Arthur Grumiaux - 1961

A new CD from the admirable Orfeo company reminds us that Arthur Grumiaux was one of the greatest violinists of the twentieth century. A modest Belgian, who disliked travelling, he had the good fortune to become the “house violinist” of the Dutch Philips company for many years, and thus left many recordings. His noble playing never gives us problems with intonation, tempi, style or dynamics. On this (excellent quality) recording from the July 1961 Salzburg festival, he plays four standard repertoire works: Beethoven's violin and piano sonata Op 12 No.1, Brahms first sonata for violin and piano, Stravinsky's Divertimento (arranged by Dushkin) and Debussy's violin and piano sonata. All four works are first class in terms of playing, tempi and interpretation. What more could one ask? Grumiaux's duo partner in Salzburg that year was the Hungarian Istvan Hajdu; an excellent pianist. The playing on this CD should be compulsory listening in all music schools: this is how it should be done. Grumiaux live turns out to be even better than Grumiaux in the studio. And that is saying something.