RARE NEW SEALED The Art Of Joseph Szigeti 80th Birthday 6 Vinyl LP Box Set 1972

$

27

Super Rare New Sealed 1972 The Art Of Joseph Szigeti 80th Birthday 6 Vinyl LP Box Set Columbia M6X 31513. Have not seen another on the internet. Listed for $79 on Amazon. Truly a rare find.

If one were to dip at random into The Art of Joseph Szigeti, a six‐disk 80th anniversary album containing 17 performances by the Hungarian violinist, doubts about his importance might easily be entertained (Columbia M6X‐31513). Szigeti being the musician he was, he can hold our attention by other virtues than sensuously attractive tone or perfect intonation. The performances offer, comparisons with the same works in the complete. Beethoven set the violinist recorded with Claudio Arrau at the Library of Congress in 1944, also live (Vanguard SRV 300/3). Arrau's playing is more self‐consciously poetic; Schnabel's is natural, unaffected and grand in scope. As one digs deeper into the Columbia box, which pays tribute to Szigeti's 80th birthday (born Budapest, Sept 5, 1892), his stature and reputation among the musical elite ate progressively easier to under:Land. In the Twenties and Thirties, one hears violin playing from him—for instahce, in a 1934 recording of the Mendelssohn Concerto with. Beecham—that justifies Thomas Frost's eulogy, included with the album. More history, this time from Seraphim, which releases in its Great Recordings of the Century series the Five Cello Sonatas of Beethoven, as set down in 1947–48 by Pierre Fournier and Schnabel (IB‐6075). The Third, Fourth and Fifth sonatas, once available on 78's, have been out of circulation for many years; the First and Second, for reasons not entirely clear, have never been released before. Now offered for the first time as a complete set, the Four‐nier/Schnabel performances challenge, if they do not automatically sweep out of contention, all other available versions of the Beethoven cycle. The sound is excellent for its vintage, nicely balanced with the piano somewhat back, and with both instruments giving out a full, unsplintered tone. Someone has done a good job on the remastering of these disks.

Amazon Review:
This Columbia/CBS LP set is probably the BEST representation of Szigeti's art. Some of the recordings - particularly the Prokofiev Violin Concerto #1, and others - are available from other sources, including CDs. Yes, finding a copy of this 6-LP set is difficult, and it's expensive ... but Szigeti has his PLACE, as one of the greatest, most-individual violinists of all time.
If one were to dip at random into The Art of Joseph Szigeti, a six‐disk 80th anniversary album containing 17 performances by the Hungarian violinist, doubts about his importance might easily be entertained (Columbia M6X‐31513).