See biographies by J. Pulver (1936, repr. 1970) and S. S. Stratton (1971).
It is widely considered one of the most difficult pieces written for the solo violin. It requires many highly advanced techniques such as parallel octaves and rapid shifting covering many intervals, extremely fast scales and arpeggios including minor scales in thirds and tenths, left hand pizzicato, high positions, and quick string crossing. As a result, many violinists after studying for many years still lack the technique required for such a demanding piece.