Jascha Heifetz

Jascha Heifetz , born the February 2nd 1901 with Vilnius and dead the December 10th 1987 with Los Angeles, is a American naturalized Violoniste Russian (1925).

Biography

Child prodigy, virtuoso with the démoniaque talent and spearhead of a generation which remains still one of best the " cuvées" history of its art, the violonist Jascha (to pronounce ïacha) Heifetz deserves to appear in with dimensions of a Niccolo Paganini or a Joseph Joachim in the Pantheon of the most outstanding figures which ever the violin knew.

Born at dawn from the 20th century century in Vilna (current Vilnius), in Lithuania, Heifetz begins the violin with his/her Reuven father at the three years age, continues as of the five years age its formation with the Royale academy of Music of Vilna (with Ilva Davidovich Malkin), and fact has Kovno brilliantly (current the Kaunas) its public beginnings the following year (1907) by carrying out the Concerto of Mendelssohn .

Graduate of the music school at seven years, Heifetz undertakes a series of rounds in Lithuania and gains the reputation to be “most phenomenal of the child prodigies of his time. ”

At nine years, it enters the class of famous the Leopold Auer (1845-1930). Dedicatee of the concerto of Tchaikovsky (which he refused), and professor in particular of Nathan Milstein, Auer had granted bad grace a hearing to this Wunderkind (he hated the so-called child prodigies viscéralement) but he described as “turn of sorcery” the service which offered to him Heifetz (the 24 {{E}} Caprice of Paganini, followed Concerto of Mendelssohn ) and at once admitted it in its class. Begin one then fulgurating career, with its first Russian recordings of discs at the time of its tenth birthday (six of these recordings were found, under the label Gramophon Corporation and Sound Recording , after a 90 years eclipse), followed by its first concert the April 30th 1911 to Saint Petersbourg. Will follow the Germany, the Austria, and the Scandinavia.

Arthur Nikisch (1835-1922) offers the 12 year old to boy to replace Pablo Casals, patient, in an execution of the concerto for violin of Tchaïkovsky to Berlin. Apparently, Heifetz had never played this part in public and had not received that a 24 hours notice, but it was carried out top of an elevated platform and dazzles the assistance and the orchestra by its control and its sensitivity. --> When bursts the Russian revolution, in 1917, Heifetz leaves the Russia with its family at the price of great difficulties, and emigrates with the the United States, according to the example of its professor, and of the majority of its pupils. Its beginnings with the Carnegie Hall, the October 27th of the same year, in front of all the large ones of the violin of its time, will remain a long time in the memories. Famous the Fritz Kreisler, then in disgrace to have been Austrian officer, will say at the conclusion of the representation: One can break our bows on our knees . In fact, Heifetz signed the birth certificate of a new generation of violonists to the extraordinary talent, that of Nathan Milstein (1903), David Oïstrakh (1908), of Yehudi Menuhin (1916) and so much of others, with the detriment of the " old woman école".

Following the concert of Carnegie hall, begins a long collaboration between Heifetz and RCA Victor for a multitude from recordings which will make date in the history of the music, although one reproaches them a poor quality due to a recurring installation of the microphone too much close to the violin.

American citizen as from 1925, Heifetz continues his career on the five continents. Refusing to let itself dictate the contents of its program by political considerations, he will escape an attempted murder (in 1953) made by an Jewish extremist from Jerusalem following his decision to persist in playing a part of Richard Strauss, in spite of the hostility of the Israeli government towards this type-setter suspected of sympathies with the Nazism. Wounded with the right-hand man with iron changes of course, Heifetz will have to cancel its last concert and will not remettera any more the feet in the country during decades, although it is of Jew confession.

He will continue his activities of concert performer until 1962, moment when he will estimate to have to withdraw itself, rather than to see its capacities declining and tarnishing its reputation. He will occur however on some occasions, until his ultimate concert of good-bye given in 1972. Acclaimed on the five continents, Heifetz saw during these a few 65 years career to dedicate concertos, in particular of Louis Grunberg and William Walton. Its trio, with Gregor Piatigorsky (violoncello) and Arthur Rubinstein (piano) remains also one of the great moments of the history of the music.

Once to the retirement, Heifetz was devoted to teaching and the Chamber music between friends. Among its pupils, talented Erick Friedman undoubtedly remains most known, but a generation of American violonists remains marked by this exceptional personality which dies out victim of an infarction with Beverly Hills, in 1987.

Violins of Jascha Heifetz

At the beginning of its career, he played on a Carlo Tononi, an Italian instrument of the XVIIIe century with which he had made his American beginnings. Then it bought, in 1922, the famous David , a Guarnerius del Gesù (1742) which had belonged to Ferdinand David then with Pablo de Sarasate and with August Wilhelmj. It had also three Stradivarius, the Piel (1731), the Dolphin (1714), which was also the instrument of Mischa Mischakoff, and the Hochstein (1715) on which had played Joseph Joachim and Franz Kneisel.

Jascha Heifetz, play and personality

Often described like cold, stripped of feeling, and exclusively virtuoso, the play of Heifetz was very early exposed to criticisms which were undoubtedly not without relationship with a personality of a causticity and an austerity without similar. If it is true that many its pupils describe it like a tyrannical Master, sometimes cruel, and that nobody never praised himself to have seen Heifetz smiling in public, its sonority of a crystalline limpidity and its Vibrato extraordinarily cordial, but a control of the sentences of a sensitivity except standard leave think that it never was but about one prejudice. Its play, of an incomparable virtuosity never yields to vanity nor with the number of circus, as quality testifies some to its recordings of " parts of genre" in particular its transcription of the Hora Staccato passage of Dinicu.

In spite of a reputation of avarice and legendary antipathy, much of those which knew it closely grant to find a humor and an extraordinary intelligence to him. Pierre Amoyal, his only true " élève" , will describe how Heifetz, one day, sobrement had sobrement offered a Guarneri custom to him. Its meetings of master-class filmed by American television remain great moments d'" cold humor " , interfered with a rigor and a terrifying requirement. “One can be more demanding with the others only one is not it with oneself”, will say the Master one day. That summarizes certainly a great part of the mystery and psychology of this man out of the commun run.

Quotations

"You know, child prodigism - yew I may corner has Word - has disease which is generally fatal. I was among the few to cuts the good fortune to survives. Goal I had the advantage off has great teacher in Professor Auer and has family that instinctively had has high glance for music, very good taste and has horror off mediocrity." ( You know, " the child prodigisme" - if I then to invent this term - is a generally fatal disease. I was among the rare ones which had good fortune to survive it. But I have the chance to have a large professor in the person of Professor Auer and a family which instinctively held the music in high regard, very had good taste and the horror of the mediocrity. ) - Jascha Heifetz

Zh-min-nan: Jascha Heifetz

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