Arthur Grumiaux

Arthur Grumiaux
Arthur Grumiaux
Born	March 21, 1921 Villers-Perwin, Belgium
Died	October 16, 1986 Brussels, Belgium

Arthur Grumiaux (March 21, 1921–October 16, 1986) was a Belgian violinist who was also proficient in piano.

Early life

Childhood

He was born into a working-class family at Villers-Perwin, Belgium. He was encouraged to study music by his grandfather and started at the age of four. By the time he was 11, he had won first prizes in both violin and piano at the Charleroi Conservatory of Music.

Royal Conservatory days

He studied under Alfred Dubois of the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, where, in 1949 he became a professor of violin. He also studied with George Enescu in Paris. He turned to chamber music during the German occupation of Belgium during World War II.

Solo career

After the war, he quickly developed an international reputation travelling United States, United Kingdom, throughout Europe and Asia. He signed up with the Phillips label, and made various recordings including Beethoven Sonatas with Clara Haskil, who was a piano partner for much of Grumiaux's career as a soloist. Her death through a fall in a train station left a great void for him, both personally and professionally.

Posthumous reputation

He was afflicted with diabetes, yet, he continued to pursue his career until he died of a stroke in Brussels at the age of 65.

Grumiaux is recognized as one of the great violinists of the middle of the twentieth century. He recorded extensively, including all the principal works of the violin repertoire. He was granted the title of baron in 1973 by Belgium for his contributions to music.