Wieniawski, Henryk

Composer Information

Henryk Wieniawski was a Polish violinist and composer. Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka (Wolf Helman), was the son of a Jewish barber named Herschel Meyer Helman, from the Jewish Lublin neighborhood of Wieniawa, when barbers were also practicing dentists, healers, and bloodletters. Wolf Helman, also known as Tobiasz Pietruszka, changed his name to Tadeusz Wieniawski, taking on the name of his neighborhood to blend into his Polish environment better. Prior to obtaining his medical degree, he had converted to Catholicism. He married Regina Wolff, the daughter of a noted Jewish physician from Warsaw,and out of this marriage Henryk was born. His talent for playing the violin was recognized early, and in 1843 he entered the Paris Conservatoire, where special exceptions were made to admit him, as he wasn't French and was only nine years old. After graduation, Henryk toured extensively and gave many recitals, where he was often accompanied by his brother Józef on piano. In 1847, he published his first opus, a Grand Caprice Fantastique, the start of a catalogue of 24 opus numbers. [source from Wikipedia]

Work

• Memory of Moscou, Op. 6
• Scherzo tarantelle, Op. 16
• 2 Mazurkas, Op. 12
• Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22
• Studies-Caprices, Op. 18