Arthur Grumiaux: Philips Recordings, 1955-1978

Great performances (no skips on disc 6)

Michael Richman noted in his review that he had problems with disc 6. I purchased this set in February, 2008 and had no skips on disc 6 - or on any other disc.

The sound quality overall is very good given the wide range of recording dates. Only on the 1955 recordings (Bach Concertos 1 & 2) is there any type of issue - there is some scratchiness in those two pieces.

The performances are excellent. Highly recommended. May 7, 2008

The aristocratic refinement

Artur Grumiaux was gifted by the Gods with a fabulous sense of mercurial skillfulness, powerful vibrato, slender lyricism and sheer expression which made of every piece he played an unusual fact to listen.

Born in 1921, his fame just began at 18 when he won the Francois Prume and Henri Viextemps, his musical maturity allowed him to experience and enhance with his frequent appearing in Prades, to become one of the most eloquent, elegant and mesmerizing virtuosi of this beloved instrument.

August 7, 2007

Very Good Grumiaux, But Beware CD6!

Like many of the recent "Original Masters" reissues, this 6CD set of music performed by violinist Arthur Grumiaux has been available since last July as an import, and now has finally been released in the U.S. And while there are many items contained on this set that have been reissued previously on CD, "Arthur Grumiaux: Philips Recordings 1955-1978" offers some real treasures. First the duplicates -- the majority of the Concertos on this set have appeared in various Philips single titles and the "Duo" series over the years, including the Bach, Mendelssohn, Bruch and Tchaikovsky selections. The other CDs contain rare and sought after Sonata recordings (Handel, Bach and Schubert) and they are delightful renditions. I also particularly enjoyed the Vivaldi and Michael Haydn works with Edo de Waart conducting. Overall, this set is very good, though a notch below Grumiaux's previous "Original Masters" set in my opinion (see my review). My biggest problem with this collection is it took me four attempts to get one that did not have a defective CD6!!! Beginning at around 8 1/2 minutes on the last movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (literally the set's last track!), I noticed a running skip that lasted for the remainder of the disc. I had the online company where I originally bought it from send me another set, only to have the same problem show up again and again. Finally I found one at a local store that didn't have the defect, so hopefully UNI has solved this problem. (I e-mailed Decca and they said they would look into it, but they never followed-up with me.) So if you get this box set, enjoy it but listen carefully to the last disc! February 4, 2007

Historic, and sometimes great

This is a mixed batch of recordings, from the mono Bach concertos from the 50's to his last Tchaikovsky concerto. I bought this mainly because it is the only way I could find to get the Handel Sonatas. And they are absolutely fantastic. It was worth the price to get those to replace my old LP. Of the other recordings (except the Bach), I'll only say that you get the famous Grumiaux sound and a lot of music for the price. January 29, 2007

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