Life and Career
Laub was born in Prague. Due to the influence of his father Erasmus Laub (1794–1865), Ferdinand's first public appearance happened when he was 6 years old. At the age of 10 he had his own concert in Stavovské divadlo (a theater in Prague). From 1843–1846 he studied at the conservatory in Prague. Laub started his career as a virtuoso in Vienna, at the imperial court. In 1850 he traveled across Europe with a string of exhibitions. He stayed for a longer time in Weimar and Berlin (1855-62 as professor at the Stern Conservatory). From 1866–1874 he was professor of violin studies at the Moscow Conservatory.
Laub was a well-admired violinist, winning awards all over Europe; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky called him "the best violinist of our time". He was the first violinist in the premiere performances of both Tchaikovsky's First and Second String Quartets, and the posthumous dedicatee of the Third of 1876. In January 1868 during Hector Berlioz's second trip to Moscow, Laub performed the solo viola part of his Harold en Italie at the Moscow Conservatory under the baton of the composer.
In 1874, lung disease forced him to stop working. He was succeeded at Moscow Conservatory by Jan Hřímalý. Laub died on the way to a spa in Meran, in Gries near Bolzano. He is interred at Vyšehrad cemetery.
His son Váša Laub (1857–1911) was also a violinist and composer.
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