Grumiaux box

[mikealdren]

Gramophone say there will be a complete Grumiaux Philips box (on Decca!) to mark his centenary (Mar 21st).
One of my all time favourite players and I will be very tempted by this 74 CD set although I already have so many of the recordings.

[barney]

Gramophone say there will be a complete Grumiaux Philips box (on Decca!) to mark his centenary (Mar 21st).
One of my all time favourite players and I will be very tempted by this 74 CD set although I already have so many of the recordings.

Absolutely Mike. It will be a compulsory purchase for me. I probably have 50 Grumiaux CDs, but if there are 74 I will have to get the set. My favourite violinist, bar none. I'm delighted you alerted me to this; thanks.

[maestrob]

Gramophone say there will be a complete Grumiaux Philips box (on Decca!) to mark his centenary (Mar 21st).
One of my all time favourite players and I will be very tempted by this 74 CD set although I already have so many of the recordings.

Hello, Mike!

Yes, I too am very interested. I have the box of Grumiaux's mono recordings issued a while back, so I'm wondering if this mega-box will be a duplication for me, or does it contain only his stereo recordings?

I guess we'll find out sooner or later.

[mikealdren]

Hi Barney and Rob,
apparently it contains ALL his Philips recordings including multiple recordings of, for example, the Bruch No.1, Lalo symphony espagnole, Beethoven concerto etc. It also contains the Mozart adagio and rondo with Colin Davis that have never made it to CD previously.

[Lance]

I show 71 CD entries in my Grumiaux CD catalogue, which also includes a number of issues with more than one disc (14 in one case). Already, there are many duplications. The new box will give us (again) his complete recordings with Clara Haskil, those with Klein, Sebok, and oh so much more. Grumiaux was also an accomplished pianist as well and even made some recordings playing both the violin and piano with overdubbing. Grumiaux, one of my favourite violinists as well but somewhere in this life, we have to ask ourselves whether to make these investments in the mega-boxes when we already have probably 90% or more. It will be most interesting to see the total layout of what Decca is issuing and what I am missing.

[barney]

I show 71 CD entries in my Grumiaux CD catalogue, which also includes a number of issues with more than one disc (14 in one case). Already, there are many duplications. The new box will give us (again) his complete recordings with Clara Haskil, those with Klein, Sebok, and oh so much more. Grumiaux was also an accomplished pianist as well and even made some recordings playing both the violin and piano with overdubbing. Grumiaux, one of my favourite violinists as well but somewhere in this life, we have to ask ourselves whether to make these investments in the mega-boxes when we already have probably 90% or more. It will be most interesting to see the total layout of what Decca is issuing and what I am missing.

Completely agree, Lance. Normally that is indeed my practice. But this time I am committed.

[mikealdren]

Completely agree, Lance. Normally that is indeed my practice. But this time I am committed.

Me too, I suspect I'll have to list the duplicates on Ebay.

[maestrob]

Completely agree, Lance. Normally that is indeed my practice. But this time I am committed.

Me too, I suspect I'll have to list the duplicates on Ebay.

I will probably give away the mono box and order the complete set as well. I ordered it to have the Beethoven Sonatas with Clara Haskill, which I remember from LP days, but I just can't resist having ALL his recordings. Like Szeryng, another favorite who was overshadowed by RCA's relentless publicity machine for Heifetz here, I must have this box as well.

[barney]

Szeryng was a beautiful player who certainly deserved a higher reputation. But the congnoscenti knew.

[mikealdren]

Szeryng was a beautiful player who certainly deserved a higher reputation. But the congnoscenti knew.

Yes he was good (I heard him several times) but I tend to agree with Perlman's oft quoted view that 'yes that was good, I wonder who it was - oh Szeryng'. Somhow it's all very well done but there's nothing in the Szeryng discography that I couldn't live without whereas Grumiaux made so many special recordings.
Having said all that, I never heard Grumiaux live and I have been told by some who did that he was better on record than live.

[Lance]

Mike - not even the Szeryng/Artur Rubinstein collaborations on records [RCA]? Rubinstein thought the world of Szeryng. I do believe that Rubinstein's collaboration on records did much to enhance the career of Szeryng. Szeryng's discography is quite large. The 44-CD Decca set [483 4194] is worth having giving us his Decca, DGG and Philips recordings, and, along with his RCA recordings, the SWR CDs and many discs on other labels. While Szeryng didn't enjoy the super career like Heifetz, neither did Milstein, who was extra "special" as well and in many ways, preferable (to me) than Heifetz. Either way, it is grand to have so much available by so many great artists!

Szeryng was a beautiful player who certainly deserved a higher reputation. But the congnoscenti knew.

Yes he was good (I heard him several times) but I tend to agree with Perlman's oft quoted view that 'yes that was good, I wonder who it was - oh Szeryng'. Somhow it's all very well done but there's nothing in the Szeryng discography that I couldn't live without whereas Grumiaux made so many special recordings.
Having said all that, I never heard Grumiaux live and I have been told by some who did that he was better on record than live.

