Brompton’s Auctioneers has made a large number of classic recordings of string players available for free download through its website.

The only English auction house to specialise exclusively in musical instruments, Brompton’s has placed on-line over 24 hours of remastered and hard-to-find recordings of players such as Yehudi Menuhin, Fritz Kreisler, Pablo Casals, Jascha Heifetz and the Budapest String Quartet. Last year, Brompton’s famously sold a violin by Domenico Montagnana originally owned by the first violin of the Budapests to the concert violinist Jaime Laredo for the world record price of £630,000.

The collection includes two landmark recordings of works such as the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto by Jascha Heifetz, made at opposite ends of his career, Elgar’s Violin Concerto played by Albert Sammons and conducted by Sir Henry Wood, Kreisler playing the Paganini First Violin Concerto, and four different performances of the Beethoven Concerto – Huberman, Kreisler, Heifetz and Menuhin.

“We are democratising information and resources by offering recordings to music fans, and opening up our extensive reference library, for free,” says James Buchanan, director of Brompton’s.

The collection, which is intended to increase in size over time, also features a number of recordings beyond the string repertoire, including Alfred Cortot’s performances of the Chopin Ballades.

Visit the Brompton's Music Library

Caroline Gill