Born: March 21, 1921
Died: October 16, 1986
Country: Belgium
Of the Franco-Belgian school, Arthur Grumiaux is considered to have been one of the few truly great violin virtuosi of the twentieth century. In his relatively short life his achievements were superb. He brought to performances guaranteed technical command, faithfulness to the composer's intent, and sensitivity toward the intricate delineations of musical structure. His fame was built upon extraordinary violin concerto performances andRead more chamber-music appearances with his own Grumiaux Trio.
Grumiaux was born in Villers-Perwin, Belgium, in 1921, to a working-class family, and it was his grandfather who urged him to begin music studies at the age of 4. He trained on violin and piano with the Fernand Quintet at the Charleroi Conservatory, where he took first prize at the age of 11. The following year he advanced his studies by working with Alfred Dubois at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, and also worked on counterpoint and fugue with Jean Absil. He received his first few major awards prior to reaching the age of 20; he took the Henry Vieuxtemps and François Prume prizes in 1939, and received the Prix de Virtuosité from the Belgian government in 1940. During this time he also studied composition privately in Paris with the famous Romanian violinist Georges Enesco, Menuhin's teacher. His debuts were made in Belgium with the Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra playing Mendelssohn's concerto, and in Britain with the BBC Symphonic Orchestra in 1945. Due to the German invasion of his homeland, there existed a short time gap between these two important events. During that time he played privately with several small ensembles, while refraining from public performance of any kind. Regardless of this slight delay in the initiation of his international career, once started, it quickly developed. Following his British debut, he advanced into Belgium academia when he was appointed professor of violin at the Royal Conservatory, where he had once studied. There, he emphasized the importance of phrasing, the quality of sound, and the high technical standards of artistry.
Grumiaux's playing has been included on over 30 recordings, nearly all under Philips, although his name is also seen on the labels of EMI, Belart and Music & Arts. The titles on these releases tend to be the compositions of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, and Schubert, and on occasion include works by Ravel and Debussy. One of his greatest joys in life was his partnership with the pianist Clara Haskil. On occasion, the two would switch instruments for a different perspective and relationship. Grumiaux was left with a professional and personal absence when she died from a fall at a train station, en route to a concert with him. In addition to his solo work, he has recorded Mozart quintets with the Grumiaux Ensemble, and various selections with the Grumiaux Trio, comprised of the Hungarian husband-wife duo Georges Janzer (violin) and Eva Czako (cello). His successful performance career led up to royal recognition, as in 1973, he was knighted baron by King Baudouin, for his services to music, thus, sharing the title with Paganini. Despite a struggle with diabetes, he continued a rigorous schedule of recording and concert performances, primarily in Western Europe, until a sudden stroke in Brussels took his life in 1986. At the age of 65, Grumiaux left behind the memory of his elegant and solid musicianship. Read less
Label: Swr Music
Catalog: 19415
Release Date: 04/13/2018
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Franz Schubert,
Johannes Brahms,
Hugo Wolf
Performer:
Elisabeth Grümmer,
Arthur Grumiaux,
Hugo Diez
Conductor:
Karl Münchinger
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Johannes Brahms,
Igor Stravinsky
...
Performer:
Wilhelm Kempff,
Arthur Grumiaux,
Georges Janzer,
Eva Czako
...
Conductor:
Robert Craft,
Antal Doráti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Tokyo String Quartet,
London Symphony Orchestra
...
Label: Andromeda
Catalog: 9116
Release Date: 02/25/2014
Number of Discs: 4
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Franz Schubert,
Felix Mendelssohn,
César Franck
...
Performer:
Arthur Grumiaux,
Riccardo Castagnone,
Hans Altmann,
Hermann von Beckerath
Conductor:
Frieder Weissmann,
Lorin Maazel,
Hans Müller-Kray,
Bernhard Paumgartner
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 001912702
Release Date: 10/08/2013
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Arthur Grumiaux,
Ingrid Haebler,
Henryk Szeryng
...
Conductor:
Bernard Haitink,
Alceo Galliera,
Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Sir Colin Davis
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Beaux Arts Trio
Label: Decca
Catalog: 001903502
Release Date: 09/24/2013
Number of Discs: 20
Composer:
Béla Bartók,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Johannes Brahms,
Richard Wagner
...
Performer:
Henryk Szeryng,
Herman Krebbers,
Menahem Pressler,
Isidore Cohen
...
Conductor:
Bernard Haitink
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Beaux Arts Trio
...
Recommendation
Label: Regis
Catalog: 7010
Release Date: 03/28/2013
Number of Discs: 7
Composer:
Felix Mendelssohn,
Johannes Brahms,
Edouard Lalo,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
...
Performer:
Arthur Grumiaux,
Clara Haskil
Conductor:
Bernard Haitink,
Eduard van Beinum,
Jean Fournet,
Bernhard Paumgartner
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 001492402
Release Date: 11/30/2010
Number of Discs: 17
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Manuel de Falla,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Frédéric Chopin
...
Performer:
Clara Haskil,
Arthur Grumiaux
Conductor:
Paul Sacher,
Bernhard Paumgartner,
Igor Markevitch,
Ferenc Fricsay
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Symphony Orchestra,
Lamoureux Concerts Association Orchestra,
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
...
