Sarah Chang

Sarah Chang is a Korean (some would say American) violinist born on December 10, 1980 (Itzhak Perlman was 34 years old.) She was a child prodigy and has been highly praised by many of the world's greatest musicians and violinists, including Yehudi Menuhin. Her father, who is also a violinist, was one of her first teachers. When she entered Juilliard (New York) at age 6, she played the Bruch g minor concerto as her audition piece. At age 8, she played the Paganini concerto (in D) with the New York Philharmonic. At age 9, she recorded her first CD for EMI Classics, becoming the youngest violinist to be professionally recorded. She effectively began her concert career at the same age. (Chloe Hanslip was signed to a recording contract at age 13.) It is said that it took Ms Chang no more than two weeks to learn the Tchaikovsky concerto when she was only 12. Although she has garnered many awards (including the Avery Fisher Prize), she has never entered any violin competitions - possibly because she never had to. Chang has recorded most of the standard repertoire. As is usual with modern violinists, there are several videos of her playing on YouTube. In 2010, she got into an unpleasant controversy over her scheduling a concert in Detroit during the Detroit Symphony's strike.  I don't know if she has a page on MySpace. She plays a 1717 Guarnerius.

Christian Ferras

Christian Ferras was a French violinist born on June 17, 1933 (Heifetz was 32 years old.) He began studying with his father while still very young and by age 8 (1941), had entered the Nice Conservatory. Three years later (1944), he entered the Paris Conservatory, winning First Prize in Violin in 1946. One of his teachers there was the well-known violinist Rene Benedetti.  He then worked and studied with George Enesco. After an engagement with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1951, his career as a violin virtuoso became established. He was only 18 years old. He was fond of premiering new works for violin and began recording in earnest in 1954, mostly for EMI. He was (and is) highly regarded for his recordings of Beethoven’s and Tchaikovsky’s works under the DG label. From 1964 onward, he played the Milanollo Stradivarius.  He stopped playing altogether in 1975 (at age 42) but returned to the concert stage seven years later (March of 1982.) He gave his last concert on August 25, 1982. Shortly thereafter, he committed suicide (September 14, 1982.) He was 49 years old. There are numerous videos of his playing (all professionally produced) on YouTube. 

Yehudi Menuhin

Yehudi Menuhin, was a Russian violinist and conductor born on April 22, 1916 (Heifetz was 15 years old.) He began his career as a child prodigy, having started on the violin at age 3. His teachers were Sigmund Anker, Louis Persinger, Eugene Ysaye, Adolf Busch, and Georges Enesco, among others. He made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony in 1923 – at age 7. It is after a concert of his in 1929 that Einstein made the comment after hearing him play "Now I know that there is a God!" All I know is that he played the Paganini Moto Perpetuo faster than anyone else I’ve heard. He was one of four concert violinists to play three concerti in one concert (1929 - Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms.) Raymond Cohen, Szymon Goldberg, and Henryk Szeryng were the other three. He was also the first Jewish musician to play in Germany after the Holocaust (1947.) His recording contract with EMI set a record for longevity (70 years.) Menuhin played the Prince Khevenhuller Stradivarius (1733), among other fine violins. In the midst of his career he developed arm problems for which he consulted Theodore Pashkus and his wife (Alice), well-known violin pedagogues at the time. He died on March 12, 1999, at age 82. 

Frank Peter Zimmermann

Frank Peter Zimmermann is a German violinist born on February 27, 1965 (Heifetz was 63 years old.) He began playing at age five and gave his first concert with orchestra by the age of 10. Zimmermann has concertized worldwide since 1983. He has recorded most of the standard repertoire on EMI but also records for Teldec. There are many good videos of him on YouTube and he has appeared with every major orchestra in the world. Here is one of those videos. As far as I can tell, he does not have a page on MySpace, as many other violinists do. His violin is a 1711 Stradivarius.