[CharmNewton]

Szeryng was a beautiful player who certainly deserved a higher reputation. But the congnoscenti knew.

Yes he was good (I heard him several times) but I tend to agree with Perlman's oft quoted view that 'yes that was good, I wonder who it was - oh Szeryng'. Somhow it's all very well done but there's nothing in the Szeryng discography that I couldn't live without whereas Grumiaux made so many special recordings.
Having said all that, I never heard Grumiaux live and I have been told by some who did that he was better on record than live.

I've come to appreciate the playing of Szeryng more as I've gotten older (that is also true for Haydn, who I've come to love). Szeryng plays with beautiful tone, but he also plays with some intensity. I recently played his recoring of the Lalo Symphonie Espagnole that he made in Chicago and find it holds up very well to other recordings. And his recordings of Mozart and Beethoven sonatas with Ingrid Haebler (one of my favorite pianists) are terrific.

Grumiaux is pretty special, so I'm planning on getting this.

John

[maestrob]

Mike - not even the Szeryng/Artur Rubinstein collaborations on records [RCA]? Rubinstein thought the world of Szeryng. I do believe that Rubinstein's collaboration on records did much to enhance the career of Szeryng. Szeryng's discography is quite large. The 44-CD Decca set [483 4194] is worth having giving us his Decca, DGG and Philips recordings, and, along with his RCA recordings, the SWR CDs and many discs on other labels. While Szeryng didn't enjoy the super career like Heifetz, neither did Milstein, who was extra "special" as well and in many ways, preferable (to me) than Heifetz. Either way, it is grand to have so much available by so many great artists!

Szeryng was a beautiful player who certainly deserved a higher reputation. But the congnoscenti knew.

Yes he was good (I heard him several times) but I tend to agree with Perlman's oft quoted view that 'yes that was good, I wonder who it was - oh Szeryng'. Somhow it's all very well done but there's nothing in the Szeryng discography that I couldn't live without whereas Grumiaux made so many special recordings.
Having said all that, I never heard Grumiaux live and I have been told by some who did that he was better on record than live.

Lance, I bought that Szeryng box and have played through it several times. I must say that I agree with your evaluation. When I was younger, I was impressed with the virtuosity of Jascha Heifetz, but, upon acquiring the box of his complete recordings when it was first offered, I realized that Heifetz, like Rubinstein, was under intense pressure to make record after record, particularly in the early LP era, and some of Heifetz's recordings can sound quite dry, especially the chamber recordings, Even though he never embarrasses himself, there are better sounding recorded versions of much of his repertoire (The Brahms Double Concerto comes immediately to mind.). From that same era I prefer Bruno Walter's recording for Columbia.

Szeryng, by contrast, always sounds elegant and, while his playing is more subtle than Heifetz, I've grown over the years to appreciate his style, especially in Mozart, which is thoughtful, elegant, and quite moving.

Be that as it may, I still find Heifetz absolutely glorious in his stereo recordings of the Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky Concertos. It took him 3 tries to get the Tchaikovsky absolutely right, and he does so with Reiner.

[maestrob]

Update:

Import CDs is now listing the Arthur Grumiaux Collection (74 CDs) as available for pre-order at $202, while amazon appears to be out of stock. (Available 3/26/21)

With the 10% coupon I just received from them, that means I'll be getting it for $180, plus tax and $2.99 shipping.

Seems to be the best deal around so far.

[Lance]

Hmmm, I have several pre-orders with Import CDs (and paid for!) now awaiting deliveries. How does one go about getting the 10% coupon? I, too, will have to have this set despite having many/most of his recordings. I will eventually have to begin selling individual CDs over Amazon or eBay, something I have never done - yet.

Update:

Import CDs is now listing the Arthur Grumiaux Collection (74 CDs) as available for pre-order at $202, while amazon appears to be out of stock. (Available 3/26/21)

With the 10% coupon I just received from them, that means I'll be getting it for $180, plus tax and $2.99 shipping.

Seems to be the best deal around so far.

[barney]

Hmmm. The only Australian outlet selling it, according to a Google search, is charging $756. I won't be buying at that price.

[mikealdren]

It's available for pre-order at Amazon UK at £134.

[maestrob]

Hmmm, I have several pre-orders with Import CDs (and paid for!) now awaiting deliveries. How does one go about getting the 10% coupon? I, too, will have to have this set despite having many/most of his recordings. I will eventually have to begin selling individual CDs over Amazon or eBay, something I have never done - yet.

Update:

Import CDs is now listing the Arthur Grumiaux Collection (74 CDs) as available for pre-order at $202, while amazon appears to be out of stock. (Available 3/26/21)

With the 10% coupon I just received from them, that means I'll be getting it for $180, plus tax and $2.99 shipping.

Seems to be the best deal around so far.

Good morning, Lance!

