My vote is for Liz Carroll but I agree there are dozens more that are top-notch and I like for different reasons. Liz can play anything in ITM and do it well with a considerable amount of originality. Of course, she's contributed her own very excellent tunes to the ITM cause. I've heard other fiddlers (highly respected fiddlers themselves) point to Liz as one of their top choices. She plays slow tunes beautifully, as beautifully as the best classical violinists. She plays fast tunes with the clarity and accuracy that only very few others can do, if any. Her tunes are done with considerable analysis and thought behind them, which results in great arrangements. To top it all off, she writes her own tunes and makes many of them freely available for other fiddlers. She shares what she knows freely and truly wants to carry the ITM torch to move the ITM tradition into the future. From my limited experience and from things I've read that support this, she has a great personality. I think it would be hard to come up with another fiddler who has all of these great assets and qualities.
In order to answer this in any meaningful way, you would have to have,
1. Heard all fiddle players
2. Have some definition/clue of what 'best' means (Most dextrous? Most soulful? fastest? Most creative?...)
Looking just at professional fiddlers, what criteria would you use to judge between Liz Carroll and Tommy Peoples, say?
How can you decide if you have only heard commercial recxordings of said fiddlers? No recording is reproduced without SOME sort of tweaking.
And why don't you tell us YOUR favourite, as Dow suggests - are you going to wait until us lesser mortals have made fools of ourselves before stunning us by revealing the one true master that we should have chosen if we hadn't been so dumb?
Cathal Hayden
Kevin Burke
Martin Hayes
Liz Carroll
Paddy Glackin
Tommy Peoples
Gerry O'Connor
Paul O'Shaughnessy
Cathal Hayden
Liz Doherty
Padraig O'Keefe
Denis Murphy
Michael Gorman
Michael Coleman
Eileen Ivers
Sean Keane
Tommy Potts
John Carty
Matt Cranitch
Martin Byrnes
Bobby Casey
Lucy Farr
Frankie Gavin
P.J. Hayes
Ben Lennon
Paddy Killoran
Siobhan Peoples
Tola Custy
Liz Kane
Yvonne Kane
Junior Crehan
Brian Rooney
Neillidh Boyle
John Doherty
Well, of course Ron P is quite correct & there can't possibly be such a thing as a 'BEST' fiddle player! One can have favourites of course, but that's not the same thing at all, ..... at all!
If I had to name one it would probably be Mark O'Connor but if you are talking Irish Fiddle player, then I'm afraid my list would be at least as long as Ottery's - but then of course length is not important
Well while we appear to be on the topic of just "fiddle players" I might just have to add my four favourite fiddlers:
Mark O'Connor
Alison Krauss
Darol Anger
Alisdair Fraser
but then if I add these four I have to add two mandolin/guitar players that double as pretty good fiddlers:
Mike Marshall
Sam Bush
But I seem to be very biased towards these american persuasions of fiddle playing. Steph was good, but more gypsy and if we are strictly speaking "fiddle" then he was jazz violin so he don't count. And I was going to add Joshua Bell but he is Classical base, although Mark O'Connor is, O'Connor dables in various styles and sounds as displayed on his "heros" albulm.
I can't think of any more right this second as i am at work but I'll be back to read and maybe add more on this topic.
I will have to look those fiddlers up Ottery, I am but a humble Australian youngster, whom is not familiar with 85% of that list you left us. My Deepest Apologies, if I have offended anyone here with this imparted knowledge and ignorance.
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion (continued)
hmm by the looks of it, I might be listening to the wrong kind of music to be part of this site. 8( Don't get me wrong, although I like Eileen Ivers, and Kevin Burke is only ok (personally he is not a violinist i would look up to), Sean Keane is good, Ashley MacIsaac is a Rocker, Peter Knight from Steeleye Span is a good innovator, Sean Smyth ain't too bad, although I think that Kevin Crawford (the flute player) is the highlight of this innovative and skillful bunch of musos known as Lúnasa,
... who else do I have in my collection, oh yes the Corrs' chick ain't too bad (but not someone I would be trying to style my playing from),
I know a fiddler called Randall Mathews here in Australia who is pretty good at the ITM, I'm not too shabby myself, but am not up with all the tunes, and some of the finer techniques are a little without practise at the moment and need work. But what am I thinking I am not a "best fiddler" type....... yet.... yeah, I got high hopes and dreams.
