born March 10, 1844, Pamplona, Spain
died Sept. 20, 1908, Biarritz, France
Spanish violinist.
After his debut at age eight, he was sent to study in Madrid, where the queen gave him the Stradivarius that he would play his whole life. After finishing his studies in Paris, he toured the world. He had many pieces written for him (by Max Bruch , Camille Saint-Saë ns , etc.) and wrote scores of brilliant virtuoso works himself, including Zigeunerweisen (1878) and the Carmen Fantasy (1883).