1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Wieniawski, Henri

WIENIAWSKI, HENRI (1835-1880), Polish violinist and composer, was born at Lublin, in Poland, on the 10th of July 1835. He was a pupil of the Paris Conservatoire from 1843 to 1846, and again in 1849-1850. Meanwhile he had given concerts in his native country and in Russia, and in 1850 entered upon the career of a travelling virtuoso, together with his brother Joseph, a distinguished pianist. He was appointed solo violinist to the tsar in 1860, and taught in the Conservatoire of St Petersburg from 1862 to 1867. He went on tour again in 1872 with Rubinstein in America, and on his return in 1874 was appointed to succeed Vieuxtemps as professor in the Brussels Conservatoire; but, like his predecessor, he was compelled through ill-health to give up the post after three years, returning to a public career in spite of his illness, until his death, which occurred in a hospital in Moscow, on the 31st of March 1880. He was a wonderfully sympathetic solo player, and a good if not a great quartet player. His Légende, the fantasias on Faust and on Russian airs, his two concertos and some other pieces, have retained their high place in the violin repertory.