Joseph Szigeti made his London debut at the Bechstein (Wigmore) Hall as a thirteen-year-old (the public was told he was twelve). From 1907 he was based in England and his concerto debut was made with the Bach Concerto in E major and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the New Symphony Orchestra under Sir Thomas Beecham. While in Britain, until 1913, he toured with Nellie Melba and John McCormack, met Myra Hess and Ferruccio Busoni, gave the first performance of Hamilton Harty’s D minor Concerto and made his first records.

One of the most beloved and influential musical figures of the 20th century. He introduced and popularised works by many of the significant contemporary composers, among them Prokofiev, Bloch, Casella, Stravinsky, Bartók, Warlock, Martin, Cowell, Ives, Berg, Milhaud and Ravel. Were it not for Szigeti, we should also have fewer recordings of Bartók and Stravinsky as pianists: both composers were persuaded into the studio by the prospect of working with such a sympathetic musician. Szigeti was the most distinguished of a line of violinists taught by Hubay.

Johann Sebastian Bach

1. Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D Minor (16:05)

Ludwig van Beethoven
Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23 (16:47)

2. I. Presto (5:32)
3. II. Andante scherzoso più allegretto (6:08)
4. III. Allegro molto (5:06)

Béla Bartók
Violin Rhapsody No. 1, Sz. 87 (9:07)

5. I. Lassú (4:12)
6. II. Friss (4:55)

Ernest Bloch
Violin Concerto in A Minor (34:30)

7. I. Allegro deciso (18:07)
8. II. Andante (6:10)
9. III. Deciso (10:12)

At the heart of this collection lies Menuhin’s recording of Schumman’s “lost” Violin Concerto. Recorded in 1938 with the New York Philharmonic and conductor John Barbirolli, the emotional intensity young Menuhin brings to this rediscovered masterpiece remains unmatched.

The collection spans nearly two decades of Menuhin’s early career, from intimate 1936 sessions with sister Hephzibah performing Enescu’s Romanian Folk-Style Sonata No. 3, to his commanding 1951 interpretation of Vieuxtemps’ Fourth Concerto. These aren’t merely historical curiosities—they’re revelatory performances that defined violin artistry for generations.

Gene Gaudette and Paul Arden-Taylor’s restorations reveal every nuance of Menuhin’s legendary tone and technique emerges with stunning presence, making this collection indispensable for serious collectors and newcomers alike.

Robert Schumann
Violin Concerto in D Minor, WoO 23 (26:59)

1. I. In kräftigem, nicht zu schnellem Tempo (12:23)
2. II. Langsam (5:48)
3. III. Lebhaft, doch nicht zu schnell (8:47)

Johannes Brahms
Hungarian Dances (Arr. Joachim)

4. No. 1 in G Minor (2:49)
5. No. 7 in A Major (1:58)

George Enescu
Violin Sonata No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 25 (23:33)

6. I. Moderato malinconico (7:55)
7. II. Andante sostenuto e misterioso (8:19)
8. III. Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso (7:19)

Henri Vieuxtemps
Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 31 (23:10)

9. I. Andante – Moderato (6:49)
10. II. Adagio religioso (6:23)
11. III. Scherzo & Trio (4:16)
12. IV. Finale. Allegro

Shafran was born on 13 January 1923 in St Petersburg, then Petrograd/Leningrad, where his father, Boris, was principal cellist in the Leningrad Philharmonic. Studies with his father were followed by lessons with Aleksander Shtrimer (who had also taught Shafran’s father), first at the Special Music School, and then at the conservatoire two years later. Shafran made his concerto debut with the Philharmonic at the age of eleven, performing Tchaikovsky’s ‘Rococo’ Variations conducted by Albert Coates and three years later, in 1937, the same year that he won the All-Union Competition, he recorded the work with Alexander Gauk. His competition prize was a 1630 Amati cello (reputedly), slightly on the small side, that he used for the rest of his life. After his death, it turned out that it was, in fact, probably eighteenth-century German or Bohemian.

(Stephen Isserlis): “Sebastian Comberti had the best description …like finding the last member of a lost tribe of cellists. His playing takes you right back to a different era.”

“Comparisons in the Prokofiev are especially telling, Rostropovich is earnest but suave, Shafran more colourful but unremittingly intense. Rozhdestvensky’s mastery of the score is a bonus: this was the period when he made his greatest Prokofiev recordings” (Tsindzadze):

“every bar holds its own brand of magic.” (Gramophone)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

1. Variations on a Rococo Theme (18:41)

David Popper
Spanish Dances, Op. 54

2. No. 5, Vito (3:58)

Concert Etudes, Op. 55

3. No. 2, Jagdstück (2:20)

Camille Saint-Saëns

4. Carnival of the Animals: The Swan (2:47)

Sergei Prokofiev
Symphony-Concerto in E Minor, Op. 125

5. I. Andante (9:39)
6. II. Allegro giusto (16:26)
7. III. Andante con moto (9:12)

“His playing presents a delicious paradox… individualistic almost to the point of recreation, while so utterly natural, so profoundly honest, you could hardly imagine the music otherwise. [Beethoven Variations[: tautness of playing, absolute rhythmic security, burbling pianissimos, knife-edged sforzandos, artful rubato and unremitting sense of purpose … delicate observations occur by the bar … [trans-criptions]: (Mendelssohn; Rimsky-Korsakov; Tchaikovsky):

Recorded December 28 & 29 December 1960 (1-3), 30 December 1960 (4-6), and 30 December 1960 & 3 January 1961 (7-10) at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York City