15 Facts About Henryk Szeryng

Henryk Szeryng was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy Jewish family.

Henryk Szeryng started piano and harmony lessons with his mother when he was 5, and at age 7 turned to the violin, receiving instruction from Maurice Frenkel.

Henryk Szeryng made his solo debut on 6 January 1933 playing the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under Romanian conductor George Georgescu.

Henryk Szeryng took these positions and discontinued his studies, although he continued to perform on the violin, giving over 300 concerts for Allied troops all over the world.

In 1954, the pianist Arthur Rubinstein, a Jewish refugee from Poland, gave a concert in Mexico City; Henryk Szeryng visited him backstage afterwards and accepted Rubinstein's invitation to come to his hotel to play music.

Rubinstein and Henryk Szeryng made music together regularly for the rest of their careers, and recorded much of the classic chamber music literature either as a duo or in a trio with cellist Pierre Fournier.

Henryk Szeryng went on to win such major awards as six Grand prix du Disque awards, the Medaille d'Argent of the city of Paris, two Edison Awards, and was made an Officer of the Ordre des Arts et Lettres in Paris in 1963, among many other honors received.

Henryk Szeryng returned to Mexico twice a year and traveled on a diplomatic passport as Mexico's official cultural ambassador, but lived in Paris for two decades, then spent his last five years in Monaco.

In 1970, Henryk Szeryng recorded Mozart's complete works for violin and orchestra for Philips Records, which was used as Volume 8 of The Complete Mozart Edition in 1991.

Henryk Szeryng died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Kassel, Germany, on 3 March 1988.

Henryk Szeryng was buried at Cimetiere de Monaco, the headstone bearing the concluding bars of the Ciaconna from Bach's Partita No 2 for solo violin.

Henryk Szeryng made a number of recordings, including two complete cycles of sonatas and partitas for violin by Johann Sebastian Bach, and several sonatas by Beethoven and Brahms with Arthur Rubinstein.

Henryk Szeryng was the first violinist in history to record Niccolo Paganini's then newly discovered 3rd violin concerto.

Henryk Szeryng donated the "Santa Theresa" to Mexico in 1974 with a similar stipulation that it be loaned for the use of outstanding young Mexican violinists.

Henryk Szeryng told me that he was born in Zelazowa Wola, near Warsaw.