Rosina Lhevinne was born in Kiev, Russia in 1880. She made her debut in Moscow in 1895, which was followed by a tour of European capitals. She married Josef Lhevinne and settled in New York City after World War I. She made her U.S. debut in 1923 and went on to teach at Juilliard, but curtailed her solo career during the rest of her husband's life. She then re-emerged in occasional chamber-music and concerto performances that earned her great acclaim during her later years. She died in 1976.