Károly Schranz was born in 1952 in Budapest, Hungary. His first musical experiences were listening to the gypsy bands in restaurants, which he has always admired for their virtuosity and musicianship. He began playing the violin at the age of four, and at the age of fourteen he entered the Béla Bartók Secondary Music School, where he met his future wife, also a violin student at the school. He was the recipient of the Franz Liszt Prize in 1983. Since 1986 Mr Schranz and his wife and three daughters have made their home in Boulder, Colorado, where they often go hiking. He also loves to play tennis.