If you want to know a few great mandolin players, which I haven't mentioned already, Chris Thile is great, and Radim Zenkl is different sort of music all together and it is worth a listen.
Ok I've had my two cents worth....and you can keep the change...
Calvin Vollrath is the best fiddle player in the world... Anyone who can capture the mood of a song and not just play the notes has the gift and Calvin certainly has that gift...Calvinvollrath.com from traditional to swing he just has great melodies and plays so well in tune....then there is Shanecook.com . Both of these guys are Canadian players and are just great...
By far - Dave Garner from Bristol: (fiddle player with Choonz): check out www.myspace.com/choonzmusic
After him: Martin Hayes
or if you are thinking trad music in general, whichever one of Haugaard/Hoirup is the fiddle player...)
Then, Sean Smyth (Lunasa)
Dezi Donnelly
Eileen Ivers
That's my top 5. Eileen Ivers is damn good but sometimes lacks taste, Dezi Donnelly is a very complete musician, but Sean Smyth just about edges it: better ornamentation and energy. Martin Hayes stands apart of these guys as he can do everything aND more, and his playing is soulful. But I think Dave is better, because his energy levels are through the roof and he has more technique... And is just 22!. Having seen all these guys play live all I can say is you have to look for Choonz's new album (being released this August) or get yourself to a Choonz gig. ... and the rest of the band aren't sh*t either! Okay, you probably won't of heard of this band yet - but you have now!
... oh and that Australian fella was right about mandolin players, Chris Thile is sh*t hot. There's a video saomewhere on youtube of him covering a radiohead tune which is my favourite.
I don´t know if Kevin Burke is " the best " (whatever that may mean) but I get more pleasure listening to his music than that of any other fiddle player - and I´ve heard quite a few !
Stuart Duncan is hands down the best on earth, no one even comes close. His tone is enough for me. He also fits perfectly in any musical situation. And when it comes to improving he really proves he's in a league of his own
Best fiddle players in your opinion
Best fiddle players in your opinion
Who in your opinion is the best fiddle player and why?
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by oh
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
This one has been tried before
but *really* its all down to taste, with the exception of Liz Carroll, of course, who is the best. 
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by John J.
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
...but there's dozens more I love too......
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by John J.
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Tommy Peoples
Stephane Grappelli if we're not talking strictly trad...
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by tradshark
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/10459
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Henk Bos
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Who in *your* opinion is the best player and why?
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Dr. Dow
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
The one that doesn't start two sets in a row during a session.
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by John J.
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
My vote is for Liz Carroll but I agree there are dozens more that are top-notch and I like for different reasons. Liz can play anything in ITM and do it well with a considerable amount of originality. Of course, she's contributed her own very excellent tunes to the ITM cause. I've heard other fiddlers (highly respected fiddlers themselves) point to Liz as one of their top choices. She plays slow tunes beautifully, as beautifully as the best classical violinists. She plays fast tunes with the clarity and accuracy that only very few others can do, if any. Her tunes are done with considerable analysis and thought behind them, which results in great arrangements. To top it all off, she writes her own tunes and makes many of them freely available for other fiddlers. She shares what she knows freely and truly wants to carry the ITM torch to move the ITM tradition into the future. From my limited experience and from things I've read that support this, she has a great personality. I think it would be hard to come up with another fiddler who has all of these great assets and qualities.
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by FiddleCrazy
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
This was done only a last week. Why not try different instruments like banjo,concertina or flute ?
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by eurbanjo
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
BUDDY MACMASTER.
