Search - Jascha Heifetz :: Heifetz Rediscovered (Dlx)

Does Heifetz really need to be "rediscovered?" One of the greatest violinists of his own or any other time, his name, though he died 15 years ago, has lost none of its luster, and his lasting fame is assured through his enormous discography, which captures his matchless art with astonishing fidelity. In 1994, RCA itself issued a 65-CD set of his "approved" recordings; this new release presents what was omitted as "unapproved." Though the Heifetz estate supported the project, one cannot help wondering what the violinist himself, famous for his stringent self-criticism and perfectionism, would have thought of it. However, even a less than top-drawer Heifetz performance is eminently worth hearing, and though on this reissue, the music, the playing, and the recorded sound vary in quality, the best parts fully display his unique, inimitable magic: the breathtaking virtuosity, the incomparably beautiful tone, the unmistakably elegant style! The original recordings of the short pieces were made acoustically in 1922 and '24; their age shows in the background noise and in the choice of sentimental and stylistically inappropriate transcriptions along with real violin pieces by Wieniawski and Sarasate. All are played marvelously. A half-jazzy four-hand piano arrangement of a Spanish song by Padilla, played by Heifetz and Isidore Achron with unbridled relish, adds a light touch. In the sonatas, the piano sounds distant, harsh, and unresonant. Brahms's G-major Sonata is disappointing: very fast, prosaic, unromantic, full of slides, and false accents; in the Finale, a frequently misread piano note goes undetected. Grieg's C-minor Sonata, however, is wonderful: dramatic, wistful, charming, elegant, restrained, but so warm and passionate that it should lay to rest forever the illusion that Heifetz was a cold player. --Edith Eisler