Era: Romantic

Romantic French

WALDTEUFEL, Emile

Born in Strasbourg, Dec 9, 1837
Died in Paris, Feb 12, 1915¹

Born in Eutin, c.Nov 18, 1786
Died in London, June 5, 1826²

Romantic Cuban

This portrait was drawn after White Lafitte won the First Prize in violin at the Paris Conservatory in 1856.

Born in Matanzas, Jan 17, 1836
Died in Paris, 12/March 15, 1918

Born José Silvestre de los Dolores White Lafitte
Also known as Joseph White

White Lafitte was an Afro-Cuban violinist and composer.
White Lafitte studied violin at the Paris Conservatory, winning a first prize for violin in 1856.
White Lafitte’s students included Romanian violinist Georges Enescu (George Enesco).
White Lafitte toured Europe, the United States, and South America.
He lived in South America for part of his career, after becoming court violinist to Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil.³

Romantic Polish

Born in Lublin, July 10, 1835
Died in Moscow, March 31, 1880

Wieniawski was a Polish violin virtuoso who studied both violin and composition at the Paris Conservatory.
Wieniawski spent much of his career as a touring virtuoso, often appearing with his younger brother, pianist Józef Wieniawski.⁴

“Without doubt the greatest violinist of his time.”
Anton Rubinstein on Wieniawski⁵

Biography from the Henryk Wieniawski Music Society

Pronunciation:
[‘hɛnrɪk vi’njafski]
“HEN-rick veen-YAFF-ski”
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Romantic Austrian

Born in Windischgraz, Styria [now Slovenjgradec, Slovenia], March 13, 1860
Died in Vienna, Feb 22, 1903

Wolf is best known as a Lied composer in the tradition of Schubert and Schumann, with a post-Wagnerian sense of harmony, and a strong sensitivity to poetry.
Wolf studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Robert Fuchs. He was friends with fellow student Gustav Mahler. Frustrated with the conservatory’s musical conservatism, he was a difficult student and was expelled (though he later claimed he’d resigned).
Wolf spent much of his career in Vienna scraping together a living as a music critic, accompanist, and music teacher. His personal and professional life were greatly affected by his early contraction of syphilis, which led to violent mood swings and eventually severe mental illness.⁶

Romantic Austrian

Born in Vienna, May 2, 1843
Died in Vienna, Nov 14, 1922⁷