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by cathrynb
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
There are too many good players to say who is "best". Does it really matter anyway?
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Ron P
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
In order to answer this in any meaningful way, you would have to have,
1. Heard all fiddle players
2. Have some definition/clue of what 'best' means (Most dextrous? Most soulful? fastest? Most creative?...)
Looking just at professional fiddlers, what criteria would you use to judge between Liz Carroll and Tommy Peoples, say?
How can you decide if you have only heard commercial recxordings of said fiddlers? No recording is reproduced without SOME sort of tweaking.
And why don't you tell us YOUR favourite, as Dow suggests - are you going to wait until us lesser mortals have made fools of ourselves before stunning us by revealing the one true master that we should have chosen if we hadn't been so dumb?
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Ottery
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
I like many fiddle players who have a wide variety of styles being a fiddle player myself
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by oh
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Gerry O'Connor
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by vanessa
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
The late Johnny Cunningham.
Best known for his lightening fast reels but I loved his slow airs. You could tell he truly loved and felt the music.
Mary
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Antikhntr
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Kevin Burke. He's firey without being acrobatic and I love his sad, complaining triplets.
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Farr
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Cathal Hayden
Kevin Burke
Martin Hayes
Liz Carroll
Paddy Glackin
Tommy Peoples
Gerry O'Connor
Paul O'Shaughnessy
Cathal Hayden
Liz Doherty
Padraig O'Keefe
Denis Murphy
Michael Gorman
Michael Coleman
Eileen Ivers
Sean Keane
Tommy Potts
John Carty
Matt Cranitch
Martin Byrnes
Bobby Casey
Lucy Farr
Frankie Gavin
P.J. Hayes
Ben Lennon
Paddy Killoran
Siobhan Peoples
Tola Custy
Liz Kane
Yvonne Kane
Junior Crehan
Brian Rooney
Neillidh Boyle
John Doherty
... Now, what was the question?
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Ottery
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Well, of course Ron P is quite correct & there can't possibly be such a thing as a 'BEST' fiddle player! One can have favourites of course, but that's not the same thing at all, ..... at all!
If I had to name one it would probably be Mark O'Connor but if you are talking Irish Fiddle player, then I'm afraid my list would be at least as long as Ottery's - but then of course length is not important
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Ptarmigan
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
My favourite fiddler is Kevin Burke - so that mean's I find him best to listen to.
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by kris
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Kevin Burke's cd's are better than all the rest. i like martin hayes' live cd too.
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Celtic1234
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Pól
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by Pól
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
I seem to have a touch of the apostrophe virus. Sorry. Hope it's only the 24 hour version!
# Posted on July 4th 2006 by kris
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Ottery - Obviously, Cathal Hayden is the best fiddler, since he appears twice in your list, whilst all the others appear only once.
# Posted on July 5th 2006 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
So he does!
I do believe you are right - this is God's mysterious way of enlightening us wastrels....
# Posted on July 5th 2006 by Ottery
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Well while we appear to be on the topic of just "fiddle players" I might just have to add my four favourite fiddlers:
Mark O'Connor
Alison Krauss
Darol Anger
Alisdair Fraser
but then if I add these four I have to add two mandolin/guitar players that double as pretty good fiddlers:
Mike Marshall
Sam Bush
But I seem to be very biased towards these american persuasions of fiddle playing. Steph was good, but more gypsy and if we are strictly speaking "fiddle" then he was jazz violin so he don't count. And I was going to add Joshua Bell but he is Classical base, although Mark O'Connor is, O'Connor dables in various styles and sounds as displayed on his "heros" albulm.
I can't think of any more right this second as i am at work but I'll be back to read and maybe add more on this topic.
I will have to look those fiddlers up Ottery, I am but a humble Australian youngster, whom is not familiar with 85% of that list you left us. My Deepest Apologies, if I have offended anyone here with this imparted knowledge and ignorance.
