Have you ever heard the saying, "No matter how good you are at something, there's always someone better?" Well once you reach such a high ability in, violin playing for example, the best violin player in the world is simply one's opinion.
Interesting question, and I agree that there is no definitive answer. There are multiple aspects of that question. Technical ability, repertoire, composition, emotion, etc... etc..
Anyway, Corelli was the first to make the violin a solo instrument. Bach (who wasn't really a violin soloist) composed his Sonatas and Partitas also helped influence the soloistic part of the violin. Vivaldi and Tartini then increased the technical demands of soloists. Locatelli was another violinist who greatly improved technical aspects. However, Nicolo Paganini, to the eyes of the crowd, took his revolution the furthest.
No other violinist has been accused as "selling his soul to the devil" for their virtuosic abilities. Most historians agree that Paganini was more a phenomenon than any other violinist; he completely revolutionized violin-playing. The things which Paganini composed, almost nobody could play, or play well enough to not be embarrassed in performance, save for Paganini himself. He also practically invented or further developed many different techniques, such as the the more common use of left hand pizzicato (undoubtedly from his guitar playing). Within the thirty years of his violin career it is arguable he did more for the violin than any other artist. Also, in today's world, many violinists practice for 5-8 hours a day, perhaps even more. However, while Paganini did practice some, he improvised a lot of the things he played, and he wrote his own music during his career, sometimes performing it only a few weeks after writing it, with obviously a lot less practice than today's artists. I do not know of any violinists today who (can) do that.
Since Paganini was before the time of recording, we cannot compare his playing to the world's current violinists.
Another aspect, is repertoire. Soloists before the 20th century were not only required to play works of other composers, but they were also required to write their own music. Nowadays, most musicians play the works of others and don't compose their own music. (there are exceptions.)
Of the common era of violininists (around the 1850+, give or take a few decades) I have heard people argue that any of these violinists was or is the best in the world:
Ysaye, Sarasate, Ernst, Sauret, Kreisler, Wieniawski, Vieuxtemps, Bazzini, Joachim, Enescu, Francescatti, Kogan, Heifetz, Menuhin, Milstein, Oistrakh, Stern, Szeryng, Thibaud, Perlman, Zuckerman, Kremer, Gitlis, Rubenstein, Mintz, Mutter, Zimmermann, Bell, Repin, Shaham, Vengerov, Schmidt, Carmignola Chang, Hahn, and Kavakos
and there are, of course, dozens of others. These are simply some of the most well-known. I'm sorry if i skipped your favorite. (Favorites, often influence who you think best is.)
Now I leave you with a quote from Bartok, "Competition is for horses, not artists." paganini
ike deramus
Some of the most famous harpsichord players in time are Scott Ross, Skip Sempe, Rosana Lanzelotte, etc.
i hate people
Eddie Van Halen
Callin baton rouge by Garth Brooks has a pretty sweet fiddle.
ike deramus
Almost uniquely Appalachian with a love for ballads and fiddle players.
Some of the most famous harpsichord players in time are Scott Ross, Skip Sempe, Rosana Lanzelotte, etc.
Almost uniquely Appalachian with a love for ballads and fiddle players.
Jacques
kyutness :))
Tiger Woods is one of the famous in the world
Paul McCartney is the famous bass player for The Beatles.
There are a lot of famous timpani players out there. Some well known timpani players are: Vic Firth and Stanley Leonard.
Some of the most famous players from the New York Rangers were Henrik Lundqvist, Rick Nash, and Ryan McDonagh.
submited by chickenman94
David Beckham.