This must surely be a unique event in recording history! In 1959, Arthur Grumiaux went into the studios to overdub – as both violinist and pianist – the Mozart and Brahms Violin Sonatas on this recording. A bold venture of its kind in instrumental classical music and on two such different instruments, the recording has been the subject of much conjecture over the years (“Does it really exist?”). Now, for the first time, it is being made widely available. The coupling is Grumiaux’s first of two recordings of Grieg’s delightful Third Violin Sonata which he recorded with Istvan Hajdu – who became a regular performing partner for Grumiaux after the death of Clara Haskil.
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Sonata in E flat major for Piano & Violin, KV 481
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Sonata No. 2 in A major for Violin & Piano, Op. 100
EDVARD GRIEG
Sonata No. 3 in C minor for Violin & Piano, Op. 45
Arthur Grumiaux, violin & piano [1-2] overdubbed
István Hajdu, piano [3]
FIRST INTERNATIONAL RELEASE ON CD
A unique recording on which Arthur Grumiaux performs both the violin and piano parts for the Mozart and Brahms sonatas
Recordings: October 1959 (Mozart, Brahms); December 1961 (Grieg)
‘No admirer of Grumiaux’s could resist hearing these one-man duos … Strongly recommended’ Fanfare
‘Grumiaux, graciously quick and enlivening, cultivates beautiful warmth’ MusicWeb
‘one of those rare discs that should have a special place in any collection’ International Record Review
‘Grumiaux balances the folkloric and the effortlessly lyric with marvellously calibrated precision’ MusicWeb