When Gioconda de Vito (1907 - 1994) left the podium for ever after a concert in Basel in 1961, she was regarded as the best violinist in Europe. For Yehudi Menuhin, she was a respected and equal partner, David Oistrakh had invited her to the jury of the first Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, and Furtwangler spoke of her only with the utmost appreciation. He also accompanied her on the piano, when she, the strict Catholic, performed in Castel Gandolfo in 1953 at the request of Pope Pius XII. and later also at the Vatican. But at the age of 54, at the height of her fame, she ended her career, because she thought she could no longer fulfill her self-imposed and very high standards of quality. That is why the her radio- and studio-recordings are so small in number. Bach, Beethoven and, above all, Brahms, were central to her efforts, but she was also lovingly devoted to chamber music. All of her recorded works, including those with Menuhin and Furtwangler, are included on these ten CDs. They are mostly played on the famous Tuscan Stradivari from 1690, which the Italian state had made available to her, and on a Gagliano from 1762. Thus, Gioconda de Vito will be remembered the way an English critic described her after a Mozart concerto with Rafael Kubelik: '(She) played in a way that you rarely hear in life ... the slow movement ... was almost heavenly.'

• Bach, J S: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV1043
• Bach, J S: Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV1004
• Bach, J S: Partita for solo violin No. 2 in D minor, BWV1004: Chaconne
• Bach, J S: Sonata for solo violin No. 2 in A minor, BWV1003
• Bach, J S: Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major, BWV1042
• Beethoven: Romance No. 2 for Violin and Orchestra in F major, Op. 50
• Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
• Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30 No. 2
• Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 ‘Kreutzer'
• Brahms: Double Concerto for Violin & Cello in A minor, Op. 102
• Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
• Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
• Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 100
• Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
• Corelli: Violin Sonata Op. 5 No. 12 in D minor (La folia)
• Franck, C: Violin Sonata in A major
• Handel: Sonata in D major for violin and continuo, HWV371, Op. 1 No. 13
• Handel: Trio Sonata, HWV 387 in G minor, Op. 2 No. 2
• Handel: Trio Sonata, HWV397 in D major, Op. 5 No. 2
• Leclair, J-M: Sonata in C minor, Op. 5 No. 6 'Le Tombeau'
• Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
• Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K216
• Purcell: Trio Sonata in F Major (The Golden Sonata), Z810 (from Ten Sonatas in Four Parts)
• Spohr: Duet for two violins, Op. 67 No. 3
• Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
• Viotti: Duo for 2 violins in G major
• Viotti: Violin Concerto No. 22 in A minor, G97
• Vitali, T: Chaconne in G minor