Born of wealthy parents, but shunned by his father, Yong Ku Ahn suffered through a stormy and traumatic childhood, and in his loneliness, taught himself to play the violin. Born in 1928 in Wonsan, in what is today North Korea, Ahn’s early childhood included parental rejection and a debilitating bout of polio that cut him off from his family and their social milieu. It was music and the violin in particular that saved him. Until Ahn was accepted into Kyungsung Music School, which later became th...