Henryk Wieniawski

Henryk Wieniawski (b Lublin, 10 July 1835; d Moscow, 31 March 1880). Violinist and composer. The most celebrated member of the family, he was the son of Regina Wieniawska (née Wolff), a professionally trained pianist and the sister of the noted pianist Edouard Wolff.

Henryk’s exceptional talent for the violin was discovered very early by his first teacher, Jan Hornziel, who had moved to Warsaw in 1841 to become leader of the opera orchestra, and Stanisław Serwaczyński. When the Czech violinist Panofka visited Warsaw and heard the eight-year-old boy play, he exclaimed: ‘He will make a name for himself’. After playing a brilliant audition for the Paris Conservatoire in the autumn of 1843, Henryk was admitted to the class of J. Clavel and was transferred to the master class of Lambert Massart a year later. He was awarded first prize in the violin in 1846 and studied two more years as Massart’s private pupil. After a concert in Paris on 30 January 1848, at which Henryk was assisted by his younger brother (2) Józef Wieniawski at the piano, Henryk departed for St Petersburg, where he gave five successful concerts and earned the praise of Vieuxtemps, at that time solo violinist at court. In 1848 Henryck played in Helsinki, Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw, Dresden and Breslav (now Wrocław). In the autumn of that year he Henryk returned to Poland, where he became friends with Moniuszko. By that time he had begun to compose and felt the need for further study; he re-entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1849 to study harmony with H. Collet. In 1850 he was made an honorary member of the Societé Philharmonique and received the Cercle-des-Arts.