Label: Hänssler Classic
Catalog: 94209
Release Date: 09/08/2009
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Franz Schubert,
Johannes Brahms,
Hugo Wolf
Performer:
Arthur Grumiaux,
Elisabeth Grümmer,
Hugo Diez
Conductor:
Karl Münchinger
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra
Recommendation
Label: Medici Masters
Catalog: 20-2
Release Date: 08/25/2009
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Igor Stravinsky,
Béla Bartók
Performer:
Arthur Grumiaux
Conductor:
Ferenc Fricsay
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cologne West German Radio Symphony Orchestra
Label: Decca
Catalog: 001280302
Release Date: 04/21/2009
Number of Discs: 5
Composer:
Gabriel Fauré,
Joaquin Rodrigo,
Samuel Barber,
Claude Debussy
...
Performer:
Marisa Robles,
Jack Brymer,
Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
...
Conductor:
Charles Dutoit,
David Zinman,
Frederick Fennell,
Sir Neville Marriner
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Montreal Symphony Orchestra,
Philharmonia Orchestra,
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
...
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 000944302
Release Date: 10/09/2007
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Lisa Beznosiuk,
Trevor Pinnock,
Simon Standage,
Heinz Holliger
...
Conductor:
Sir Neville Marriner,
Raymond Agoult,
Arpád Gerecz,
Raymond Leppard
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,
English Concert,
Camerata Bern
...
Label: Orfeo D'or
Catalog: 713062
Release Date: 10/31/2006
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Arthur Grumiaux,
Erica Morini,
Wolfgang Schneiderhan,
Nathan Milstein
Conductor:
Bernhard Paumgartner,
George Szell,
Wolfgang Schneiderhan,
Karl Böhm
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Salzburg Mozart Orchestra,
ORTF National Orchestra,
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Label: Pentatone
Catalog: 5186120
Release Date: 08/29/2006
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Max Bruch
Performer:
Arthur Grumiaux
Conductor:
Sir Colin Davis,
Heinz Wallberg
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,
Philharmonia Orchestra
Recommendation
Label: Decca
Catalog: 000192002
Release Date: 02/10/2004
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Edouard Lalo,
Sir Edward Elgar,
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,
Jerry Bock
...
Performer:
Shlomo Mintz,
Kyung-Wha Chung,
Phillip Moll,
Henryk Szeryng
...
Conductor:
Zubin Mehta,
Lakatos Róbert,
Andrew Litton,
Sir Neville Marriner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,
Roby Lakatos Ensemble,
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 472717
Release Date: 02/11/2003
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Mitsuko Uchida,
Peter Damm,
Arthur Grumiaux,
Géza Anda
...
Conductor:
Karl Böhm,
Géza Anda,
Edo de Waart,
Sir Neville Marriner
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,
Salzburg Mozarteum Camerata Academica,
Netherlands Wind Ensemble
...
Label: London/Decca Double Decker
Catalog: 473596
Release Date: 01/28/2003
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Ralph Vaughan Williams,
Sergei Rachmaninov,
Edvard Grieg,
Claude Debussy
...
Performer:
Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Lynn Harrell,
Jorge Bolet,
Jeffrey Khaner
...
Conductor:
Roger Norrington,
Riccardo Chailly,
Vladimir Ashkenazy,
Yehudi Menuhin
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Philharmonic Orchestra,
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Cleveland Orchestra
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 472758
Release Date: 01/14/2003
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Gottfried H. Stölzel
Performer:
Trevor Pinnock,
Wolfgang Rübsam,
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa,
János Starker
...
Conductor:
Trevor Pinnock,
Karl Richter,
Barry Rose,
John Eliot Gardiner
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
English Concert,
Munich Bach Orchestra,
Munich Bach Choir
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 472482
Release Date: 09/24/2002
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
George Frideric Handel,
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Ottorino Respighi,
Georges Bizet
...
Performer:
Irena Grafenauer,
Maria Graf,
Mischa Maisky,
Monica Huggett
...
Conductor:
Seiji Ozawa,
Myung-Whun Chung,
Semyon Bychkov,
Leopold Stokowski
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra,
Boston Symphony Orchestra,
Bastille Opera Orchestra
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 472412
Release Date: 08/27/2002
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Tomaso Albinoni,
Franz Schubert,
Henry Purcell,
Ernest Chausson
...
Performer:
Martin Haselböck,
Arthur Grumiaux,
István Hajdu,
Heinz Holliger
...
Conductor:
Karl Münchinger,
Richard Hickox,
Charles Dutoit,
James Levine
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra,
Richard Hickox Orchestra,
I Musici
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 470780
Release Date: 07/16/2002
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Erich Wolfgang Korngold,
Sir Edward Elgar,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Johann Sebastian Bach
...
Performer:
Kjell Lysell,
Bengt Forsberg,
Mats Lidström,
Ulf Forsberg
...
Conductor:
Sir Neville Marriner,
István Kertész,
Riccardo Chailly,
George Malcolm
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields,
Vienna Haydn Orchestra,
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
...