Augustin Hadelich is one of the greatest violinists of his generation.

Augustin Hadelich

Today, we’re looking at five of his most popular performances on YouTube.

We’re also looking at each video’s heatmap, a graphic that appears when you hover over a video’s progress bar. The heatmap shows the places where the most viewers have fast-forwarded or returned to.

So, in reverse order, here are Hadelich’s five most popular YouTube performances, starting with the least popular and working our way up.

5. Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

605k views

One of the most intriguing aspects of Hadelich’s artistry is his ability to play the piano at a high level.

During the pandemic lockdown, Hadelich was unable to tour. Instead, he channeled his energies into making videos at home.

His workaround for not having an accompanist was to record himself playing a violin piece, then record himself playing the accompaniment on piano.

These quarantine recordings offered a unique insight into his artistry, and they clearly resonated with audiences hungry for live performances.

In this video, we’re treated to the calling cards of Hadelich’s musicianship: a golden tone, a flawless technique, and one of the most fluid left hands in the business.

The most popular portion of the video comes during the piece’s final ninety seconds, which consists of a series of frantic string crossings and scales. The final page is mind-boggling in its virtuosity.

4. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto

687k views

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto was composed in a flurry of inspiration in 1878, when Tchaikovsky was recovering from a breakdown after his ill-advised marriage.

(It’s no coincidence that as he composed this concerto, he was working closely with his love interest, violinist Yosif Kotek.)

In the years since its premiere, the Tchaikovsky concerto has become the definition of warhorse. Many classical music lovers have heard it so many times that it takes a special player to make returning to it worthwhile.

Augustin Hadelich is one of those special players. The warmth and sincerity of his musicianship, combined with his inhuman virtuosity, make this one of the best performances of the concerto on YouTube.

Just listen to the passage between 5:45 to the big orchestral tutti at 7:05. It’s just astonishing playing, with incredibly satisfying propulsion, agility, and grit.

The finale (from 35:30 to the applause) is another electrifying moment, with the orchestra matching Hadelich’s verve every step of the way.

3. Chopin: Nocturne in C-Sharp Minor

690k views

This nocturne was written when Chopin was just twenty, but wasn’t published until 1875, a quarter century after his death. Since then, it has become one of his most popular works.

It was originally written for solo piano, but in the twentieth century, violinist Nathan Milstein transcribed it for violin and piano.

Transcribing the nocturne for an instrument that can play sustained notes really emphasizes the melody’s long, haunting lines.

Hadelich’s performances of Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky spotlight his speed and precision. But this performance demonstrates the astonishing beauty of his lyrical playing.

Violinists will enjoy studying his masterful use of sounding points: i.e., where on the string Hadelich places the bow to create different tonal colours.

2. Dvořák: Humoresque

904k views

Dvořák’s famous Humoresque is another example of a piano piece that was later famously transcribed for violin.

This playing is wistfulness embodied. Hadelich expertly switches from a breathy tone to a golden, full-throated one, depending on what the phrase in question needs.

His use of rubato is especially masterful in this performance. Listen to how he subtly – and effectively – begins to massage the rhythm around 3:00. The technique creates a feeling of suspension and breathlessness, drawing the listener in.

A transcription of this piece appears in the third Suzuki method book. Although this is a more technically challenging transcription than the one in the book, it should still be a must-listen for every violin student to show how expressive even a simple work can be.

1. Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1

1.5m views

Detroit Symphony

And here is Hadelich’s most popular video on YouTube: his recording of Paganini’s first violin concerto.

It’s a somewhat surprising number one video to have. Paganini’s virtuosic concertos are much less popular now than they were, say, fifty years ago. Modern musicians tend to think of them as frivolous empty calories, whereas concertos by Brahms or Tchaikovsky are renowned as the real meat and potatoes of the repertoire.

But Hadelich takes Paganini seriously. He finds every ounce of the musicality in Paganini’s work, understanding how Italian opera lies at the heart of the composer’s musical language. There are countless passages where Hadelich’s long golden phrases sound like something out of an aria.

At the same time, whenever there are technical challenges – and there are many! – Hadelich meets those with aplomb. Notice the section that begins at 11:50, where he plays on the G-string alone, never once losing any richness of tone…immediately before launching into a dance passage with double-stops and spiccato.

Ever-creative, Hadelich actually wrote his own cadenza for this performance (you can hear it starting at 17:03).

With these five performances, Hadelich proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is not only one of the great violinists of his generation, but one of the greatest musicians of his generation, full stop.

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