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Jean-Max Clement was a French cellist born on January 16, 1920, in Bordeaux, France. He began his musical studies at the Bordeaux Conservatory and later moved to the Paris Conservatory, where he was taught by renowned cellist Maurice Maréchal.

Clement made his debut at the age of 17 and quickly gained recognition for his virtuosity and musical sensitivity. He went on to perform with leading orchestras in France and abroad, including the Orchestre de Paris, the New York Philharmonic, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.

Clement was particularly admired for his interpretations of the music of French composers such as Debussy, Ravel, and Fauré. He was also a champion of contemporary music and premiered works by notable composers such as Daniel-Lesur and Olivier Messiaen.

In addition to his performing career, Clement was a dedicated teacher and held professorships at several music conservatories, including the Conservatoire National de Région in Bordeaux and the Paris Conservatory. His students include cellists such as Marc Coppey and Emmanuelle Bertrand.

Clement was known for his warm, rich sound and his expressive playing style. He was praised for his ability to communicate the emotional depth of the music he played and for his technical expertise.

Jean-Max Clement passed away on June 16, 1999, in Paris, France. He is remembered as one of the great French cellists of the 20th century, and his recordings continue to inspire cellists and music lovers around the world.

Ginette Neveu was a French violinist who achieved international success at a very young age. She was born on August 11, 1919, in Paris, France. Her father, Henri Neveu, was a composer and conductor, and her mother, Jany Lefebvre, was a pianist. Ginette was the youngest of three children, and music was an integral part of the household.

At the age of five, Ginette began violin lessons with Marcel Chailley, and by eight, she began studying with Jules Boucherit at the Paris Conservatory. At the age of 11, she won first prize in the conservatory’s violin competition. She made her concert debut at the age of 13 with the Colonne Orchestra in Paris, performing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto.

 Her talent was noticed by some of the leading musicians of the day, including Pablo Casals and Jacques Thibaud, who invited her to play with them. At age 16, she won the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Warsaw, Poland, and went on to perform in some of the most prestigious concert halls in Europe.

In 1939, Ginette made her American debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and her performance was widely praised. She was invited to perform with many of the major symphony orchestras in the United States, including the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

During World War II, Ginette continued to perform and record, despite the dangers posed by the German occupation of France. She made her last recording in September 1940, just before she and her brother Jean were killed in a plane crash while traveling to Paris from Lisbon. Ginette Neveu was only 30 years old at the time of her death.

Ginette Neveu’s playing was praised for its technical brilliance, purity of tone, and emotional depth. She was known for her interpretations of works by composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, and Sibelius. Her legacy continues to inspire violinists around the world, and her recordings remain popular with music lovers everywhere.

Ginnette Neveu recordings

1. Bach: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E Major, BWV 1042; Sonata for Violin Solo No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003; and Partita for Violin Solo No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004 – recorded in 1949 with conductor Eugène Bigot and pianist Jean Neveu.

2. Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 – recorded in 1948 with conductor Roger Désormière and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London.

3. Brahms: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77 – recorded in 1947 with conductor Issay Dobrowen and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

4. Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6 – recorded in 1948 with conductor Issay Dobrowen and the London Symphony Orchestra.

5. Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47 – recorded in 1949 with conductor Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London.

6. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 – recorded in 1946 with conductor Issay Dobrowen and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

7. Vivaldi: The Four Seasons – recorded in 1946 with conductor Issay Dobrowen and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

8. Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 61 – recorded in 1949 with conductor Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London.

9. Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor – recorded in 1949 with pianist Jean Neveu.

10. Franck: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major – recorded in 1949 with pianist Jean Neveu.

11. Ravel: Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra – recorded in 1949 with conductor Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London. 

12. Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major, K. 218 – recorded in 1949 with conductor Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt and the Philharmonia Orchestra of London.

13. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 – recorded in 1946 with conductor Issay Dobrowen and the London Symphony Orchestra. 

Gioconda de Vito (1907-1994) was an Italian violinist known for her vivid interpretations of music from the Baroque and Romantic periods. She was born into a musical family in Martina Franca, Italy, and began studying the violin at a young age with her father, who was a violin maker.

