Antonio Brosa was a Spanish violinist (1894-1979). He was a great friend of Benjamin Britten, who consulted him on the difficulties of Britten's concerto. He premiered Benjamin Britten's violin concerto op. 15 at Carnegie Hall on 28th March 1940, playing on his Vesuvius Stradivarius of 1727 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, with John Barbirolli conducting. This performance launched his career as a solo violinist. The Vesuvius Strad later belonged to Remo Lauricella, UK based concert violinist/composer
He was the leader of a famous string quartet of his own name. He disbanded this quartet in 1939 and he played modern works of Michael Berkeley, Edmund Rubbra, and Michael Tippett He was also the leader of the Pro Arte String Quartet in US. Brosa was fluent in 5 languages.[1]