Child of a psychologist and a therapist, Joshua Bell did not take the usual early pedagogic path for a violinist. He was interested in computer games and sports more than music, coming fourth in a national tennis competition at the age of ten. He was, however, given a violin at the age of five after his parents saw him plucking elastic bands like a musical instrument, imitating his mother playing the piano.

Taught initially by Donna Bricht, then Mimi Zweig (who has developed child string pedagogy in various US institutions), he later became a protégé of Josef Gingold and began to take the violin seriously. Lessons with Gingold were augmented by masterclasses with Galamian and Szeryng. Of Gingold, Bell says: ‘I was extremely fortunate to have stud...