|
The eminent Belgian violinist, Baron Arthur Grumiaux (French: [gʁy'mjo], was born to a working-class family in the Belgian town of Villers-Perwin. It was his grandfather, who ran a sheet music shop, who started him on the violin before he was 4 and introduced him to the concert stage a year later, thus precipitating another 20th-century violinist’s long and illustrious career. The next year he was admitted to the Charleroi Conservatoire (he entered the conservatoire at the age of 6; the normal entry age was 11), where he studied violin and piano with Fernand Quinet and took first prizes in both instruments when he left aged 11. His proficiency in the two instruments, mirroring that of Kreisler, Heifetz and George Enescu before him, was later demonstrated in (now reissued) recordings of Johannes Brahms' Violin Sonata No. 2 and W.A. Mozart's Violin Sonata K. 481, where he plays both parts. Further violin studies followed at Royal Conservatoire in Brussels, where a huge commitment was demanded of Grumiaux as he was tutored by Alfred Dubois, a pupil of Eugène Ysaÿe. He became Dubois’s assistant teacher and later succeeded him as Professor of violin. He also studied composition privately for a season with George Enescu in Paris, thus gaining an enviable all-round musical education from some prominent figures all of whom were steeped in the values and training of the previous century.
Arthur Grumiaux variously has been described as having made his debut in Brussels at the age of 14, or in 1935, although his debut is more commonly said to have occurred in 1940. This performance was made in Belgium with the Brussels Philharmonic playing Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. In 1940 he was awarded the Prix de Virtuosité from the Belgian Vovernment. Grumiaux went into hiding during World War II, after the Nazis offered him a position as concertmaster of a leading German orchestra. Due to the German invasion of his homeland, his performing career was interrupted. As soon as the war ended he was spotted by Walter Legge, musical director of ENSA (the Entertainments National Service Association). He next played publicly after liberation in 1945, making his London debut later that year. Legge arranged a European tour and several recording sessions for him, which brought him to great prominence once again. In 1949 he was appointed Professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatoire where he had once studied. As a teacher, he placed great importance on phrasing and tone in his own teaching, drawing on the example of artists such as Ysaÿe and Sarasate. He debuted in the USA in Boston in 1951, and toured the USA in the following year.
In 1973 Arthur Grumiaux was created a baron by King Baudouin of Belgium for his services to music; he shared the title of Baron with Paganini. He died of a sudden stroke in Brussels (Belgium) in 1986 at the age of 65.
His recordings are in many ways Arthur Grumiaux’s greatest work, since he gained a rather unfavourable reputation in live concerts for unreliability, either due to defects in his playing in this environment, or his tendency to cancel appearances. He made more than 150 recordings; they testify to a very mature and considered interpreter: one who has played an important rôle in shaping modern ideals of violin virtuosity. Grumiaux had a long-standing relationship with Philips Records, lasting more than 20 years, and recordings are available from them of him performing works by George Frideric Handel, J.S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Michael Haydn, W.A. Mozart, L.v. Beethoven, Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Bruch, Tchaikovsky, Henryk Wieniawski, and Johan Svendsen. They reveal a sophisticated and in many ways quite subtle musical personality. Henry Roth alleges that, in spite of his apparent admiration for the playing of both Ysaÿe and Sarasate, his approach is in many ways quite divergent from either of theirs. This depends very much upon context. His records from the 1940's and early 1950's (including the 1946 J.S. Bach ‘Double’ (BWV 1043) with Pougnet) certainly suggest something of the style of these earlier players, although Sarasate’s approach, which perhaps seems progressive today only because it is more stylistically recognisable than Joseph Joachim’s, is not really a notable influence in David Milsom's view. Ysaÿe’s playing is suggested, albeit rather remotely, in repertoire such as Debussy’s Violin Sonata (recorded c1951).
This, by reason of a fast vibrato and the rather idiosyncratic approach to intonation that this produces, strongly hints at the survival of the Franco-Belgian school’s influence into the first decades of the 20th century. His 1951-1952 Pièce en forme de Habañera by Ravel and Béla Bartók’s Six Romanian Dances display stylistic versatility, the former exuding suave charm, the latter full of gypsy-like fire. Igor Stravinsky's Violin Concerto (1951) again shows traces of a style more common two or more decades earlier; this impression is enhanced by the rather rough-hewn playing from the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln under Ferenc Fricsay which, along with Grumiaux’s bright and almost strident tone (especially evident in the slow movement), creates a stark, almost grotesque landscape which suits the piece well. By contrast, his 1966 recording of the same work (Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam / Bour) is much softer-edged, and this is not simply down to a more modern mode of recording - Grumiaux’s phrasing is less accentual and dissonances are treated in a more understated manner. Although this latter performance is a very good one, the earlier one is, in David Milsom's view, more charismatic.
A number of recordings made in 1957 suggest a quite rapid adjustment in Arthur Grumiaux’s performing style. Although Romantic mannerisms such as the portamento are scarcely ever in evidence in even his earliest renditions, a cooler, more objective approach (which will be the more recognisable side of Grumiaux to many listeners) becomes very quickly established at this time. This makes performances such as Corelli’s ‘La Folia’ Sonata and Beethoven’s ‘Spring’ Sonata sound in many ways much more modern (although as one might expect, neither the Beethoven nor Corelli have any concessions to what we now regard as period style) with stable tempi, continuous and, by now slightly less frenetic vibrato, a fondness for off-string bow strokes (as in the Scherzo of the L.v. Beethoven) and a slightly hard, even metallic timbre. These performances are thus conventional by later 20th-century standards, although Camille Saint-Saëns' Introduction et Rondo capriccioso evidences warmth and fire, counterbalanced by a wonderful sense of youthful high spirits, and is one of Grumiaux’s more effective recordings as a result. A recording of Grumiaux's performance of one movement from J.S. Bach's Sonatas & Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin, the "Gavotte en rondeaux" from the Partita No. 3 (BWV 1006), is included on the Voyager Golden Record, attached to the Voyager spacecraft, as a sample of the culture of Earth. This recording was chosen by renowned scientist Carl Sagan.
Arthur Grumiaux owned a Guarneri, the "Rose", made by Giuseppe Guarneri in 1744, and p(but did not own a Stradivarius, the "General Dupont”, made in 1727. He also owned the “Museum”, made by Giuseppe Guarneri in 1739, and the “Campoli”, made by Giovanni Guadagnini in 1773. His performances were charcetrized by a studied fidelity to the composer's intentions, assured technical command, and a discerning delineation of the ineer structures of music. He is considered by some to have been "one of the few truly great violin virtuosi of the twentieth century". He has been noted for having a "consistently beautiful tone and flawless intonation". English music critic and broadcaster, Edward Greenfield wrote of him that he was "a master virtuoso who consistently refused to make a show of his technical prowess". Henryk Szeryng is said to have admired Grumiaux' vibrato. |
