# Is Lindsey Sterling the best violinist of the 21st century?



## Daybloom (Mar 4, 2017)

I really love her, I think she's amazing. Do you think she's the best or just one of the best?


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2018)

I've never heard of Stirling......what has she recorded? What repertoire is she well known for?
My personal favourite violinist working at the moment is Irvine Arditti.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I thought she was more of a pop artist.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Well, she dances better than Isaac Stern.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Actually, she is fun to watch. I like her videos.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Who are we talking about, never seen her name before...... and by who's standards?


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

This is the gal; 
but it´s definitely not classical. 
Vanessa Mae comes to mind, as another, earlier example of this style.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Rogerx said:


> Who are we talking about, never seen her name before...... and by who's standards?


I watched a video of her once and it was weird (yes, like the one posted above). I'll take Jean-Luc Ponty's violin over Lindsey.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

She plays cleanly and in tune and produces a reasonable sound but it's not easy to evaluate how good she is because of the undemanding nature of the repertoire she plays. But to play in tune is no mean feat particularly as I understand her parents could not fund quality tuition and she seems not to have attended a conservatoire.

She looks like she makes more money than 99.9% of classical violinists.

Personally it gave me a headache to listen to a meandering melodic line with a drumbeat thundering over it.

To answer your question - is the the best of the 21st C : in her field of pop violin maybe - but nothing else.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2018)

Perhaps move this thread to non-classical so as not to cause any confusion?


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

She is like Vanessa Mae or Einaudi, a classical pop-star. People who listened to classical music do not know her, but people who listen to movie/game soundtracks or pop-rock etc know her well




Is she the best? I have no comparison


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

she does enjoyable videos


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Yeah, more violinists should perform while being hit by heavy showers.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

The very idea that someone thinks she is the best violinist of the century has spoiled my day. I'm happy enough that people like this sort of rubbish but to make such a claim .... when there are so many hugely gifted, knowledgeable and skillful violinists out there is an insult to all of them. Any violinist in any professional orchestra has more musicality and technique and knowledge and talent! 

Am I being elitist or would it be more elitist to think it and say nothing? OK, I'm not being polite but I think it urgent that anyone who thinks she is so wonderful should learn that actually the bar is so much higher.


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## JAS (Mar 6, 2013)

Enthusiast said:


> The very idea that someone thinks she is the best violinist of the century has spoiled my day. I'm happy enough that people like this sort of rubbish but to make such a claim .... when there are so many hugely gifted, knowledgeable and skillful violinists out there is an insult to all of them. Any violinist in any professional orchestra has more musicality and technique and knowledge and talent!
> 
> Am I being elitist or would it be more elitist to think it and say nothing? OK, I'm not being polite but I think it urgent that anyone who thinks she is so wonderful should learn that actually the bar is so much higher.


Severe Irony alert!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

In answer to the OP.

No!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

She's Mormon too. It's completely irrelevant to her violin playing, but I thought it interesting.

I don't think it's right to trash the tastes of the OP. This may be a person who is tentatively entering the classical music sphere via a 'crossover' type artist. 

It happens a lot, like those people who start with heavy metal and make you tube comments about how Bach's Toccata and fugue is 'the original death metal'.

It' a long game, let people have their interests and let it grow.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2018)

Daybloom said:


> I really love her, I think she's amazing. Do you think she's the best or just one of the best?


Only in an alternate universe.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I never heard of Sterling. That's likely because she doesn't perform classical music.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Daybloom said:


> I really love her, I think she's amazing. Do you think she's the best or just one of the best?


She is the best in your world and that is perfectly fine so long as you are enjoying it. But if you get this thread switched to the Non-classical forum you might find more support for Lindsey. Just ask a moderator and they will move it. They are listed at the bottom of the forum listing.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Checking the OP's other posts, I'm not sure this one should necessarily be considered his final verdict.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

joen_cph said:


> Checking the OP's other posts, I'm not sure this one should necessarily be considered his final verdict.


Hmmm...you're right, I checked. And I see this reply to a thread with the illiterate title: "Most unlistenably noisy composer?"



Daybloom said:


> Anything by Mozart.


I take it all back. Completely incorrigible and misguided.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

To help make up my mind about her abilities, I’d love to see her dancing around at Carnegie Hall while playing the Brahms Violin Concerto, but I'm glad you enjoy her. It looks like she has an obvious love of playing the instrument and she is not without talent.


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I am a great fan of Lindsey Stirling's music. Technically I doubt she is the best. I don't even think that's what she's striving for. She doesn't play classical music, so in a sense it'd be like comparing an opera vocalist to a pop vocalist. When I am looking for virtuosity, I am not putting on a Lindsey Stirling album. I'm listening to her for other reasons. I've seen her live and really enjoyed the concert.


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## jdec (Mar 23, 2013)

OP, she is the best violinist of 21st century as much as Richard Clayderman is the greatest pianist of the 20th century.


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## adrien (Sep 12, 2016)

her sound is so processed you can't tell if it's even from real playing (e.g. the small glissandi make me think it's programmed / synthesized).

If she makes money that's cool. It's hard to make serious money from violin playing.


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Say the magic word.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

adrien said:


> her sound is so processed you can't tell if it's even from real playing (e.g. the small glissandi make me think it's programmed / synthesized).
> 
> If she makes money that's cool. It's hard to make serious money from violin playing.


