Thwart Polish Violin Virtuoso Josef Hassid Was Born On This Day [ON-THIS-DAY]

Polish violin virtuoso Josef Hassid was born on this day in 1923 – 92 years ago.

A prodigious student of Carl Flesch, he was destined for a career of the highest caliber before crumbling tragically to the effects of mental illness.

Violinist Fritz Kreisler famously remarked: “A fiddler such as Heifetz is born every 100 years; one like Hassid every 200 years”.

JOSEF HASSID & GERALD MOORE | KREISLER | CAPRICE VIENNOIS | 1940

Pianist Gerald Moore once said: Hassid was “the greatest instrumental genius I’ve ever partnered … he had technical perfection, marvelous intonation, glorious tone – but there was something above that which was quite incredible – a metaphysical quality”.

Josef Hassid was sadly institutionalised with severe schizophrenia, aged 20, and died as a result of brain surgery complications in 1950 – aged just 26.

JOSEF HASSID & GERALD MOORE | JOSEPH ACHRON | HEBREW MELODY

 

JOSEF HASSID & GERALD MOORE | DVORAK ARR. KREISLER | HUMORESQUE OP. 101, NO. 7

 

JOSEF HASSID & GERALD MOORE | TCHAIKOVSKY | SOUVENIR D'UN LIEU CHER OP. 42