Sold Date: September 30, 2014
Start Date: June 22, 2014
Final Price: $165.00 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 3300
Buyer Feedback: 76

ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This handsome 6 LP tribute box set from Columbia Masterworks (M6X 31513, US pressing, brown label, mono, booklet included) entitled “The Art of Joseph Szigeti, in Honor of his 80th Birthday” presents perhaps the finest overview of this legendary violinist ever issued during the LP era, featuring some of his greatest concerto, chamber, and solo recordings, accounts which remain landmarks in the annals of recorded music.  

Disc 1 includes Bach’s Concerto in D minor for Violin and Orchestra (with Fritz Stiedry and Members of the Orchestra of the New Friends of Music – rec. 1940), Handel’s Sonata in D Major for Violin No. 13 Op. 1 (rec. with his future son-in-law, pianist Nikita Magaloff in 1937), and Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in g minor for Solo Violin BWV 1001 (rec. 1931). 

Disc 2 pairs two works from the famed 1948 Frick Museum concert given with Artur Schnabel: Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas Nos. 5 in F Major Op. 24 ‘Spring’ and No. 10 in G Major Op. 96 – performances which received their first issue with this set.  

Disc 3 couples Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major K.218 (rec. in 1934, with Sir Thomas Beecham and the London Philharmonic Orchestra) with Mendelssohn’s Concerto in E minor for Violin and Orchestra Op. 64 (rec. 1933, again with Beecham and the LPO) – the later recording carries the double distinction of having elicited a monograph from no less than George Szell attesting to its supreme accomplishment. 

Disc 4 is wholly given over to Szigeti’s first (of three) rendition of the Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 61 (rec. 1932, with Bruno Walter and the British Symphony Orchestra). 

Disc 5 is similarly devoted to one work: Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 77 (rec. 1928, with Hamilton Harty leading the Hallé Orchestra). 

Disc 6 opens with the gramophone premiere of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major Op. 19 (rec. 1935, with Beecham and the LPO), and then follows with a series of Szigeti rarities:  Bach’s Praeludium from the Partita No. 3 in E Major for Solo Violin BWV 1006 (rec. 1908), Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance in E minor (arr. Kriesler – rec. September 20, 1926 with Magaloff), Stravinsky’s Pastorale and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee (both rec. June 1, 1933 with Magaloff), and then two Bartók selections – the Hungarian Folk Tunes and the Roumanian Folk Dances (both rec. with the composer, 1930.)   

The set comes with a very handsome, heavy-weight paper, 8-page booklet, replete with striking archival photos of the artist at work with Walter, Bartók, Beecham, Gieseking, Stravinsky, and Horszowski. The notes open with a tribute from then Columbia Director Goddard Lieberson, and continue with an extensive appreciation penned by the eminent H.B Haggin. On the back of the box is an additional tribute by CBS producer Thomas Frost.

The transfers throughout are immaculately fine. 

CONDITION:                                                          

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the box is EXCELLENT. There is slight shelfwear, more so to the rear panel, but that is all. There are no corner breaks, seamsplits, owners’ markings, or other defects, and the box remains perfectly solid, bright, and highly attractive – overall, an excellent collector's copy.

The condition of the full-size, 8-page booklet is near-MINT. Really, there are are no flaws to speak of – a superb copy.

The condition of the 6 LPs is near-MINT throughout. Although surfaces are not absolutely silent (and thus I have rated it NM vs. MINT), really these are very fine copies and playback is truly superb across all 12 sides. However, if you must have absolutely perfect surfaces, then please do not buy this set. Overall, these rate as truly fine collector's copies.

PLEASE NOTE:
This LP has been carefully cleaned using a VPI cleaning machine. All LPs are provided with a new Nagaoka (or Nagaoka-style) inner sleeve. The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!

PAYMENT:
Payment by PayPal is greatly preferred. Payment should be made within 5 days.

SHIPPING:
Shipping is free to anywhere in the world; this is true regardless of the number of LPs you buy, be it 1 or a 100. All LPs will be sent via standard airmail (7-10 days delivery). Note: There is no tracking number provided with standard airmail. Should you wish to have your item(s) sent via certified airmail (i.e., with a tracking number), please contact me.

FEEDBACK:
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REFUNDS:
Returns are honored, and any buyer you makes a return will be refunded in full. Please contact me before making a return.

Please see my other classical LP and CD auctions, and feel free to write with any questions, I'll be glad to help.