Henri Wieniawski

Published works, with opus numbers • Grand caprice fantastique, Op. 1 • Allegro de Sonate, Op. 2 • Souvenir de Posen, Op. 3 • Polonaise de Concert No. 1, Op. 4 (sometimes known as Polonaise brillante) • Adagio élégiaque, Op. 5 • Souvenir de Moscow, 2 Russian Romances, Op. 6 (in this work he quoted Alexander Egorovich Varlamov's song The Red Sarafan) • Capriccio-Valse, Op. 7 • Grand duo polonais, for violin and piano, Op. 8 • Romance sans paroles et rondo elegant, Op. 9 • L'École moderne, 10 Études-Caprices, for violin solo, Op. 10 • Le Carnaval Russe, Improvisations and Variations, Op. 11 • 2 Mazurkas de Salon: Sielanka et Piesn Polska (Chanson polonaise), Op. 12 • Fantasie pastorale, Op. 13 (Lost) • Concerto No. 1 in Fsharp minor, Op. 14 • Thème original varié, Op. 15 • Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16 • Légende, Op. 17 • 8 Études-Caprices, for 2 violins, Op. 18 • 2 Mazurkas caractéristiques: Obertass et Dudziarz (Le Ménétrier), Op. 19 (NB.: no 2 is known as both "The Bagpipe Player" [ABRSM Vln Gr VIII Syllabus] and "The Village Fiddler" [Naxos Records]) • Fantaisie brillante sur Faust de Gounod, Op. 20 • Polonaise brillante, Op. 21 • Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22 • Gigue in E minor, Op. 23 • Fantasie orientale, Op. 24 Unpublished works, and works without opus numbers • Wariacje na Temat Własnego Mazurka (c. 1847) • Aria with Variations in E major (before 1848) • Fantasia and Variations in E major (1848) • Nocturne for solo violin (1848) • Romance (c. 1848) • Rondo Alla Polacca in E minor (1848) • Duo Concertant on themes from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (c. 1850) • Duo Concertant na Temat Hymnu Rosyjskiego A. Lwowa (c. 1850) • Duo Concertant na Temat Rosyjskiej Melodii Ludowej (c. 1850) • Fantasia on themes from Meyerbeer's Le prophète (oc. 1850) • Mazur Wiejski (c. 1850) • Fantasia on themes from Grétry's Richard Coeur-de-lion (c. 1851) • Duet on themes from Finnish songs (c. 1851) • Two Mazurkas (1851) • March (1851) • Kujawiak in A minor (1853) • Variations on the Russian hymn (c. 1851) • Variations on Polish folk song "Jechał Kozak Zza Dunaju" (c. 1851) • Variations on the Austrian Hymn (1853) • Rozumiem, pieśń na głos z fortepianem (1854) • Souvenir de Lublin, concert polka (c. 1855) • Fantasia on themes from Bellini's La sonnambula (c. 1855) • Reminiscences of San Francisco (c. 1874) • Kujawiak in C major • Polonaise triomphale • Rêverie in F sharp minor, for viola and piano • Violin Concerto No. 3 in A minor? (1878, unpublished, disappeared? Premiered in Moscow, 27 December 1878)

After graduation, he toured extensively and gave many recitals, where he was often accompanied by his brother Józef on piano. In 1847, he published his first opus, a Grand Caprice Fantastique, the start of a catalogue of 24 opus numbers. When his engagement to Isabella Hampton was opposed by her parents, Wieniawski wrote Légende, Op. 17; this work helped her parents change their mind, and the couple married in 1860. Wieniawski was a player in the Beethoven Quartet Society in London, where he also performed on viola. At the invitation of Anton Rubinstein, Wieniawski moved to St. Petersburg, where he lived from 1860 to 1872, taught many violin students and led the Russian Musical Society's orchestra and string quartet. From 1872 to 1874, Wieniawski toured the United States with Rubinstein. Wieniawski replaced Henri Vieuxtemps as violin professor at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles in 1875.

Wieniawski was given a number of posthumous honors. His portrait appeared on a postage stamp of Poland in 1952 and again in 1957. A 100 zloty coin was issued in 1979 bearing his image. What is commonly called the "Russian bow hold" is sometimes called the "Wieniawski bow hold" as eyewitnesses attending his concerts noted traits of Wieniawski's bow hold that are trademarks of the "Russian bow hold" which was later popularized by Leopold Auer through his many students. Wieniawski was noted to have "an unconventional method of holding his right elbow high, pressing the bow with his index finger above the second joint and stiffening his arm to produce a virtuosic staccato effect." This bow hold allowed him to play what he called a "devil's staccato" with ease, which he implemented in his teaching in order to develop students' technique. The first violin competition named after Wieniawski took place in Warsaw in 1935. Ginette Neveu took first prize, David Oistrakh second, and Henri Temianka third. The International Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition has been held every five years since 1952.