Jeno Hubay was a Hungarian violinist, composer, and teacher, born in Pest on September 15, 1858, as Eugen Huber. He grew up in a German musical family. His father, Karl Huber, was first violinist of the Hungarian State Opera and a professor at the Liszt Academy of Music. Hubay studied violin with his father, gave his first concert at age 11, and began studying with Joseph Joachim at 13.
Following Franz Liszt’s advice, Hubay made his Paris debut in 1878 and achieved considerable success. He toured France, Britain, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and adopted the Hungarian form of his name in the late 1870s. He became friends with Henri Vieuxtemps and, in 1882, took charge of the violin department at the Brussels Conservatory. He returned to Hungary in 1886 and founded the Budapest Quartet with cellist David Popper. Johannes Brahms held his violin playing in high regard. Hubay led the Liszt Academy of Music from 1919 to 1934.
Hubay wrote vocal and instrumental music, including works for violin and several operas, and continued the Romantic tradition of Mendelssohn and Schumann. He toured widely in Europe as a soloist and performed in St. Petersburg in 1890. His works include the operas The Violin Maker of Cremona (1892), The Mask (1909–1910), and Anna Karenina (1914); the Rural Scenes for violin and orchestra (1879–1891); two symphonies; and the Romantic Sonata for violin and piano (1894). He was regarded as one of Europe’s leading virtuosos.
His students included Jozsef Szigeti, Stefi Geyer, Henry Verbrugghen, Geza de Kresz, Bram Eldering, Barnabas von Geczy, Andre Gertler, Eugene Ormandy, Paul Godwin, Tibor Varga, and Sandro Materassi. Hubay received an honorary doctorate from the University of Cluj. A national violin competition and a music hall in Budapest bear his name. He died in Budapest on March 12, 1937.