Just another sub category to add: - inovator
# Posted on July 10th 2006 by Leddivah
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion (continued)
hmm by the looks of it, I might be listening to the wrong kind of music to be part of this site. 8( Don't get me wrong, although I like Eileen Ivers, and Kevin Burke is only ok (personally he is not a violinist i would look up to), Sean Keane is good, Ashley MacIsaac is a Rocker, Peter Knight from Steeleye Span is a good innovator, Sean Smyth ain't too bad, although I think that Kevin Crawford (the flute player) is the highlight of this innovative and skillful bunch of musos known as Lúnasa,
... who else do I have in my collection, oh yes the Corrs' chick ain't too bad (but not someone I would be trying to style my playing from),
I know a fiddler called Randall Mathews here in Australia who is pretty good at the ITM, I'm not too shabby myself, but am not up with all the tunes, and some of the finer techniques are a little without practise at the moment and need work. But what am I thinking I am not a "best fiddler" type....... yet.... yeah, I got high hopes and dreams.
If you want to know a few great mandolin players, which I haven't mentioned already, Chris Thile is great, and Radim Zenkl is different sort of music all together and it is worth a listen.
Ok I've had my two cents worth....and you can keep the change...
# Posted on July 12th 2006 by Leddivah
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Donnell Leahy in pretty much all catagories!
# Posted on July 25th 2006 by Ben314
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Calvin Vollrath is the best fiddle player in the world... Anyone who can capture the mood of a song and not just play the notes has the gift and Calvin certainly has that gift...Calvinvollrath.com from traditional to swing he just has great melodies and plays so well in tune....then there is Shanecook.com . Both of these guys are Canadian players and are just great...
# Posted on June 18th 2007 by Turblett
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
By far - Dave Garner from Bristol: (fiddle player with Choonz): check out www.myspace.com/choonzmusic
After him: Martin Hayes
or if you are thinking trad music in general, whichever one of Haugaard/Hoirup is the fiddle player...)
Then, Sean Smyth (Lunasa)
Dezi Donnelly
Eileen Ivers
That's my top 5. Eileen Ivers is damn good but sometimes lacks taste, Dezi Donnelly is a very complete musician, but Sean Smyth just about edges it: better ornamentation and energy. Martin Hayes stands apart of these guys as he can do everything aND more, and his playing is soulful. But I think Dave is better, because his energy levels are through the roof and he has more technique... And is just 22!. Having seen all these guys play live all I can say is you have to look for Choonz's new album (being released this August) or get yourself to a Choonz gig. ... and the rest of the band aren't sh*t either! Okay, you probably won't of heard of this band yet - but you have now!
# Posted on August 3rd 2008 by TheHappyCamper
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
... oh and that Australian fella was right about mandolin players, Chris Thile is sh*t hot. There's a video saomewhere on youtube of him covering a radiohead tune which is my favourite.
# Posted on August 3rd 2008 by TheHappyCamper
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Brian Conway?
# Posted on August 3rd 2008 by Bob himself
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
No, Tommy Peoples?
# Posted on August 3rd 2008 by Bob himself
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
No, wait, ... Oh, I give up! Who is it?!
# Posted on August 3rd 2008 by Bob himself
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
It does say "in your opinion" so as far as I'm concerned it has to be Tommy Peoples for his unique style and his fantastic compositions.
# Posted on August 3rd 2008 by Bannerman
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Siohban Peoples..is my opinion of course
# Posted on August 3rd 2008 by bb
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
I don´t know if Kevin Burke is " the best " (whatever that may mean) but I get more pleasure listening to his music than that of any other fiddle player - and I´ve heard quite a few !
# Posted on August 4th 2008 by murfbox
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Stuart Duncan is hands down the best on earth, no one even comes close. His tone is enough for me. He also fits perfectly in any musical situation. And when it comes to improving he really proves he's in a league of his own
# Posted on September 3rd 2008 by gangland man
Re: Best fiddle players in your opinion
Brendan Mulvihill
If you ever get a chance to listen to him live, you'll understand why.
# Posted on March 2nd 2010 by maleko