Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881), the Belgian violinist and composer, whose virtuoso works for violin are highly esteemed by violinists, was born in Verviers. He studied under the famed Belgian violinist Charles Auguste de Beriot (1802-1870). Vieuxtemps toured widely in Europe and the United States, was court violinist to Nicholas I of Russia and taught at the Brussels Conservatory. His second (1840) and fifth (1858) violin concertos are his best-known works.