In 1860 he reached Turkey, where he played before the Sultan, who beat time to his music and seemed highly delighted. Hauser had many amusing stories to tell of his travels, and especially of his experiences in the Sandwich Islands and Turkey, Cairo and Alexandria. His adventures, which were numerous and thrilling, were published in two volumes, in Vienna.
Hauser was not the possessor of a great technique, but there was something characteristic and charming in his tone and mannerisms, which were especially pleasing to the fair sex. He was a man of restless, and, in some respects, dissatisfied nature. Some of his compositions are still to be found on concert programmes, and these he used to play exquisitely. Hauser lived in retirement in Vienna after concluding his travels, and in 1887 he died practically forgotten.
Few violinists succeeded more completely in captivating their audiences than Henri Wieniawski, whose impetuous Slavonic temperament, with its warm and tender feeling, gave a colour to his playing, which placed his hearers entirely under his control, went straight to their hearts, and enlisted their sympathy from the very first note. Both fingering and bowing were examples of the highest degree of excellence in violin technique, and difficulties did not exist for him. At times his fiery temperament may have led him to exaggeration, and to a step beyond the bounds of good taste, but this was lost sight of in the peculiar charm of his playing, its gracefulness and piquancy.
Wieniawski's tour in America, which took place in 1872, when he accompanied Rubinstein, may be said to mark an era in the musical life of this nation. These two great artists revealed the possibilities of the musical art to a people who, while loving music, were still in their infancy as far as musical development is concerned.
Wieniawski, like nearly all the great performers, showed his talent while very young. He was born in 1835 at Lublin, in Poland, where his father was a medical man. He was taken to Paris by his mother when he was only eight years old, and he entered the Conservatoire, where he soon joined Massart's class, and when only eleven gained the first prize for violin playing.
After this he made a concert tour in Poland and Russia, but soon returned to Paris to renew his studies, especially composition. In 1850 he went again on the road, and with his brother Joseph, a pianist, he gave concerts in most of the principal towns in the Netherlands, France, England, and Germany. In 1860 he was appointed solo violinist to the Emperor of Russia, and held that position for twelve years, residing chiefly at St. Petersburg.
It was at the conclusion of this engagement that he made his tour in the United States with Rubinstein, who was his intimate friend, and when the great pianist returned to Europe Wieniawski remained in America and succeeded in making a large fortune, travelling all over the country and creating a furore by his performances. This tour was cut short toward the end of 1874 by a telegram from Brussels offering him the position of professor of violin at the Conservatoire, during the illness of Vieuxtemps.
He remained in Brussels until 1877, when, Vieuxtemps becoming convalescent, Wieniawski set forth once more on his travels.
At this time his health was failing, and an incident took place at Berlin which is well worth recording. During a concert he was seized with a sudden spasm, and was compelled to stop in the middle of a concerto. Joachim was amongst the audience, and came to the rescue, taking up Wieniawski's violin and finishing the programme, thus showing his friendship for the sufferer and earning the enthusiastic applause of an appreciative audience.
Notwithstanding his sufferings, Wieniawski continued his tour, but at Odessa he broke down altogether.