Bronislaw Huberman was one of the towering figures of violinists of his generation. Yet despite lavish praise from Fürtwangler, Toscanini, Walter, and other major conductors and artists, he remained controversial throughout his career, owing to his highly individual style of interpretation and to a technique that, while not weak or unimpressive, lacked the consistency in difficult passages of the finest virtuosos. His career was also interrupted at times by world events and personal setbacks. The theft of his Stradivarius, which wasn't found until nearly 40 years after his death, is still a major episode in his biographies. Yet his influence among musicians remains important, not only as an interpreter, but also as founder of the Palestine Symphony Orchestra in 1936 (later, the Israel Philharmonic), which saved many European Jewish musicians and their families from the horrors of WW II.