Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Sketch
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1918 September 22 | Born in Zelazowa Wola, Poland |
| 1923 | Begins studying piano and hamony with his mother |
| 1926 | Studys violin with Maurice Frenkel (student of Leopold Auer) |
| 1927-1928 | Continues violin study in Berlin with Willy Hess |
| 1928-1932 | Studies with Carl Flesch in Berlin and Baden-Baden at the suggestion of Bronislaw Huberman |
| 1933 | Gives first public performances in Warsaw, Bucharest, Vienna and Paris |
| 1934-1939 | Studies composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger; also studies the Humanities (i.e., Ancient History, Philology, and Philosophy); becomes acquainted with Georges Enesco, Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel and other prominent musicians in Paris |
| 1935 | Decorated with the Order of "Cultural Merit" by the Queen Mother of Romania |
| 1936 November | Enters Paris Conservatory, studying with Gabriel Bouillon; brief study with Jacques Thibaud |
| 1937 June | Graduates with First Prize from the Paris Conservatory |
| 1939 | Moves to London; joins Polish government in exile; appointed translator and liaison officer to General Sikorski, the Prime Minister of the Polish Government-in-exile |
| 1939-1942 | Performs over 300 concerts for Allied troops, hospitals, POW centers, etc. |
| 1942 | Serves as translator for General Sikorski's trip to Mexico to seek sanctuary for Polish refugees |
| 1943 November 24 | Makes Carnegie Hall debut; gives Polish Relief recital |
| 1943 | Invited to reorganize string department at the National University of Mexico |
| 1945 | Appointed director of the string department at the National University of Mexico |
| 1946 | Becomes a Mexican citizen |
| 1954 | Meets and plays for Artur Rubinstein, who encourages him to resume his concert career; Rubinstein introduces Szeryng to Sol Hurok |
| 1955, 1957 | Awarded Grand Prix du Disque |
| 1957 | Makes a twenty-city United States concert tour |
| 1960 | Becomes Mexican Cultural Ambassador |
| 1960, 1961 | Awarded Grand Prix du Disque |
| 1963 | Receives Médaille d'Argent de la Ville de Paris and Edison Award; becomes Officier d'Ordre des Arts et Lettres, Paris |
| 1965 | Named Citizen of Honor, Richmond, Virginia |
| 1966 August | Henryk Szeryng Festival of Music is held in Mexico City |
| 1966 | Appointed honorary director of the Conservatory of Music in Mexico City; decorated as Commander of the Order of the Finnish Lion in Helsinki for his promotion of the music of Sibelius |
| 1967, 1969 | Awarded Grand Prix du Disque |
| 1969 | Designated honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music, London |
| 1970 | Appointed special music adviser to the Mexican delegation at UNESCO; receives citation from city of Philadelphia; awarded "Key to the City of Kansas City" |
| 1971 May | Receives "Wiener Floetenuhr" award and an "Edison" for a recording of Mozart violin concertos |
| 1971 September | Performs a "Salute to the Kennedy Center" on behalf of Mexico, and is named a "founder artist of the center" |
| 1971 October | Gives first performance since Paganini's time of rediscovered Violin concerto no. 3 with the London Symphony Orchestra, under Alexander Gibson, coinciding with the release of the first recording of the work |
| 1972 January | Plays recital for UNICEF at Teatro Real in Madrid in presence of H.R.H. Princess Sofia of Spain and is presented with Alfonso El Sabio Cross |
| 1972 | Receives the insignia of France's Légion d'Honneur |
| 1972 December | Donates his Stradivarius violin to the City of Jerusalem to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the State of Israel. The violin is to be loaned, for playing and performing, to outstanding young Israeli violinists |
| 1973 June | Named Honorary Citizen of Alicante (Spain) |
| 1974 January | Donates his Guarnerius "Sanctae Theresiae" violin to Mexican President Luis Echeverria to be used by gifted young Mexican violinists, preferably leaders of the Mexican National Symphony Orchestra |
| 1974 | Receives citations from the city and county of Los Angeles |
| 1975 | Named Citizen of Honor, San Luis Potosí |
| 1978-1988 | Teaches for two months of the year at the National University of Mexico; travels on a diplomatic passport as Mexican Cultural Ambassador |
| 1978 July 18 | Named Citizen of Honor, city of Prades, for Festival of Prades; receives Citation from the city of Miami, Florida |
| 1981 | Named Citizen of Honor, Poznan (Poland) |
| 1982 | Receives Citation from the city of Kansas City |
| 1983 | Celebrates "Golden Jubilee," for 50th year on the concert stage; sixty-concert tour; many special events, awards and citations |
| 1984 January 6 | Marries Waltraud Büscher |
| 1985 | Designated Officier de l'Ordre de St. Charles, Monaco; awarded "Key to the city of San Diego" |
| 1985 May | Receives Scroll of Honor from Israel Philharmonic |
| 1985 December | Named Officier de Légion d'Honneur |
| 1986 March 20 | Appointed "Sagamore of the Wabash" in Indianapolis |
| 1987 | Awarded Croix d’Or du Mérite de la République Populaire Polonaise |
| 1988 February | Designated Honorary Fellow, Israel Cancer Association |
| 1988 March 3 | Dies in Kassel, West Germany of a cerebral hemorrhage |