Joseph Szigeti (September 5, 1892 – February 19, 1973) was a Hungarian violinist. September 5 is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years). ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... A violinist is an instrumentalist who plays the violin. ...

He was born in Budapest into a musical family. His mother died when he was still a baby, and shortly thereafter he was sent to live with his grandparents in the small Carpathian town of Máramaros-Sziget. Nickname: Paris of the East, Pearl of the Danubeor Queen of the Danube Location of Budapest in Hungary Country Hungary County Pest Mayor Gábor Demszky (SZDSZ) Area    - City 525,16 km²  - Land n/a km²  - Water n/a km² Population    - City (2006) 1,695,000  - Density 3570/km...

Szigeti began to play the violin at a very young age, taking lessons from his uncle. A few years later, his father decided that it was time for little "Joska" to come live with him in Budapest and to study at the conservatory. After a brief stint with an inadequate teacher at a second-string private conservatory, Joseph was accepted into the Music Academy and was admitted directly into the studio of renowned teacher Jeno Hubay. Szigeti quickly revealed himself to be a child prodigy, and made his concert debut at age 13. Nickname: Paris of the East, Pearl of the Danubeor Queen of the Danube Location of Budapest in Hungary Country Hungary County Pest Mayor Gábor Demszky (SZDSZ) Area    - City 525,16 km²  - Land n/a km²  - Water n/a km² Population    - City (2006) 1,695,000  - Density 3570/km...

For the next several years Szigeti was celebrated all over Europe as a "wunderkind", being made to wear a young boy's sailor suit and play little "salon pieces" even into his mid-teens. One particularly notable adventure from these years began in 1906 after a performance in Berlin, when an entrepreneurial gentleman inquired whether young Szigeti would be interested in a week-long trial engagement at Germany's finest "music hall". This turned out to be, quite literally, a circus, and under the pseudonym of "Joska Szulagi" (his father insisted on a pseudonym as a condition of the engagement), Szigeti performed alongside acrobats, ballerinas and lion-tamers!

In his book "With Strings Attached: Reminiscences and Reflections", Szigeti credits pianist Ferrucio Busoni with shaking him out of his "youthful indolence" and giving him a new, thoughtful perspective on music and performing. Szigeti first met Busoni in 1906, and they would remain friends and colleagues for the rest of Busoni's life. Szigeti cites their work together on the famous Chaconne of J.S. Bach as an especially enlightening experience. For other people named Bach and other meanings of the word, see Bach (disambiguation). ...

He made his American concert debut in December of 1925, playing the Beethoven concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski, which would prove to be the first of many successful concerts and tours in the United States. In 1939, fleeing the war in Europe, he and his wife emigrated for good to the United States. 1820 portrait by Karl Stieler Ludwig van Beethoven (pronounced ) (baptized December 17, 1770[1] – March 26, 1827) was a German composer and pianist. ... The Philadelphia Orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the Big Five symphony orchestras in the United States and usually considered among the finest in the world. ... Leopold Stokowski (born Antoni Stanisław Bolesławowicz April 18, 1882 in London, England, died September 13, 1977 in Nether Wallop, England) was the conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the NBC Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Symphony of the Air. ...

He was a life-long friend of composer Béla Bartók, with whom he shared his ardent nationalism and anti-fascism. They collaborated on many musical projects including a legendary recital performance at the Library of Congress on April 11, 1940, just after Bartok had emigrated to the United States. Bartok wrote his "'Contrasts' for piano, violin and clarinet" for himself, Szigeti, and clarinetist Benny Goodman, and the 'Rhapsody #1' for Szigeti. Béla Bartók in 1927 Bartok redirects here. ... Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix Nationalism is an ideology [1] that holds that a nation is the fundamental unit for human social life, and takes precedence over any other social and political principles. ... Anti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideology, organization, or government, on all levels. ... February 22, 1964: Benny Goodman at the Tokyo Okura Hotel, at the start of a Japan tour Benny Goodman, born BenÅ‘ Guttman, (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American jazz musician of Jewish-Hungarian descent, known as King of Swing, Patriarch of the Clarinet, The Professor, and Swing...

Joseph Szigeti is admired as a violinist of great intellect and expressive genius. He was nicknamed "The Scholarly Virtuoso" because of his thoughtful approach to music. His masterful interpretations of the classics are still renowned today, more than thirty years after his death.

He retired in 1960.