Henryk Wieniawski (pronounced [vʲɛˈɲafskʲi]; 10 July 1835 – 31 March 1880) was a Polish expert violinist, composer, and teacher who is considered one of the most important violinists in history. His younger brother, Józef Wieniawski, and his nephew, Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski, were also skilled musicians. His daughter, Régine, became a British citizen after marrying into the nobility and composed music under the name Poldowski.

Life

Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin, which is now part of Poland. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka, was born as Wolf Helman. Wolf was the son of a Jewish barber named Herschel Meyer Helman, who lived in Lublin's Jewish neighborhood called Wieniawa. Later, Wolf changed his name to Tadeusz Wieniawski, using the name of his neighborhood to fit into Polish society. Before becoming a doctor, Wolf converted to Catholicism. He married Regina Wolff, the daughter of a well-known Jewish doctor from Warsaw. From this marriage, Henryk was born.

Henryk showed a strong talent for playing the violin early in life. In 1843, he was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire, a music school, where he studied under Lambert Massart. Special permission was given for him to join, even though he was not French and only eight years old. He studied at the Conservatoire from 1843 to 1846 and returned for another year in 1849.

After finishing his studies, Henryk traveled widely and performed many concerts. He often played with his brother, Józef, who accompanied him on the piano. In 1847, he published his first work, a piece called Grand Caprice Fantastique, which marked the beginning of a series of 24 musical works.

When Henryk proposed to Isabella Hampton, her parents disagreed with the marriage. In response, Henryk composed a piece called Légende, Op. 17. This music helped convince her parents to accept the marriage, and the couple married in 1860.

Henryk was a member of the Beethoven Quartet Society in London, where he also played the viola. At the invitation of Anton Rubinstein, Henryk moved to St. Petersburg, Russia, where he lived from 1860 to 1872. During this time, he taught violin students and led the Russian Musical Society's orchestra and string quartet. From 1872 to 1874, he toured the United States with Rubinstein. In 1875, he became the violin professor at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles in Belgium, replacing Henri Vieuxtemps.

While living in Brussels, Henryk's health worsened, and he often had to stop during performances. He began a tour of Russia in 1879 but could not finish it. After a concert, he was taken to a hospital in Odessa. On February 14, 1880, Nadezhda von Meck, a patron of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, invited Henryk to stay with her and provided him with medical care. His friends organized a benefit concert to help support his family. Henryk died in Moscow a few weeks later from a heart attack and was buried in the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.

Daughters

His daughter, Régine Wieniawski, was born in Brussels the year before his death. She became a composer and published her early works under the name "Irène Wieniawska." Later, after marrying Sir Aubrey Dean Paul and becoming a British citizen, she used the name "Poldowski" for her compositions. Another daughter, Henriette, married Joseph Holland Loring in 1904. Loring was one of the people who died in the Titanic disaster.

Works

Henryk Wieniawski was seen as a highly skilled violinist who created important pieces for the violin. He composed two challenging violin concertos. The second concerto, written in D minor in 1862, is performed more often than the first, which was written in F-sharp minor in 1853. An evaluation of violin etudes places Wieniawski's Op. 10 L'École moderne: 10 Études-caprices just below the difficulty level of the Paganini Caprices.

Legacy

After Wieniawski died, many honors were given to him in recognition of his work. His portrait was on a Polish postage stamp in 1952 and again in 1957. A 100 zloty coin from 1979 showed his image.

The way some violinists hold their bows, called the "Russian bow hold," is also sometimes named the "Wieniawski bow hold." People who saw Wieniawski play noticed how he held his bow, which shared features with the Russian style. This style became widely used later by Leopold Auer, who taught many students. Wieniawski held his right elbow high, used his index finger above the second joint to press the bow, and kept his arm stiff to create short, quick notes. This technique allowed him to play very fast, short notes, which he called "devil's staccato." He taught this method to help students improve their skills.

The first violin competition in his honor was held in Warsaw in 1935. Ginette Neveu won first place, David Oistrakh second, and Henri Temianka third. Since 1952, the International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition has been held every five years.

Compositions

Published works, with opus numbers

• Grand caprice fantastique, Op. 1
• Allegro de Sonate, Op. 2
• Souvenir de Posen, Op. 3
• Polonaise de Concert No. 1, Op. 4 (also known as Polonaise brillante)
• Adagio élégiaque, Op. 5
• Souvenir de Moscow, 2 Russian Romances, Op. 6 (in this work he quoted Alexander Egorovich Varlamov's song The Red Sarafan)
• Capriccio-Valse, Op. 7
• Grand duo polonais, for violin and piano, Op. 8
• Romance sans paroles et rondo élégant, Op. 9
• L'École moderne, 10 Études-Caprices, for violin solo, Op. 10
• Le Carnaval Russe, Improvisations and Variations, Op. 11
• 2 Mazurkas de Salon: Sielanka et Piesn Polska (Chanson polonaise), Op. 12
• Fantasie pastorale, Op. 13 (Lost)
• Concerto No. 1 in F♯ minor, Op. 14
• Thème original varié, Op. 15
• Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16
• Légende, Op. 17
• 8 Études-Caprices, for 2 violins, Op. 18
• 2 Mazurkas caractéristiques: Obertass et Dudziarz (Le Ménétrier), Op. 19 (Note: No. 2 is also known as "The Bagpipe Player" and "The Village Fiddler")
• Fantaisie brillante sur Faust de Gounod, Op. 20
• Polonaise brillante, Op. 21
• Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22
• Gigue in E minor, Op. 23
• Fantasie orientale, Op. 24

Unpublished works, and works without opus numbers

• Wariacje na Temat Własnego Mazurka (c. 1847)
• Aria with Variations in E major (before 1848)
• Fantasia and Variations in E major (1848)
• Nocturne for solo violin (1848)
• Romance (c. 1848)
• Rondo Alla Polacca in E minor (1848)
• Duo Concertant on themes from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (c. 1850)
• Duo Concertant na Temat Hymnu Rosyjskiego A. Lwowa (c. 1850)
• Duo Concertant na Temat Rosyjskiej Melodii Ludowej (c. 1850)
• Fantasia on themes from Meyerbeer's Le prophète (c. 1850)
• Mazur Wiejski (c. 1850)
• Fantasia on themes from Grétry's Richard Coeur-de-lion (c. 1851)
• Duet on themes from Finnish songs (c. 1851)
• Two Mazurkas (1851)
• March (1851)
• Kujawiak in A minor (1853)
• Variations on the Russian hymn (c. 1851)
• Variations on Polish folk song "Jechał Kozak Zza Dunaju" (c. 1851)
• Variations on the Austrian Hymn (1853)
• Rozumiem, pieśń na głos z fortepianem (1854)
• Souvenir de Lublin, concert polka (c. 1855)
• Fantasia on themes from Bellini's La sonnambula (c. 1855)
• Reminiscences of San Francisco (c. 1874)
• Kujawiak in C major
• Polonaise triomphale
• Rêverie in F sharp minor, for viola and piano
• Violin Concerto No. 3 in A minor (1878, unpublished and possibly lost; premiered in Moscow, 27 December 1878)