Unaccompanied Solo Violin Works KiWipedia
is a free online resource on the vast but mostly unfamiliar repertoire for solo violin without accompaniment.
COVID-19 "Back-to-School" edition
lists only works with both score and recording available (as of July 2020) for you (or your student) to perform alone during the pandemic and beyond.
Curate a balanced, contrasting or themed program using any combination of:
- date of composition
- nationality of composer
- racial/ethnic/gender diversity
- duration to perform
-
difficulty level
(1=easiest to 5=hardest)
- price of sheet music
($=under US$10, $$=under $20 etc.
excluding shipping)
- immediate pdf availability (free/imslp or paid digital download)
Not sure where to start with over 650 works? Look up
KiWi
Selects
or listen to
KiWipedia
YouTube channel
playlists to determine your preferred repertoire on
soloviolinworks.com.
Alternatively, check out what others have been playing on
KiWi's
COVID-19 performances YouTube playlist
or new works/arrangements on
COVID-19 compositions YouTube playlist.
In this
COVID-19 "Back to School" edition, YouTube video by any player (including students) is often favored over professional audio recording for your inspiration. Sample score of ending/beginning of each work is provided where available/permissible.
KiWipedia links for quick browsing do not replace obtaining your own sheet music or studying the interpretations of great artists via multiple resources. Links to major US distributors/publishers (or organizations that ship worldwide) are for your convenience and reference only; check with your local music store for faster delivery or better pricing. Scores not available for purchase may be borrowed via WorldCat or Australian/Canadian Music Centres though these services are presently limited due to COVID-19 pandemic. Shipping times are also affected but publishers/composers are increasing the availability of digital scores by the day (please
contact me to add links that I have missed).
KiWipedia is a product of my life's work that spanned from pre-college through doctoral studies followed by two decades of research/creative activity as faculty at American research I universities. A more comprehensive research edition of
KiWipedia is in progress but do
contact me to fix any glaring error/omission in this condensed
COVID-19 "Back to School" edition, hastily published to be useful for the 2020-2021 concert season amidst the pandemic.
The next edition of
KiWipedia is intended to be a comprehensive listing of all circulating unaccompanied violin repertoire composed between
1720-2020 (from Bach to pre-COVID-19), though recently discovered older works and hot off the press newer works will be included where known.
Please contact me with listing details and a perusal score if possible (it will not be shared/uploaded without your expressed consent).
No copyright infringement or loss of sales is intended - on the contrary, my objective is to promote your music to players and audiences alike!
No score of any complete work/movement has been uploaded by me from an original or authorized version; complete scores are linked only when available free of charge on public domain sites, the composer's personal website or with expressed consent by the composer. No recording has been uploaded by me from a commercial recording; only tracks that are readily accessible free of charge online are linked. I shall promptyly remove any score/recording that I uploaded upon
notification of copyright complaint.
I intend to provide sample recordings of all unaccompanied violin repertoire without existing recordings via
KiWipedia
YouTube channel,
starting with composers who agree to have their solo violin work played and posted on YouTube for mutual benefit without any monetary exchange - please
contact me if you would like me to prioritize learning and recording your work; conversely, if you already or will soon have a recording
(could be non-commercial) that you are willing to make
(at least an excerpt) freely available to the public, please also
contact me so that I might upload your link/recording and focus my practice on other works instead.
While researching repertoire I could perform unaccompanied (whether by choice or necessity) over my career spanning two to three decades, I had no idea that
KiWipedia would suddenly be of particular relevance in a pandemic. My entire summer in voluntary isolation has been devoted to rushing out this free online resource in time for the fall concert season, thus if you find this condensed
COVID-19 "Back-to-School" edition useful or you simply enjoy listening to
KiWipedia
YouTube channel
playlists, please consider supporting musicians by purchasing their concert tickets and/or commercial recordings. If you feel compelled to donate in appreciation of my labor of love contribution to the music and teaching professions, please donate instead to classical music performers most affected by COVID-19 such as musicians in your local symphony orchestra (see
"How Fans Can Support Artists And Music-Industry Workers During The Outbreak" on npr.org).
Do contact me if you would offer to host/sponsor online/live performances/recordings or provide related technological services/support as I plan to learn/perform/record all unaccompanied violin repertoire without existing recordings in the coming months and years.
For example, which affordable camcorder/microphone has the best sound for classical violin and how to connect/sync between recording equipment and computer? Which hardware/software compatible with MacBook to purchase and learn how to use? How to edit/optimize audio so that YouTube videos would more accurately reflect tone quality?
I am also seeking assistance with website development since I crash learnt very basic coding to create this website as quickly as possible during my COVID-19 summer - I am desperate for more alone time with my violin and less contact time with electronic devices! Ironically, please email me if you would volunteer to improve website design/function/social media presence via github, or at least provide straighforward directions that I might follow - any tech geeks out there willing to help out this violin geek remotely?
Compiling a comprehensive list of unaccompanied solo violin repertoire (for further study) is more complicated than one might expect. In most search engines and catalogs, "solo violin" results in too many hits (from student volumes with piano accompaniment to concertos and ensemble works with violin obbligato) while "unaccompanied violin" results in two few hits (since relevant works are usually subtitled "for solo violin" or cataloged under "violin" without specifying "unaccompanied").
The advent of internet and self-publishing means existing repertoire may be listed neither in WorldCat nor publisher's catalogs, even if the score is available to the public (i.e. not under restricted copyright such as a commission reserved for a specific performer). Moreover, published listings on recent catalogs may already be unavailable (or very difficult to find) while libraries may liquidate holdings (some scores I had purchased at library sales or borrowed previously are no longer held at any WorldCat library!)
While any recent performance or recording implies that a score most likely exists, it can be difficult to determine its availability to the public at large. Conversely, one may read about the existence of a work yet cannot find either score or recording for verification or study. I may be satisfied enough to locate an archived score requiring special permission to access, but is it of any practical use in an unknown personal collection like my own? What about that recording owned by a colleague that I love but can no longer purchase or find elsewhere?
During COVID-19 pandemic, violinists seeking additional unaccompanied repertoire to perform alone can no longer browse the shelves of their local library or music store, thus I rushed to publish this
COVID-19 "Back-to-School" edition of
KiWipedia prior to the fall concert season. This condensed edition includes only works where both score and recording are available (for purchase/loan/hire) as of July 2020; its short preparation time means there are obvious gaps and possibly errors, particularly in newer areas of study such as diversity inclusion. A more comprehensive research edition of
KiWipedia is in progress, please
contact me if you have expertise for joint collaboration or inter-disciplinary research (I can think of many possibilities to examine or reflect COVID-19 implications and diversity inclusion via this repertoire) - I am primarily a violinist performer (DMA), not a musicologist!