The Gibson ex-Huberman Stradivarius violin, which bears his name, was stolen twice and recovered once during the period in which he owned the instrument.

In his youth he was a pupil of Mieczysław Michałowicz and Maurycy Rosen at the Warsaw Conservatory, and of Isidor Lotto in Paris.

Despite being only ten years old, he dazzled Joachim with performances of Louis Spohr, Henri Vieuxtemps, and the transcription of a Frédéric Chopin nocturne.

Rubinstein's parents invited Huberman back to their house and the two boys struck up what would become a lifetime friendship.

In 1894 Adelina Patti invited Huberman to participate in her farewell gala in London, which he did, and in the following year he actually eclipsed her in appearances in Vienna.

[5][6] In the 1920s and early 1930s, Huberman toured around Europe and North America with the pianist Siegfried Schultze and performed on the most famous stages (Carnegie in New York, Scala in Milan, Musikverein in Vienna, Konzerthaus in Berlin....).

The following year, his career nearly ended as a result of an airplane accident in Sumatra in which his wrist and two fingers of his left hand were broken.

For the orchestra, Huberman recruited leading Jewish musicians from Europe, showing "the prescience to realize that far more than a new job was at stake for these artists"—for "if it hadn't been for Huberman, dozens of musicians and their families—nearly 1000 people in all—would nearly certainly have died if they had stayed in countries including Germany, Austria, Poland and Hungary.

The first concert, on 26 December 1936, was conducted by Arturo Toscanini; Huberman had invited the Italian maestro when he heard of his refusing to perform in Germany to protest the Nazi takeover.

The film also details how famous Jews and leading historical figures, such as Albert Einstein, were vital in creating the orchestra.