Ignatz Waghalter was born on March 15, 1881 in Warsaw, the fifteenth of twenty children in an impoverished Jewish family whose musical roots ran very deep. According to the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Ignatz’s great-grandfather, Laibisch Waghalter (1790-1868), was an esteemed violinist known as the “Paganini of the East.” Both parents earned their livelihood as musicians. Ignatz’s eldest brother, Henryk, was to become one of most important cellists at the Warsaw Conservatory. Two other brothers, Joseph and Wladyslaw, also achieved prominence as musicians.

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