At the age of 16, de Vito won a scholarship to study at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, where she was a pupil of Remy Principe and Arturo Bonucci. She made her debut in 1924 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples and quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso performer.

In 1934, de Vito won the international violin competition in Vienna, solidifying her status as one of the top violinists of her time. She went on to perform extensively in Europe and the United States, becoming particularly renowned for her performances of the works of Bach, Brahms, and Beethoven.

De Vito’s career was interrupted during World War II, when she refused to perform for the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. She spent much of the war years in hiding, performing in secret concerts for refugees and resistance fighters.

After the war, de Vito returned to the concert stage and recorded extensively. She continued to perform and teach until her death in 1994. Her legacy as one of the most important violinists of the 20th century is evident in the many recordings and videos that are still available today, showcasing her impeccable technique and passionate interpretations of the music she loved.

Lockdown Covid19 has given me the opportunity to rifle through the warehouse to hitherto unvisited and abandoned corners. I’ve now got a lovely Townsend record deck at home with scorpio arm that I found – and I vaguely remember buying it in Devon many years ago with a small record collection. My front room, hallway and dining room are now full of turntables that I have acquired with record collections – all need some kind of attention and I’m trying my best with them!

I have never owned a stylus cleaner – I normally use a brush sprayed with some isopropyl alcohol, but I was intrigued by this little device I found in my warehouse in a box filled with other interesting bits. I believe the Audio Technica Electronic Stylus Cleaner AT637 went out of production in the mid-nineties when CDs superseded the LP format in earnest, or as one rumour has it the original tooling for the devices broke and the powers that be decided not to repair them and cease the production.

It comes in a neat little box with a bottle of fluid and battery. I cleaned out the battery terminals which were showing a little signs of corrosion as the battery had been left in for god knows how long. It cleaned up nicely and when I inserted the battery it came to life instantly. A little light comes on so that you can see what you are doing when you are cleaning your stylus. Basically you just turn it on and gently drop your stylus onto the fine brush pad that is vibrating at high speed, and the advice is that if your stylus is heavily dirty then to use the stylus cleaning fluid, but it is not essential.

As I am writing I am having vague memories of where and who I got this from. I bought a collection of LPs from a man, and as I was packing up he handed me the Audio Technica Electronic Stylus Cleaner AT637 with a glint in his eye. “This is great” he said, “You can’t get them anymore.” I remember chuckling on my way out, it seemed like such an elaborate and costly device for something you can do by improvising with a record brush and some isopropyl. However, as I have been tinkering at home with all the equipment that needs tweaking I have a new admiration for things designed for specific tasks…so now, devices like these get a thumbs up from me!

Sooner or later, if you are becoming a vinyl buyer, or progressing towards vinyl fanatic status, the problem of where to put it all will become a serious headache, a vinyl record storage headache! Now in my many years as a classical vinyl LP record dealer I have seen many novel solutions. The most bizarre was in a duck house in the middle of an enormous pond. I have seen many solutions to vinyl storage that really are not solutions at all, merely stop gaps!

If your records collection is only 50 or so then here is a beautiful idea, especially if you are an avid clothes shopper too.

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	This is a DIY solution but you can always acquire something ready made from the 60’s from your local junk shop or flea-market. I would suggest an out of town junk shop / house clearance establishment as they just want a quick turnover and they are likely to be cheap. Here’s an example of the type of thing you can get for not a lot for a small collection of records, or maybe just as a display idea, after all vinyl is cool.
	This one is a Stanton vinyl record storage cabinet custom finished on the inside in red.
	There are various modern versions of these classic designs coming on the market now, re-interpreted for the 21st century.
	Or you could go for the rough and ready look with vintage wine crates atop an old table.
	Now we seem to getting to that place where vinyl storage mean extra furniture. In the golden age of vinyl there were many pieces of furniture on the market for housing vinyl collections - I still see them on a weekly basis when making my rounds to private houses to buy records. Here are a few:
	If you have more records that you want to display this way there are quite a few vintage solutions that you could try to acquire or remake in your own way.
	And for those with truly no hope there may be no option other than to give whole walls over to the addiction. I have seen them in MDF, but solid wood generally looks and feels better.