Welcome to my new auctions of 2020. This is the FIRST WEEK of 2 Weeks of great auctions,
running until February 9th.
I would be happy to hold your won items until Feb 9th to combine them in one economical package.

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I am currently selling a series of great Richard Wagner and classic European 78 rpm orchestral recordings on all the great European labels:

 

SZIGETI's first recording of the Brahms Violin Concerto of 1928 with Hamilton Harty & Halle Orch recording.

JOSEPH SZIGETI - perhaps the greatest of all violinists (at least in my personal ranking) I cannot really explain it, but there is a warmness to his playing, a trueness to his emotions, and of course a flawless technique that touches me every time.

Brahms Violin Concerto

on 5 12" 78 rpm Viva Tonal Columbia records w orig booklet in generic album.

Condition: EXCELLENT close to pristine, plays EXCEPTIONALLY quiet Album great

A CHOICE COPY

 

A series of great Violin, Piano and Orchestra records on rare labels, from 1902 Monarch to 1940 War Germany recordings.

From a Review:

Commentators often cite Szigeti's distinctive style. His playing acquired a heavy, wide vibrato. However, apart from that, there doesn't seem to be much of a consensus as to what was distinctive about it. Abram Chipman suggests that Szigeti had a lot of "ingredients" from which to choose. From one phrase to the next, he could create a noticeably different sound. In my experience, Szigeti is never flashy. Earlier recordings (which I have not heard) might prove me wrong on that point. Instead, he always turns in a thoughtful, emotionally involved reading that is just on the good side of self-effacing. In his maturity, he also used portamenti more than most of his peers.

 

 

Joseph Szigeti (Hungarian: Szigeti József) (September 5, 1892 – February 19, 1973) was a Hungarian virtuoso violinist. Born into a musical family, he spent his early childhood in a small town in Transylvania. He quickly proved himself to be a child prodigy on the violin, and moved to Budapest with his father to study with renowned pedagogue Jeno Hubay. After completing his studies with Hubay in his early teens, Szigeti began his international concert career. His concertizing at that time was primarily limited to salon-style recitals and the more overtly virtuosic repertoire; however, after making the acquaintance of pianist Ferruccio Busoni, he began to develop a much more thoughtful and intellectual approach to music that eventually earned him the nickname "The Scholarly Virtuoso".

Following a bout of tuberculosis which necessitated a stay in a sanatorium in Switzerland, Szigeti settled in Geneva where he became Professor of Violin at the local conservatory in 1917. It was in Geneva that he met his wife, Wanda Ostrowska, and at roughly the same time he became friends with the great composer Béla Bartók. Both relationships were to be lifelong.

From the 1920s until 1960, Szigeti performed regularly around the world and recorded extensively. He also distinguished himself as a strong advocate of new music, and was the dedicatee of many new works by contemporary composers. Among the more notable pieces written for him are Ernest Bloch's Violin Concerto, Bartók's Rhapsody No. 1, and Eugene Ysaye's Solo Sonata No. 1. He retired from the concert stage in 1960 and occupied himself with teaching and writing until his death in 1973, at the age of 80.

Biography
 
Szigeti was born Joseph "Jóska" Singer[1] in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. His mother died when he was three years old, and soon thereafter he was sent to live with his grandparents in the little Carpathian town of Máramaros-Sziget (hence the name Szigeti). He grew up surrounded by music, as the town band was composed almost entirely of his uncles. After a few informal lessons on the cimbalom from his aunt,[2] he received his first lessons on the violin from his Uncle Bernat at the age of six.[3]

Szigeti quickly showed a talent for the violin. Several years later, his father took him to Budapest to receive proper training at the conservatory. After a brief stint with a kindly but inadequate teacher, he auditioned at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music and was admitted directly into the class of Jeno Hubay, without the usual delays and formalities.[4]

Hubay, who had himself been a student of Joseph Joachim in Berlin, had by that time established himself as one of the preeminent teachers in Europe and a fountainhead of the Hungarian violin tradition.[5] Szigeti joined such violinists as Franz von Vecsey, Emil Telmanyi, Jelly d'Arányi and Stefi Geyer in Hubay’s studio.

