David Hochstein was born the son of immigrant parents living in Rochester, New York at the beginning of the twentieth century. Growing up, he was soon recognized as a violin prodigy and studied with some of the finest violin teachers in the world.

His future seemed set in music. But after America’s entry into the GREAT WAR in 1917, things changed for David. He became personally inspired by the display of “bravura” shown by great composers like Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. And despite the insistence of family and friends, he traded his violin for a rifle.