The Austrian violinist and composer Jakob Dont (1815-1888) very early became a member of the Vienna Hofburg Theatre later of the Court Chapel. Although he had made a name for himself as a soloist he decided in favour of a career in education. For his instrument the violin he wrote about 50 works most of them modern opera pot-pourris and character pieces which are forgotten today. Apart from the preliminary exercises for Kreutzer and Rohde his 'Studies and Caprices' (opus 35) however have become an integral part of violin lessons. Praised by Joachim Auer and Flesch these outstanding studies were edited by Max Rostal in consideration of a modern violin technique andcomplemented by preparatory exercises and variants.
