The Best of Tasmin Tasmin Little

• Sir William Walton (1902 - 1983): Violin Concerto (1943 Version):
• 1Violin Concerto (1943 Version): I. Andante tranquillo12:15
• 2Violin Concerto (1943 Version): II. Presto capriccioso alla napolitana06:59
• 3Violin Concerto (1943 Version): III. Vivace13:43
• Sir Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934): Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61:
• 4Violin Concerto in B Minor, Op. 61: II. Andante12:07
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Violin Concerto, Op. 15:
• 5Violin Concerto, Op. 15: I. Moderato con moto09:35
• 6Violin Concerto, Op. 15: II. Vivace09:10
• 7Violin Concerto, Op. 15: III. Passacaglia. Andante lento14:33
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678 - 1741): The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring":
• 8The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring": I. Allegro03:28
• 9The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring": II. Largo e pianissimo sempre02:51
• 10The Four Seasons, Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 "Spring": III. Danza pastorale. Allegro03:58
• William Lloyd Webber (1914 - 1982):
• 11The Gardens at Eastwell (A Late Summer Impression) [Version for Violin & Piano]02:44
• Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958):
• 12The Lark Ascending (Version for Violin & Orchestra)15:31
• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78 "Regen":
• 13Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78 "Regen": I. Vivace, ma non troppo10:23
• Sir Edward Elgar: Chanson de nuit et chanson de matin, Op. 15:
• 14Chanson de nuit et chanson de matin, Op. 15: No. 2, Chanson de matin (Arr. R. Turner for Violin & Orchestra)03:00
• 15Salut d'amour, Op. 12 (Arr. R. Turner for Violin & Orchestra)03:13
• Amy Beach (1867 - 1944):
• 16Romance for Violin & Piano, Op. 2306:14
• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828):
• 17Piano Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 148, D. 897 "Notturno"09:34
• Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975): The Gadfly Suite, Op. 97a:
• 18The Gadfly Suite, Op. 97a: VIII. Romance03:12
• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827):
• 19Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring": I. Allegro10:11
• Vittorio Monti (1868 - 1922):
• 20Csárdás (Arr. T. Little & J. Lenehan for Violin & Piano)05:52
• Total Runtime02:38:33

Info for The Best of Tasmin

Following the announcement by Tasmin Little of her intended retirement from the concert platform, we wanted to create an album that would stand as both a tribute to, and celebration of, her outstanding career as a performer. What better way to do so than ask her to select her own, personal favourites from her recorded career? An exclusive Chandos artist since 2010, Tasmin has made a series of recordings that have proved a cornerstone of the Chandos schedules for a decade, and feature a range of composers and styles of quite breath-taking variety. The first disc concentrates on concerti, and features both Walton’s and Britten’s concertos with Edward Gardner, along with the slow movement of her award-winning Elgar recording with Sir Andrew Davis. The second disc features works from Vivaldi though to Shostakovich via Brahms, and includes (among many other gems) her recording of Vaughan Williams’s iconic The Lark Ascending. It also celebrates Tasmin’s recital partnerships with three outstanding pianists: Piers Lane, Martin Roscoe, and John Lenehan. As she writes in her booklet note: ‘I am very happy that this final, double-CD set should reflect so many aspects of me as a musician; and I remain full of gratitude for the tremendous opportunities I have been given to play and record with the greatest musicians of today. I hope you all enjoy this final release.’

Tasmin Little, violin, conductor
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Sir Andrew Davis, conductor
BBC Philharmonic
Edward Gardner, conductor
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Piers Lane, piano
John Lenehan, piano
Martin Roscoe, piano

Tasmin Little
Tasmin has played with many of the world's greatest orchestras in a career that has taken her to every continent of the world. In addition to her regular solo performances, she has play/directed orchestras such as Royal Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, London Mozart Players, English Chamber Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber, European Union Chamber Orchestra and Britten Sinfonia. In 2007/08 she joined the London Mozart Players as soloist and director in a tour of the UK which also featured her UK conducting debut.

As a concerto player, Tasmin's performances in the 2010/11 season took her twice back to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam where she performed violin concerti by Loevendie and Prokofiev. Other performances in 2010/11 include concerts in Australia, New Zealand and Slovenia, London’s South Bank Centre as well as a Festival at Kings Place, London, entitled 'Tasmin Little and Friends: Violin Journeys'.

In 2008, Tasmin made her sixteenth appearance at the BBC Promenade Concerts in the Royal Albert Hall, London, in a performance of the Concerto for Violin and Horn by Dame Ethyl Smyth. She continues to champion seldom-performed repertoire, and has received critical acclaim as one of the few violinists to have mastered Ligeti's challenging violin concerto. Her 2003 tour with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle, during which she performed the concerto at the Proms, Berlin Philharmonie, the Salzburg Festival, New York's Carnegie Hall and Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, received unanimous critical acclaim ('the technical command was glorious' The Guardian; 'very beautiful' Berliner Morgenpost; 'a major violin talent' Philadelphia Inquirer; 'a formidable soloist' New York Times). In 2007 she returned to the work with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

In 2006, Tasmin was Artistic Director of her hugely successful 'Delius Inspired' Festival, which was broadcast for an entire week on BBC Radio 3 in July. An exciting range of events, ranging from orchestral concerts and chamber music to films and exhibitions, also reached 800 school children in an ambitious programme designed to widen interest in classical music for young people. She was Artistic Director of Spring Sounds Festival from 2008 until 2010.

Her discography reflects her wide-ranging repertoire and includes twenty-five recordings, ranging from Bruch and Brahms to Karlowicz and Arvo Pärt. In March 2009 she released the disc 'Partners in Time', her follow-up to The Naked Violin, and in Autumn 2010 her long-awaited recording of the Elgar violin concerto was released on the Chandos label to unanimous critical acclaim. The recording celebrated the 100th anniversary of the concerto’s premiere and included a re-creation of a special version of the accompanied cadenza.

Tasmin is an Ambassador for The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, is a Fellow of the Guildhall of Music and Drama, is President of ESTA (European String Teachers Association), an Ambassador for Youth Music, and has received Honorary Degrees from the Universities of Bradford, Leicester, Hertfordshire and City of London. In 2009, she received a prestigious Gold Badge Award for services to music.


She plays a 1757 Guadagnini violin and has, on kind loan from the Royal Academy of Music, the 'Regent' Stradivarius of 1708.

Booklet for The Best of Tasmin