Music sample:
"Preludio" from J.S. Bach's Partita No. 3 in E major

The young Szigeti. Recorded 1908.
Problems listening to the file? See media help.In those days, Europe produced a great many child prodigies, inspired by the phenomenal success of the young Czech virtuoso Jan Kubelik and formed by rigorous teaching and enthusiastic parents. The Hubay studio was no exception; Szigeti and his fellow wunderkinder performed extensively in special recitals and salon concerts during their study at the Liszt Academy.

In 1905, at the age of thirteen, Szigeti made his Berlin debut playing Bach's Chaconne in D minor, Ernst's Concerto in F-sharp minor, and Paganini's Witches Dance. Despite the formidable program, the event received mention only via a photograph in the Sunday supplement of the Berliner Tageblatt captioned: "A Musical Prodigy: Josef Szigeti".[6]

Szigeti and Hubay, c. 1910Following that rather anti-climactic debut, Szigeti spent the next few months with a summer theater company in a small Hungarian resort town, playing mini-recitals in between acts of folk operetta. In that same vein, the next year saw an engagement to play at a circus in Frankfurt, where he appeared under the pseudonym "Jóska Szulagi".[7] Also in 1906, Hubay took Szigeti to play for Joseph Joachim in Berlin. Joachim was impressed, and suggested that Szigeti should finish his studies with him. Szigeti declined the offer, both out of loyalty to Hubay and a perceived aloofness and lack of rapport between Joachim and his students.[8]

[edit] Broadening horizons
Soon after the meeting with Joachim, Szigeti embarked on a major concert tour of England. Midway through the tour, in Surrey, he met a music-loving couple who effectively adopted him, extending an invitation to stay with them for an indefinite length of time.[9]

Throughout England, he gave many successful concerts, including the premiere of the first work dedicated to him: Hamilton Harty's Violin Concerto. Also during this time, Szigeti toured with an all-star ensemble including legendary singer Dame Nellie Melba and pianists Ferruccio Busoni and Wilhelm Backhaus. Philippe Gaubert, a famous French flutist of the day, as well as the young John McCormack, were also present on these tours.[10]

Szigeti's mentor, Ferruccio BusoniThe most significant of these new contacts was Busoni. The great pianist and composer became Szigeti’s mentor during these formative years, and the two would remain lifelong friends. By Szigeti’s own admission, before meeting Busoni his life was characterized by a certain laziness and indifference brought on by the then-typical life of a young prodigy violinist.[11] He had grown accustomed to playing crowd-pleasing salon miniatures and dazzling virtuosic encores without much thought. He knew little of the works of the great masters; he could play them, but not fully understand them. As Szigeti put it, Busoni—particularly through their careful study of Bach's Chaconne—"shook me once and for all out of my adolescent complacency".[12]

[edit] Illness and new beginnings
In 1913, Szigeti was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was sent to a sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland to recover, interrupting his concert career. During his stay at the sanatorium, he became re-acquainted with composer Béla Bartók, who was there recovering from pneumonia. The two had known each other only in passing during their conservatory days, but now they commenced a friendship that would last until Bartók’s death in 1945. In 1917, having by then made a full recovery, Szigeti was appointed Professor of Violin at the Geneva Conservatory of Music. Szigeti admitted that this job, although generally satisfying, was often frustrating due to the mediocre quality of many of his students.[13] Nevertheless, the years teaching in Geneva provided an opportunity for Szigeti to deepen his understanding of music as an art, along with other aspects such as chamber music, orchestral performance, music theory and composition.[14] Also during that time, Szigeti met and fell in love with Wanda Ostrowska, a young woman of Russian parentage who had been stranded in Geneva by the Russian Revolution of 1917. They married in 1919.

[edit] American debut
Music sample:
Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major—Allegro giocoso ma non troppo

With Hamilton Harty conducting the Halle Orchestra. Recorded 1928.
Problems listening to the file? See media help.In 1925, Szigeti met Leopold Stokowski and played the Bach Chaconne in D minor for him. Less than two weeks later, Szigeti received a telegram from Stokowski’s manager in Philadelphia inviting him to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra later that year: it was to be his American debut.[15] The trip to America was a new experience on many levels: not only had Szigeti never played with an American orchestra before, he had never even heard one—a situation which caused him some significant stage fright. In addition, he was thoroughly taken aback by the American concert scene, specifically by the publicity- and popularity-driven agents and managers who determined much of what was heard in American concert halls. To Szigeti’s dismay, most of these impresarios were not interested in concertos and sonatas by the great masters, but preferred the popular light salon pieces which Szigeti had left behind in his prodigy days.[16] (To the end of his days, Szigeti loved to quote one memorable, cigar-chewing impresario who told him, with regard to Beethoven's "Kreutzer Sonata" , “Well, let me tell you, Mister Dzigedy—and I know what I’m talking about—your Krewtzer Sonata bores the pants off my audiences!")[17]

