Nathan "Tossy" Spivakovsky ( – July 20, 1998), a Jewish, Russian Empire-born, German-trained violin virtuoso, was considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. Biography Tossy Spivakovsky was born in Odessa, which in 1906 was still part of the Russian Empire. Under the increasing threat of pogroms his family moved to Berlin, where he studied with Arrigo Serato privately and later with Willy Hess at the Berliner Hochschule für Musik. A violin prodigy, he gave his first recital at age 10. Together with his elder brother Jacob "Jascha" (1896–1970), a renowned concert pianist, Tossy made his first European concert tour at age 13, performing as soloist with orchestras in a number of countries including Holland, England, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, in 1919, where the brothers played for Danish royalty. At only 18, after being talent spotted by Wilhelm Furtwängler, Spivakovsky became the youngest concertmaster hired by the Berlin Philharmonic. Two years later he left to pursue a solo career in Europe. During the 1920s, he and his brother Jascha performed together as the Spivakovsky Duo. In 1930, Tossy and Jascha established the highly acclaimed Spivakovsky-Kurtz Trio together with cellist Edmund Kurtz. The trio was on a tour of Australia in 1933 when the Nazi Party took power in Germany, temporarily ending Spivakovsky's European career. As a result he remained in Melbourne, Australia. He sent a marriage proposal by telegram to a girl he had met in Germany, Dr. Erika Lipsker (or Zarden), philologist and Renaissance historian, who soon sailed to Melbourne and became his wife of 63 years. All three members of the Spivakovsky-Kurtz trio joined the teaching staff of the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. The youngest of nine, Spivakovsky belonged to a musical as well as artistic family. His eldest brother Simeon, a photographer and sculptor, also produced fine drawings. His brother Albert, a distinguished pianist, also played the cello and conducted orchestras in Germany and Denmark. Another brother, the violinist and cellist Isaac 'Issy' (1902–1977), who had studied violin under Willy Hess, and cello with Hugo Becker and Gregor Piatigorsky, also migrated to Australia in 1934, and for 28 years (1937–1965) taught violin, viola and cello at Scotch College, Melbourne. Adolf (1891–1958), a bass-baritone, also migrated to Melbourne in 1934 and taught at the University Conservatorium where his students included the sopranos Glenda Raymond and Sylvia Fisher. Of Spivakovsky's three sisters—Claire, Esfira and Betty—Claire