What would you say is the best violin or string concerto or piece?

I'd like to get a CD for my girlfriend who is a good Violinist and a decent cellist, but as I grew up playing Brass instruments don't know what string piece to get. She enjoys more technical pieces.

What would you say is the best violin or string concerto or piece?opera.com

Sibelius' Violin Concerto is the best!

What would you say is the best violin or string concerto or piece?amc theatre opera theater

the Ravel piano trio (piano/violin/cello) is one of my favorite pieces ever. you can't go wrong with it.

by far my favorite concerto is the Elgar cello concerto, especially the Jacqueline du Pre (cellist)/Sir John Barbirolli (conductor) recording.
The Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major

My favorite.
Beethoven's violin concerto is the greatest but she may already have it. She probably already has Paganini's 24 caprices too.

Here are some other options : solo works for violin and solo works for cello by Bach.

Sarasate is another composer you could look into.

But you should check her CD collection to make sure she has not already got these

Hey, there is quite a few DVD's around now. I am sure she probably does not have many of those. See if you can get the Bach or Paganini listed above on a DVD.
How much music does she own? Does she own A TON of violin music? If she does, then maybe she already has this...but it is virtuosic...

Wieniawski Violin Concerto No. 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyzZL8L7V...

Maybe one of the Bartok Concerti? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcJx4KkAz...

Does she like really modern stuff? Gyorgy Ligeti wrote a phenominal violin concerto (no youtube video available...sorry)

Here is an album that I own, and it is FANTASTIC if you want to consider it. It's David %26amp; Igor Oistrach playing Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Benda, Wieniawski, and Sarasate.

http://www.amazon.com/H%C3%A4ndel-Vivald...

Or maybe have you considered buying her a music DVD? I own the Art of Piano and it's very good...they have an Art of violin version too..it has clips from what they think to be some of the greatest violinists who ever lived.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Violin-David-O...

There are many other music DVD's out there worth considering as well...browse amazon...it's also reasonably priced.

It has virtuosity and variety...it's just beautiful.

EDIT: How can someone really be giving thumbs down to everyone? Most of these suggestions are really good!
maybe Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata for violin and piano ....nice ...or maybe the set of three Haydn concertos, No. 4, 5 and 6: they all go together and have really nice writing for the strings
You can't go wrong w/Mendelssohn E minor concerto, the Bruch G minor concerto, and the Tchaikovsky concerto.

Also, anything Sarasate is very technical
I play the violin and like to listen to more recently created music. U should look these up and she if she might like them.

Barrage- A group that travels the worlds a has an interesting style of music

Apocalyptica- cello group from Europe that plays some gentler songs and some hard rock ones.(THEY PLAYED AT THE OLYMPICS, AWESOME)
I'd have to agree with coconut - Beethoven's Violin Concerto - get the Penguin Classics version with Arthur Grumiaux - good and reasonably priced.
Violin Concerto in D by Tchaikovsky is absolutely amazing. Pure genius. All three parts are incredible. It has to be one of the most complicated pieces for a violin, though.
Mozarts Violin Concerto no. 4 in D K. 218

A true work of genius.