David Hochstein David Hochstein ( February 16 , 1892 – October 1918 ) was an American virtuoso violinist from Rochester , New York . After enlisting in the United States Army during World War I , he was killed during the Meuse - Argonne Offensive . In his honor , a music school was started in Rochester , and it now bears the name Hochstein School of Music & Dance . Biography . Helena Zodokoff and Jacob Hochstein were both Russian Jews who had fled their home country ; they met for the first time in Rochester . Jacob was said to be fluent in six languages . Helena , born in 1860 , was the elder half - sister of future anarchist Emma Goldman , with whom she arrived in Rochester on January 1 , 1886 , joining their sister Lena and her husband . Jacob and Helena were married in 1888 . Their son David , born in 1892 , demonstrated an aptitude for music from infancy , according to his father . For his fifth birthday , David received his first violin , a gift from his father , who became the boy ' s first instructor . Around 1902 , David Hochstein was playing his violin at the home of a friend whose father was architect J . Foster Warner . Emily Sibley Watson , a patron of the arts , lived next door to the Warners and heard Hochstein ' s playing . Watson , who was the daughter of Western Union president Hiram Sibley , recognized Hochstein ' s talent and took it upon herself to fund his further education both at home and abroad . With Watson as benefactor , Hochstein studied under Otakar Ševčík in Vienna and later Leopold Auer in Saint Petersburg . By 1914 , Watson had prevailed upon George Eastman , the photography magnate who was Rochester ' s most influential philanthropist and artistic patron , to loan a pair of violins to Hochstein . One of the violins was a 1715 Stradivarius ; the other was a 1735 Landolfi . Hochstein began playing across the United States and Europe , making his Carnegie Hall debut in 1915 . By this time , it was clear Hochstein was a rising star and destined for greatness . He made his only recordings for Emerson Records in early 1917 , of Fritz Kreisler ' s " Liebesleid " , Cesar Cui ' s " Orientale " , and his own arrangement of a waltz in A major by Johannes Brahms . By the time World War I began , Jacob Hochstein had died , and David was the sole support for his mother . His aunt , Goldman , warned him away from enlisting in the military , but Hochstein was torn . He was no fan of the war , but he felt a responsibility to his country and some guilt about using his talents to avoid making the same sacrifices as his peers . He initially received a hardship exemption from military service , due to his mother being widowed , but thought better of it and had the exemption rescinded . He joined the United States Army in October 1917 and specifically requested assignment to a combat unit . Nonetheless , he continued playing while he was in the service . The last time Hochstein played the Stradivarius was March 8 , 1918 , at a recital attended by Margaret Woodrow Wilson , daughter of the President , at Camp Upton on Long Island . The next day , during a trip by the Camp ' s vaudeville troupe to Rockville Center , the bus carrying the troupe broke down and crashed . There were no injuries , but the violin ended up in pieces . Hochstein returned to Rochester with the violin , where Eastman apparently arranged for its repair ; the violin has been recorded as in the possession of John Friedrich & Brothers in New York City by 1919 , and since 1959 as in the ownership of virtuoso Steven Staryk . Hochstein was killed in October 1918 , a casualty of the Meuse - Argonne Offensive in France , the last major Allied offensive of the war . Helena Hochstein died within the year . Legacy . Reportedly , before leaving for war , Hochstein had expressed a desire to sponsor an effort to educate the underprivileged of Rochester in the musical arts , in such a way that cost to the students and their families would not be an obstacle . In Hochstein ' s memory , then , Emily Sibley Watson and George Eastman , with support from others , undertook to create a lasting memorial . Two benefit concerts were held in 1919 , and Watson purchased the vacant Hochstein home , which then became the locus of the David Hochstein Music School Settlement . The school , with a sliding tuition scale based on a family ' s ability to pay , admitted its first students in February 1920 . The first director of the school was Harold Gleason , Eastman ' s personal organist . The school quickly joined the forefront of community music education in the United States , a burgeoning movement that took off in the postwar years . Today , the school , now called the Hochstein School of Music & Dance , still teaches music to members of the Rochester community , and still offering tuition assistance to avoid turning anyone away . The school outgrew its quarters twice and now resides on Plymouth Avenue in downtown Rochester . Notable alumni include bandleader Mitch Miller and Broadway actress Donna Lynne Champlin .