Identity:

Henryk Wieniawski was a violinist and composer.

Life:

A child prodigy, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire in 1843 and was soon playing all over Europe with his brother, an accomplished pianist. He achieved his first major success in Germany, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus in 1853 and thereafter developed a mature career as a virtuoso violinist, a romantic composer, coloured by his Slavic background, and as an influential teacher. An international violin competition in Poznan is named after him.

Bibliography:

[Anon.], 'Henryk [Henri] Wieniawski,' Grove Music Online, http://www.grovemusic.com (accessed September 2004).