Violin Virtuoso Jascha Heifetz Died in 1987 – Aged 86

A protege of Leopold Auer, he is remembered as one of the greatest violinist of all time - with his technical command and precision regarded by many as unequalled

 

Born in 1901 in Vilnius, Heifetz was recognized as a child prodigy, making his public debut at seven in Kovno (now Kaunas, Lithuania) playing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor.

At nine, he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied under the noted violinist and teacher Leopold Auer. His first Berlin appearance in 1912 led to an invitation from the celebrated conductor Arthur Nikisch to play Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic. He toured Europe from age 12.

In 1917, he fled the Russian Revolution and moved to the United States as a teenager, his US debut was at Carnegie Hall which was rapturously received. After the concert, Fritz Kreisler said, "We might as well take our fiddles and break them across our knees."

The New York Times hailed him as "perhaps the greatest violinist of all time" and he was the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Due to an injury to his bow arm, he switched his focus to teaching, giving masterclasses at UCLA and privately at his Beverly Hills home.

During his teaching career Heifetz taught, among others, Erick Friedman, Pierre Amoyal, Rudolf Koelman, Endre Granat, Teiji Okubo, Eugene Fodor, Paul Rosenthal, Ilkka Talvi, and Ayke Agus.

 

For much of his career, he concertized on the 1742 ex-David Guarneri del Gesu.

 

"You must preserve your enthusiasm for playing. Loss of that enthusiasm is deadly to musicianship."- Jascha Heifetz

 

JASCHA HEIFETZ | BACH | CHACONNE