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SZYMON GOLDBERG CENTENARY EDITION: VOL. 1: NON-COMMERCIAL RECORDINGS. CD#1: (77:33) 1-3: Bach – Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041 Janny van Wering hpcd, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra* (1960), 4-6: Bach – Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major, BWV 1042 Netherlands Chamber Orch. [n.d.], 7-9: Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 Marcia Curcio, pf., Adriaan Bonsel, fl., Szymon Goldberg, vl. Netherlands Chamber Orch. [n.d.], 10-12 Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in Bb major, BWV 1051 Janny van Wering hpcd, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (1960). CD#2: (76:24) 1-3: Bach – Concerto in D minor for Oboe & Violin, after BWV 1060 Haakon Stotijn – Oboe, Janny van Wering hpcd Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (1960), 4: Bach – Sinfonia to Cantata BWV 21, “Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis” Haakon Stotijn – Oboe, Janny van Wering hpcd Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (1960), 5-6: Schubert – Adagio and Rondo in A major, D. 438 Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (1966), 7-9: Schumann – Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105 Artur Balsam – Piano [American Decca LP]** (1953), 10-12 Debussy – Violin Sonata in G minor, 13-16: Dvorák – Four Romantic Pieces, Op. 75, 17 Gluck-Kreisler – “Melodie” from Orfeo ed Euridice All three with Artur Balsam – Piano (1951). CD#3 (76:36) 1-3: Beethoven – Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 (original version) Dimitri Mitropoulos cond. Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra (1950), 4-6: Brahms – Double Concerto for Violin, Cello & Orchestra in A minor, Op.102 Zara Nelsova – Cello Gerhard Samuel cond. Oakland Symphony (1967). CD#4: (77:45) 1-3: Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64 Eduard van Beinum cond. Concertgebouw Orchestra (1957), 4-6: Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218 Netherlands Chamber Orchestra [n.d.], 7-8: Berg – Violin Concerto William Steinberg cond. Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1952). CD#5: (74:45) 1-2: Beethoven – Variations in G major on “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu”, Op. 121a, 3-6: Beethoven – Piano Trio in Eb major, Op. 70, No.2 Both with Pablo Casals – Cello; Rudolf Serkin – Piano (1954), 7: Victor Babin – Konzerstücke Victor Babin – Piano (1966). CD#6: (63:18) 1-3: Beethoven – Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70 No. 1, “Geister” Pablo Casals – Cello; Mieczyslaw Horszowski – piano (1954), 4-6: Haydn – Violin Concerto in C major, Hob. VIIa: 1, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (1966), 7: Haydn – Scena, “Non parti bell’ idol mio – Berenice, che fai?”, Hob.XXIVa: 10 Elizabeth Schwarzkopf – Soprano Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (1958). CD#7; (68:33) 1-4: Bach – Sonata in G minor for Unaccompanied Violin, BWV 1001, 5-9: Bach – Partita in D minor for Unaccompanied Violin, BWV 1004 (both 1970), 10-12: Beethoven – Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major, Op. 30 No.1 Mieczyslaw Horszowski – piano (1954). CD#8: (57:09) 1-4: Bartók – Sonata for Solo Violin (1965), 5-9: Stravinsky – Duo Concertante Brooks Smith, piano (1968), 10-13: Webern – Four Pieces, Op. 7, 14 Schoenberg – Fantasy, Op. 47, both with Beveridge Webster, piano (1966).* Szymon Goldberg, violin solo and conductor on all recordings unless otherwise indicated. Notes in English and Japanese; includes a complete discography of non-commercial recordings. Released with the kind permission of the Szymon Goldberg Estate. (AAD) UPC# 0-17685-12232-3. Special! 8 CDs for the price of 6.

BUZZ: Great violinists come in all shapes and sizes and in all shades of intensity, so we should not expect Szymon Goldberg (1907-1993) to be like anyone else, or measure his achievement against those of other players. Despite an often difficult life, he had an extraordinary ability to project a balanced view of the music he played. He was the archetypal Classical violinist and in his everyday life, behaved exactly as he played – a rare gift. In person, he was diminutive and soft-spoken. On stage, he never hectored the audience through his violin or pulled the music about to create an effect. Taking the view that the composer knew best, he did not impose an egotistical interpretation. Rather, he sought out the quiet centre of the piece he was playing and let his performance grow out of that. It followed that he was a great Mozart violinist, possibly the finest of the last century. He was, perhaps, at his best in chamber music; but he was also an assured soloist and, although he was given few chances to record concertos in the studio, we can supplement the official performances with a number of live broadcasts including solo sonatas of Bach, concertos of Mendelssohn and Berg, and chamber works by Beethoven, Bartok, Stravinsky and Webern.