Baron
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
Arthur Grumiaux (; 21 March 1921 – 16 October 1986) was a Belgian
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
ist, 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".
Early life
Born to a working-class family in the Belgian town of
Villers-Perwin
Villers-Perwin ( wa, Viyé-Perwin) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Les Bons Villers, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Villers-Perwin was a municipality on its own until the Fusion of the communes in Belgi ...
, on 21 March 1921,
Grumiaux was only three years old when his grandfather urged him to begin music studies. He entered the
conservatoire
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...
in
Charleroi
Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. at the age of six; the normal entry age was eleven. He studied violin and piano there until the age of eleven, when he graduated and moved to the
Royal Conservatoire in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
to study violin.
Career
![Edison-winnaar Arthur Grumiaux, Bestanddeelnr 918-3832 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Edison-winnaar_Arthur_Grumiaux%2C_Bestanddeelnr_918-3832_%28cropped%29.jpg)
He 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
The Brussels Philharmonic is a Belgian radio orchestra located in Brussels. Formerly known as the Groot Symfonie-Orkest, BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, and later as the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the orchestra has been linked to the Flemish public ...
playing
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
.
Due to the German invasion of his homeland, he next played publicly after liberation in 1945 with the
Allied military entertainment organisation,
making his London debut later that year.
In 1949 he was appointed professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatoire where he had once studied.
He debuted in the United States in Boston in 1951, and toured the United States in the following year.
In 1973 he was created a baron by King
Baudouin of Belgium
Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his de ...
for his services to music.
Death
He died of a sudden stroke in Brussels (Belgium) in 1986 at the age of 65.
Recordings
Grumiaux had a long-standing relationship with
Philips Records
Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...
, lasting more than 20 years, and recordings are available from them of him performing works by
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
,
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
,
Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread a ...
,
Michael Haydn
Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 173710 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn.
Life
Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohrau, near the Hungarian border. ...
,
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
,
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
,
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
,
Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...
,
Bruch,
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
,
Saint-Saëns,
Lalo,
Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and pedagogue who is regarded amongst the greatest violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were al ...
, and
Johan Svendsen
Johan Severin Svendsen (30 September 184014 June 1911) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Svendsen's output includes two symphonies, a violin ...
.
A recording of Grumiaux's performance of one movement from Bach's
Sonatas & Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin, the "Gavotte en rondeaux" from the Partita No. 3, is included on the
Voyager Golden Record
The Voyager Golden Records are two phonograph records that were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for ...
, attached to the
Voyager spacecraft
The Voyager program is an American scientific program that employs two robotic interstellar probes, ''Voyager 1'' and ''Voyager 2''. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, to fly near th ...
, as a sample of the culture of Earth. This recording was chosen by renowned scientist
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
.
His violins
He owned a
Guarneri
The Guarneri (, , ), often referred to in the Latinized form Guarnerius, is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati an ...
, the "Rose", made by
Giuseppe Guarneri
Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...
in 1744, and played (but did not own) a
Stradivarius
A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...
, the "General Dupont", made in 1727. He also owned the "Museum", made by
Giuseppe Guarneri
Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...
in 1739, and the "Campoli", made by
Giovanni Guadagnini
Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (often shortened to G. B. Guadagnini; 23 June 1711 – 18 September 1786) was an Italian luthier, regarded as one of the finest craftsmen of string instruments in history. Reprint with new introduction by Stewart P ...
in 1773.
Violin Competition
![Logo Grumiaux drapeau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Logo_Grumiaux_drapeau.jpg)
The International Arthur Grumiaux Competition for Young Violinists is held annually and takes place at the
Royal Conservatory of Brussels
The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...
in Belgium. It was first held in 2008 under the name of "Bravo", In 2015, the competition was renamed in honour of Arthur Grumiaux, and is now called ''Concours International Arthur Grumiaux pour Jeunes Violonistes'' (International Arthur Grumiaux Competition for Young Violinists).
References
Further reading
Arthur Grumiaux on Violin Channel2018 finalists on Violin Channel2018 prizes of Grumiaux Competition on Violin ChannelArticle and video on Canal C''Un prestigieux concours international pour jeunes violonistes a lieu à Namur''on ''
RTBF
The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Commu ...
'' website, Sonia Boulanger
Grumiaux competition on lavenir.netArticle in TurkishGrumiaux competition on crescendo-magazine.be
External links
The way they played: Arthur Grumiaux ''The Strad''
Bach's Chaconne on film: Arthur Grumiaux ''The Strad''
Competition site ''Arthur Grumiaux Violin Competition''
Arthur Grumiaux Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grumiaux, Arthur
1921 births
1986 deaths
Belgian classical violinists
Male classical violinists
Barons of Belgium
Royal Conservatory of Brussels alumni
Royal Conservatory of Brussels faculty
People from Hainaut (province)
20th-century classical violinists
20th-century Belgian male musicians