases his grasp of form, harmony, counterpoint, color and a great compositional technique. His Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Known as Scottish Symphony was written in 1830 and revised several times between 1830 and 1842. . After a long period of oblivion due to changing musical tastes, he has occupied his position among the most popular composers of the Romantic era. He died in November 4, 1847, due to nervous problems and the depression he had developed soon after his beloved sister Fanny's demise that year.
 
Click here  for sheet music of  the concerto.
Click here for Virtual sheet Music of Mendelssohn’s violin concerto in E minor.