Eugene Fodor was an American violinist, born on March 5, 1950, in Denver, Colorado. He studied for his first ten years with Harold Whippler, who taught him from 1958 to 1968 and recognized his exceptional talent, distinctive singing technique, and particular understanding of music.
Fodor studied at the Juilliard School of Music with Ivan Galamian, at the Indiana University School of Music with Josef Gingold, and at the University of Southern California with Jascha Heifetz. At the age of ten, he made his debut with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, performing Bruch's Violin Concerto.
By the age of seventeen, Fodor had won several prestigious national competitions. In 1972, he won the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa. At the Fifth International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1974, he shared second prize with Ruben Aharonian and Rusudan Gvasalia; no first prize was awarded that year. In January 1999, he also received the European Soloist Prize.
His international career developed successfully during the 1970s and 1980s, followed by a decline after 1989. During the 1990s and 2000s, he nevertheless made several notable recordings, including Sibelius's Violin Concerto and the complete violin sonatas of Brahms. Fodor died on February 26, 2011.