A child prodigy on the violin Wieniawski can be considered in the ranks of Paganini for his technical mastery of virtuoso passages and his subtle and sensitive expression. He was able to study privately with Massart at the Paris Conservatoire winning first prize in the violin. He and his brother gave performances in Russia, Jozef played the piano, where Vieuxtemps lauded Henryk's ability. A sterling concert career awaited Wieniawski who traveled across the European continent, performed in Moscow and St. Petersburg and gave concerts with Anton Rubenstein in the United States, a tour which lasted two years for Henryk who gave over two hundred performances alone in the first year. He spent twelve years in St. Petersburg between 1860 and 1872, where he was the leader of the orchestra and the string quartet for the Russian Musical Society influencing a number of young musicians. In 1875 he accepted the position Vieuxtemp held before his death at the Brussels Conservatory, professor of violin. He maintained this position while continuing an active concert career. Wieniawski's two violin concertos were his most important compositions, the second being a part of the international violin repertoire. The first is highly demanding of technical virtuosity while the second, musically, contains the major characteristics of the Romantic era filled with highly emotive energy and penache. The etudes, "L'ecole moderne" and "Etudes-caprices" are among the most demanding studies for violin. ~ Keith Johnson, Rovi