Arthur Grumiaux

The baron Arthur Grumiaux (born the March 22nd 1921 with Villers-Perwin close to Charleroi and dead the October 16th 1986 with Brussels), was a Belgian Violoniste. Professional at 18 years, it carried out a brilliant international career. Its sober and intense play and the very pure sonority of its violin made wonder in all the full orchestras of the world.

It receives its first courses of Violon and Piano at the 3 years age by his large father. At 6 years, it enters to the academy of Charleroi, where it obtains its first prices in violin and piano 5 years later. It completes its formation with the Conservatoire of Brussels and it falls under the class of Alfred Dubois, a pupil of Eugene Ysaÿe. It will also profit from the councils of Georges Enesco.

In 1939, following the first Price Henri Vieuxtemps and of the price François Prume, it gives its first great concert to Brussels with the Palais of the Art schools under the direction of Charles Münch with the program, the concerto of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

After the war, it will be invited by Walter Legge to record discs, in particular with the Symphony orchestra of the BBC and with the pianist Gerald Moore.

From there, its international repute is acquired. The recordings and the concerts follow one another. The musical partnership with the Rumanian pianist Clara Haskil, will be very profitable: they record the integral of the sonatas for piano and violin of Beethoven and six sonatas of Mozart.

In concert, he generally played on his Guarnerius del Gesù of 1744. He was also in possession of a Stradivarius of 1715, the Titian (having belonged to Efrem Zimbalist) and of several Guadagnini.

In 1972, the king Baudouin confers the title to him of baron. In 1996, the Conservatoire of Charleroi which had accommodated it child is renamed Conservatoire Arthur Grumiaux.

Beside its career, it will keep a long time a contact, established in 1962, with the festival of Stavelot which it will leave in 1985, reaches by health issues.

Video-musical testimonys

There remain to us musical interpretations of Arthur Grumiaux a certain number of testimonys videos. The artist was filmed playing:

- Concerto for violin and orchestra in C minor Op.64 of Mendelssohn (with the national orchestra of the rtf)

- Concerto for violin and orchestra in major D, Op.61 of Beethoven (with the national orchestra of the ORTF on February 4th, 1965 room Pleyel in Paris)

- III. Saraband and V. Chaconne of the Partita for violin only No.2 in minor D BVW 1004 of Jean Sebastien Bach (respectively the May 14th and March 21st, 1962 and 1967)

- Whim for violin alone n°14 into semi major, Op.1 of Paganini (With the palate from the Mediterranean in Nice on January 22nd, 1961)

- Baal Shem: It Nigun (improvisation) of Bloch with Andre Chometon with the piano (Paris on March 21st, 1967)

Anecdote

“You, the Walloon , you have the best violonist of the world and you do not know” said it, one day of 1970, an American music lover with a journalist of the south of the country, which fortunately guessed that its interlocutor spoke about Arthur Grumiaux.

Literature

- Editions Payot (Lausanne), in the collection " Musiciens" Arthur GRUMIAUX, Glory of the Belgian school of the violin by Laurence & Michel Winthrop

- " My friend Arthur Grumiaux - Memories inachevés" , Dom Adrien Nocent, o.s.b. Grumiaux foundation, 1996

External bonds

the foundations Arthur Grumiaux
Site Arthur Grumiaux

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