[edit] Maturity
By 1930, Szigeti was established as a major international concert violinist. He performed extensively in Europe, the United States and Asia, and made the acquaintance of many of the era’s leading instrumentalists, conductors and composers.

Béla Bartók, Szigeti's longtime friend and colleagueIn 1939, to escape the war, Szigeti emigrated with his wife to the United States, where they settled in California. (A year later, Bartók also fled to America, and just two days after his arrival he and Szigeti played a sonata recital at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.)[18]

During the 1930s, '40s and into the '50s, Szigeti recorded extensively, leaving a significant legacy. Notable recordings include the above-mentioned Library of Congress sonata recital; the studio recording of Bartók's Contrasts with Benny Goodman on clarinet and the composer at the piano; the violin concertos of Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev (No. 1) and Bloch under the batons of such conductors as Bruno Walter, Hamilton Harty and Sir Thomas Beecham; and various works by J.S. Bach, Busoni, Corelli, Handel and Mozart. One of his last recordings was of the Six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin by Bach; although his technique had deteriorated noticeably by that time, the recording is still prized for its insight and depth of interpretation.[19]

In 1950, Szigeti was detained at Ellis Island upon returning from a European concert tour and was held for several days, officially "temporarily excluded" from the country. The reasons for his detention remain unclear.[20] The following year, he received American citizenship.

 

 

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As you can see from my feedback, I try hard to earn your POSITIVE FEEDBACK and FIVE STAR RATINGS.

If for any reason your transaction was NOT SATISFACTORY, pls contact me and I will work something out with you. YOU WILL NEVER HAVE A REASON TO GIVE ME A NEGATIVE RATING or a LOW STAR RATING.

Quick note on grading:

The Grade (Excellent to Poor, I don't give Mint) refers to the WEAR of the record. Any other defects are stated separately

When I listen to a record, I may also give it an aural grade (again E to P), and make a SUBJECTIVE judgment of the pressing quality for hiss and surface noise.
"SUPERQUIET" is basically noiseless, like a vinyl pressing.
"VERY QUIET" is an exceptionally quiet record for a given pressing.
"Quiet" is a record that is a great example without undue noise for a give pressing.

These judgments are SUBJECTIVE and will depend one the styli, phonograph etc. you use on your own equipment.

Multiple item shipping: I am happy to combine items for shipment in one parcel.

If you win multiple items, pls send me an INVOICE REQUEST to calculate the correct postage. Ebay check out will not give you the correct multiple item discount!

Records will be packed safely between corrugated cardboard in a sturdy box with plenty of padding for safe shipment.

Shipment is usually Media Mail, unless you request another service. Shipping is at your risk, I will be happy to insure items at your cost.

I charge actual postage plus a small fee for packing materials

As always, I guarantee your satisfaction. If you don't like the item, just return it, and I will refund the full purchase price.

If you are in the San Francisco area, I encourage pick-up in person.

US Domestic Shipping:

Here is a guideline for US Media Mail Shipping:

Prices below are for regular 78 rpm records. Up to about 5 records, I will ship Edison Discs for the same rates. Albums from Album Sets count as 1 record. Above that and for international shipments, it will be actual weight plus a small packing charge (1-3$ depending on size of shipment)

1 record: 4.85 – 5.75$

2 records: 6.75$

5 records: 9.00$

10 records: 12.00$

MANY MORE RECORDS: Don't worry. I safely ship 40 - 50 pounds of records double boxed in moving boxes, and even then Media Mail will probably not exceed 35$.

Please send me a message if you would like to get an estimate for you shipping rates!

I am very happy to ship records worldwide.

Please use the EBAY shipping cost only as a guideline. My actual charges are usually lower

One record usually ships for 25$ for 10" 25-35$ for most 12" records (Less for Canada).

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Thank you very much, and good luck bidding !!!