Kató Havas (1920-2018) was a Hungarian-born, British violinist and teacher, best known for her ground-breaking 'New Approach' to violin playing which aims to eliminate physical tension in playing and reduce 'stage fright'. Born in the Transylvanian town of Keszdivasarhely on 5 Nov 1920, she became something of a child prodigy, giving her first professional recital at the age of seven and studying at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with Imre Waldbauer from the age of eight. Part of the inspiration for her philosophy was the carefree playing of the Gypsy violinists that she heard in her native country as a child. At the age of 18, she embarked on a short concert tour of the USA, giving her Carnegie Hall debut on 10 Oct 1939, but was unable to return to her native Hungary because of the war and the subsequent Russian occupation.

In America, she married the author William Woods but she settled in England where she wrote her first book A New Approach to Violin Playing, ran courses for young violinists and later founded the Purbeck Festival of Music. She settled in Oxford but lectured regularly abroad and ran many workshops, building a loyal following of string players who had themselves benefitted from her remarkable teaching. In 1985, her pupils formed KHANA (The Kató Havas Association for the New Approach) to help promote her philosophy more widely. In 1990, Havas received the International Award from the American String Teachers' Association. In 2002, she was awarded the OBE by HM Queen Elizabeth. She gave her last KHANA workshop at St Edmund Hall in Oxford in 1990 but continued to teach and inspire well into her 90s. She died in Oxford on 31 Dec 2018, aged 98.