Born: 1820, Verviers, BelgiumDied: 1881, Mustapha, AlgeriaA prodigy, Vieuxtemps was a widely travelled and wildly successful virtuoso before the age of 20. He was also noted as a violist and quartet player, and in addition to seven violin concertos and a large body of salon pieces for violin and piano, he wrote two cello concertos, three string quartets, and a viola sonata. Schumann compared his playing to Paganini’s and Berlioz praised his compositions.Further listening:Capriccio for ViolaRoberto Diaz (Naxos)Souvenir d’Amerique on “Yankee Doodle”Leila Josefowicz (violin), John Novacek (piano)(Philips)