It's not processed - I spend a lot of time listening to solo violin and she does produce a professional sound. I checked what violins she uses and she uses an acoustic violin for studio recordings but favours a carbon fibre electric violin for concerts - complaining that an acoustic violin makes her sweat - too much hard work to get the sounds she needs I expect.

Look the truth may be that she would struggle to get into a pro orchestra - there is a genre of entertainment violinist dancers and she is one of them and seems to be doing well.

We are in a niche market not her - and I find it sad that quality performances of very good unknown violinists are struggling to make 500 views while she has over 1 billion views to her name. But that's how it is. To those heroes and heroines of classical music who are dedicated to their art and have to rely on their pupils to pay the rent - I have the utmost respect and yes it is not easy to make money out of playing the violin.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

eugeneonagain said:


> She's Mormon too. It's completely irrelevant to her violin playing, but I thought it interesting.
> 
> I don't think it's right to trash the tastes of the OP. This may be a person who is tentatively entering the classical music sphere via a 'crossover' type artist.
> 
> ...


I'm no better than the OP poster so I don't see why he should have his life ruined by my not liking what he likes. But it could save him a lot of time if he were to realise that this is not classical music and that it not a particularly good example of wherever it has been trying to cross over from. He will stick with what he likes and maybe branch out from that.


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## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

norman bates said:


> It must be said that it's hard to take seriously a thread that is asking "Do you think she's the best or just one of the best?" like there aren't other options availables. THE best or just one of the best. And I'm not accusing anybody, but considering what I've seen in the video, *this thread looks a bit like trolling*.


I think you are right - and I fell for it like a sucker. The same poster has made some comments previously which are clearly intended to provoke a big response.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

No, I don't think she is. She isn't doing anything special except playing a fairly simple tune, and what sort of violinist takes their instrument out in the rain? 

Nor in my opinion is she 'one of the best'. I think she's a pleasant-sounding, good-looking violin player who makes the music seem as if it's incidental to her modelling stint.

I don't even think she'd be the best fiddler. She doesn't have the passion.

But fine if the OP enjoys her playing. 
It's all very individual, and some of the world-famous violinists of the past (no names, no packdrill) are not to my personal taste - I find them too smooth and schmaltzy.

By the way, there are further discussions of the topic on two of my threads cited here:
Your Best Violinist - why?
https://www.talkclassical.com/24482-your-best-violinist-why.html?highlight=

and
Your Best Fiddler - why?
https://www.talkclassical.com/25337-your-best-fiddler-why.html?highlight=


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

Ingélou said:


> No, I don't think she is. She isn't doing anything special except playing a fairly simple tune, and what sort of violinist takes their instrument out in the rain?
> 
> Nor in my opinion is she 'one of the best'. I think she's a pleasant-sounding, good-looking violin player who makes the music seem as if it's incidental to her modelling stint.
> 
> ...


She may not be the most talented but I disagree with your assertion that she "doesn't have the passion" and that the music is "secondary to her modeling". She cares very much about music and about what she's creating. No it's not virtuosic complex classical music. But that doesn't mean it's a trifle.Her goal wasn't classical.....not because she wanted to make millions, but because the music she is doing is the music she has passion to play.

I get that a lot of hard core classical fans don't care for her music. But if you saw her on stage you'd realize, regardless of technical skill she puts GREAT passion into what she does.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Sonata said:


> But if you saw her on stage you'd realize, regardless of technical skill she puts GREAT passion into what she does.


She was in my neck of the woods last year in a not very expensive venue, and I'm still kicking myself for missing it.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Sonata said:


> She may not be the most talented but I disagree with your assertion that she "doesn't have the passion" and that the music is "secondary to her modeling". She cares very much about music and about what she's creating. No it's not virtuosic complex classical music. But that doesn't mean it's a trifle.Her goal wasn't classical.....not because she wanted to make millions, but because the music she is doing is the music she has passion to play.
> 
> I get that a lot of hard core classical fans don't care for her music. But if you saw her on stage you'd realize, regardless of technical skill she puts GREAT passion into what she does.


:tiphat: Sorry - I should have explained myself more clearly.

I didn't mean that she doesn't care about what she does. I meant that in the video I watched there didn't seem to be enough *energy and pulse* in her playing style for her to make a very successful fiddler, i.e. player of traditional music, be it Scottish strathspeys or Bluegrass.

It's just my opinion, based on the little I saw of her.

The video is probably an unfair test, because it does seem all about posing and pouting.

But if the packaging matters less to her than the music, why would she be so irresponsible as to make a video about playing in the rain?  
My own fiddle suffered even from having to play for a week in a dampish tent, and my teacher had to send his violin off for repair after taking it to a summer camp. 

I'm sure it's a great experience watching her on stage. But she just doesn't play my sort of music, and I'd find all the dancing around a bit of a distraction.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Here is some fine fiddling:


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## Kevin Pearson (Aug 14, 2009)

Sterling is an "entertainer" and is excellent at what she does. She's beautiful and talented and in popular music that's all you need to get by. Her videos are very well done and I enjoy the geeky themes she chooses. She's not a classical artist and shouldn't be compared in that way.


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