Getting 10% coupons from businesses online is an old trick of mine, but sometimes it only works once when you first sign up. I've learned to place rather large orders in my cart, and just leave without completing the order. Since I had given them my email address when filling out my cart, I expected this to trigger an automatic response of an email with a heading in my inbox the next day of something like, "Did you forget something?" Low and behold, I got the coupon good for 14 days in my inbox the next morning!

Not sure if this would work with them in the future, but it's worth trying, at least for large orders.

I now plan on giving them an order soon for the Ormandy, Grumiaux and Rodzinski boxes as a reward for their generosity!

[mikealdren]

It arrived on Sunday and I've been revelling in the contents. I suspect there is no remastering (a shame in some cases) but the playing is wonderful throughout, in the Mozart duos for instance, Grumiaux's tone is glowingly incomparable.

The downside: the packaging is awful. The CD are arranged in a square box around a central space so that the resulting box won't fit on a CD shelf. Within the box, the CDs are held in cardboard envelopes, the single and double CDs are ok but with sets of 3 and 4 CDs it's difficult to extract the CDs from the packaging. A standard 'long box' with individual envelopes would have been far better, the only positive from the packaging is the larger format booklet, really more of a book in this case.

[maestrob]

It arrived on Sunday and I've been revelling in the contents. I suspect there is no remastering (a shame in some cases) but the playing is wonderful throughout, in the Mozart duos for instance, Grumiaux's tone is glowingly incomparable.

The downside: the packaging is awful. The CD are arranged in a square box around a central space so that the resulting box won't fit on a CD shelf. Within the box, the CDs are held in cardboard envelopes, the single and double CDs are ok but with sets of 3 and 4 CDs it's difficult to extract the CDs from the packaging. A standard 'long box' with individual envelopes would have been far better, the only positive from the packaging is the larger format booklet, really more of a book in this case.

Thanks for the report, Mike. My copy is on order from importCDs, and is scheduled to be shipped in early April. Glad you got yours early.

[Lance]

Good to hear you got your copy. Like Brian, mine is also on order from Import CDs - along with the Ormandy box and the Rodzinski set from Sony. I eagerly await these items. Too bad about the packaging. These manufacturers should all agree to have the sizes to fit a shelf normally made to fit CDs.

[mikealdren]

Initial results show some variations in transfers between my older CDs and the new box. Vieuxtemps 4 was much better than the older Philips version I have, others seem the same as Eloquence releases. I have 2 versions the Berg and they both sound the same, disappointingly the version in the new box has a lot of tape hiss.

I've got a lot of listening to do now...

[maestrob]

Good to hear you got your copy. Like Brian, mine is also on order from Import CDs - along with the Ormandy box and the Rodzinski set from Sony. I eagerly await these items. Too bad about the packaging. These manufacturers should all agree to have the sizes to fit a shelf normally made to fit CDs.

Delightful coincidence! I ordered those boxes by Rodzinski and Ormandy from them as well along with a copy of the Ansermet Russian box. Not sure if the latter will become available again, but I'm willing to take a chance.

Next month, the French Ansermet box and perhaps the EMI/Previn. We certainly live in a wonderful time when such a cornucopia of great music can be added to our libraries so cheaply.

We should all live long enough to hear all of this many times, don't you think?

[Lance]

Brian, yes, I truly THINK so, but you know what is inevitable!!! If all we could do was sit and listen to music 24 hours a day, eat - no sleep needed since we spend about one-third of our lives sleeping, we might get bored to some degree and then - maybe not! Give me music, great books, old movies, good food, and I could get heavy enough (i.e. FAT) so I couldn't even get up out of a chair! Did you know I have a prolific imagination?

Regarding IMPORT CDs, I truly wonder why they immediately charge your credit card prior to shipping actual product, which Amazon and others don't do. What happens if they go bankrupt? I have some good funds at IMPORT CDs.

We should all live long enough to hear all of this many times, don't you think?

[mikealdren]

Hi Lance,
not sure about the USA but in the UK (and the EU), if you pay with a credit card, the card company is liable.

[maestrob]

Brian, yes, I truly THINK so, but you know what is inevitable!!! If all we could do was sit and listen to music 24 hours a day, eat - no sleep needed since we spend about one-third of our lives sleeping, we might get bored to some degree and then - maybe not! Give me music, great books, old movies, good food, and I could get heavy enough (i.e. FAT) so I couldn't even get up out of a chair! Did you know I have a prolific imagination?

Regarding IMPORT CDs, I truly wonder why they immediately charge your credit card prior to shipping actual product, which Amazon and others don't do. What happens if they go bankrupt? I have some good funds at IMPORT CDs.

We should all live long enough to hear all of this many times, don't you think?

Interesting that you should bring this up, Lance!

I've only ordered from them this once for the four boxes, and all are on backorder. When they accepted the order, Importcds sent a charge to my credit card, but it stayed in the "pending" column for a few days, then it went away. I've checked both my card and importcds.com regularly, and, although my order is still on file now that I've provided them with my email and password, they haven't yet re-billed my credit card, so I'm just assuming that they will do so as each item is shipped. I'll keep everyone posted as that happens, but for now, I'm quite happy with them.