At the ripe old age of 19 Mozart wrote five violin concertos, and they represent his coming of age as a composer of orchestral music. From here on, it's basically one masterpiece after another. Though not difficult works, technically speaking, they partake in full measure of Mozart's uniquely sensual brand of melody. That means that successful performances must know how to spin out a singing musical line, while at the same time making the most of the rare opportunities for soloistic display. Taste and musicianship are more important qualities than virtuosity, and that makes these pieces ideal vehicles for Arthur Grumiaux's aristocratic temperament and technical polish.

In 1956, Bernard Haitink conducted the Concertgebouworkest for the first time and together they would play more than 1,500 concerts across the globe. Besides his modesty, his humanity, his musical taste, and his honesty to the music, three words come to mind when one thinks of Haitink and his orchestra: Sound, Trust and Magic. Jörgen van Rijen, Principal trombone of the Concertgebouworkest, said at a memorial concert in February this year, “Every time with him [Haitink] the orchestra sounded warmer, deeper and richer, from the first moment he started to rehearse. How he did that is difficult to tell … he always gave us musicians the feeling he trusted you, that he was there to help, not to interfere.”

In 1956, Bernard Haitink conducted the Concertgebouworkest for the first time and together they would play more than 1,500 concerts across the globe. Besides his modesty, his humanity, his musical taste, and his honesty to the music, three words come to mind when one thinks of Haitink and his orchestra: Sound, Trust and Magic. Jörgen van Rijen, Principal trombone of the Concertgebouworkest, said at a memorial concert in February this year, “Every time with him [Haitink] the orchestra sounded warmer, deeper and richer, from the first moment he started to rehearse. How he did that is difficult to tell … he always gave us musicians the feeling he trusted you, that he was there to help, not to interfere.”

In 1956, Bernard Haitink conducted the Concertgebouworkest for the first time and together they would play more than 1,500 concerts across the globe. Besides his modesty, his humanity, his musical taste, and his honesty to the music, three words come to mind when one thinks of Haitink and his orchestra: Sound, Trust and Magic. Jörgen van Rijen, Principal trombone of the Concertgebouworkest, said at a memorial concert in February this year, “Every time with him [Haitink] the orchestra sounded warmer, deeper and richer, from the first moment he started to rehearse. How he did that is difficult to tell … he always gave us musicians the feeling he trusted you, that he was there to help, not to interfere.”

Mozart really liked the number 5. Aside from the group of six string quartets dedicated to Haydn, just about all of his greatest chamber works are quintets, and some of them are very unusual too. This particular set contains three magnificent late string quintets, the ever popular Clarinet Quintet, and weirdly wonderful Adagio and Rondo for Glass Harmonica, Flute, Oboe, Viola and Cello. A glass harmonica, by the way, is a set of water-filled glasses that you set spinning and play with moistened fingertips. It was invented (or at least perfected) by Benjamin Franklin, and was wildly popular in Mozart's day, particularly among amateur female performers. An excellent collection in every respect.

If I could pick a musical premiere out of the past that I could have attended, I would probably choose one of those evenings when Mozart and Haydn took the two viola parts in the first performances of Mozart's string quintets. It's something to wonder at, anyway. The string quintets are not only Mozart's greatest chamber music, they are among the most profoundly inspired pieces of music by anyone for any instruments. Three of them can be found on this budget priced set, superbly performed, along with the Horn Quintet, and the Quintet for Piano and Winds, which inspired Beethoven to compose a not quite as successful sequel. Greatness, folks, pure and simple.

Grumiaux and Haskil were close friends and long-time playing partners. This collaborative relationship lasted until a few days before Haskil's death. Their duet gained wide popularity among music lovers through numerous published recordings. This concert in Besançon in 1957 is a legend. The first publication in the world spans time and space with beautiful sound quality, allowing us to immerse ourselves in this happiness.

Arthur Grumiaux and Walter Klien offer playing with spring in its step and a lyrical yet unsentimental warmth in the slow movements, though that of K296 might with advantage have lingered a little more. These are stylish artists who are also eloquent in the unusually wistful Andante con moto of K380 … Perhaps a touchstone for Grumiaux's qualities is the great slow movement of K454, where he is sensitive to the extraordinary harmonic design and yet over-reliant on the same tricks of tone-colour to project it.

As in his set of Bach's unaccompanied violin music, Arthur Grumiaux plays this music with effortless mastery and a fine sense of Baroque style. You can count on this great musician to avoid letting any mannerisms or inappropriate romanticism intrude on the music, leaving you with pure Bach played with great refinement. The programming here is comprehensive, including alternate movements and a questionable work or two. Christiane Jaccottet makes her presence felt as an equal , and the recording still sounds excellent. It's hard to find better performances at any price, so as a "twofer" this is a great bargain.

At the ripe old age of 19 Mozart wrote five violin concertos, and they represent his coming of age as a composer of orchestral music. From here on, it's basically one masterpiece after another. Though not difficult works, technically speaking, they partake in full measure of Mozart's uniquely sensual brand of melody. That means that successful performances must know how to spin out a singing musical line, while at the same time making the most of the rare opportunities for soloistic display.

This hard-to-find 2-CD set features Arthur Grumiaux and Riccardo Castagnone on Corelli's complete Op. 5 sonatas. Grumiaux's recording of the Corelli sonatas has long been treasured. Grumiaux's temperament suits perfectly the baroque works for violin, and I dare to say that no one else on modern violin has come close to this benchmark recording, before or since. Grab it while you can!

Arthur Grumiaux (1921-1986) was never a technical daredevil and his playing has been described as being "for conoisseurs only." Indeed, his style was quite refined and his repertoire tended towards pieces that which suited his musical gifts. His Beethoven Concerto and Sonata recordings and performances are most definitely among the best ever done of those works. This large set of 30+ smaller pieces (with a couple larger ones thrown in) focuses on Grumiaux's ability to touch the listener and indeed there is a thread of imperturbable calmness that runs through this recording upon a casual listening. This discing on Philips came out around 1996, presumably to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death. I'll just touch on a few of the highlights of this 2 CD set. In all of them, we hear Grumiaux at his best - polished and radiant, with Istvan Hajdu as the competent piano partner for all of the numbers.

The Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux made his debut in 1940 and established himself after the war as a consistently fine player with a wide repertory whose recordings show not only his mastery of the instrument but also unfailingly good taste—and lest anyone thinks that last phrase implies a lack of personality, we should remember that it was one which Haydn chose to praise Mozart. These performances of the five standard violin concertos, the Sinfonia concertante and a couple of other pieces were admired when they came out on LP, and still earn praise for their crispness, lightness and eloquence.