Born to impoverished Jewish parents in Russian-controlled Odesa, Lea Luboshutz (1885-1965) improbably rose to become one of the first internationally known female violinists. But as Thomas Wolf details here, Luboshutz's dramatic rise as an artist was further accentuated by her scandalous relationship with the married revolutionary, Onissim Goldovsky, with whom she had three children. Luboshutz also weathered the Russian Revolution and taught at Philadelphia's prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, and in this "sensitive, perceptive biography" (Kirkus Reviews), she crosses paths with Pablo Casals, Isadora Duncan, Emile Zola, and Leo Tolstoy.