Gingold was born in Brest-Litovsk, Russian Empire (now Brest, Belarus), and emigrated in 1920 to the United States where he studied violin with Vladimir Graffman in New York City. He then moved to Belgium for several years to study with master violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. He gave the first performance of Ysaÿe's 3rd Sonata for Solo Violin. In 1937, Gingold won a spot in the NBC Symphony Orchestra, with Arturo Toscanini as its conductor. He then served as the concertmaster (and occasional soloist) of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and later was the Cleveland Orchestra's concertmaster under conductor George Szell.