Sarasate's concert career began at age seventeen after he was awarded the coveted Premier Prix from the Paris Conservatoire for both violin and composition. After his London debut, the playwright and music critique George Bernard Shaw wrote in his review that Sarasate 'left criticism gasping miles behind him.' Shaw also declared that there were many composers of music for the violin; there were but few composers like Sarasate for violin music.

His vast concert repertory included many works wr...