Jascha Heifetz

Rare footage of Heifetz at the height of his career. This is the introduction to the "Heifetz & Piatigorsky" DVD produced by KULTUR. Most of the Heifetz footage from that DVD (Paganini Caprice, Wieniawski, etc.) have already been posted so this is for those who are really interested in learning more about this great violinist.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• violin
• music
• video
• Jascha
• Heifetz

[aimson]

One other comment: My teacher always told me that Heifetz would play almost nothing but scales before performing. I'm sure that's an exaggeration but probably not by much. Once you know exactly how you want to play, it is the beauty in the scales and intervals that ultimately provides the foundation for beauty in the music. Kind of makes scales seem like more than just finger warm-ups or technique building. Food for thought...

[v3zah]

i recently bought an old violin that has a short bridge, compared to these in the video, and compared to another violin i had. do you guys know of any difference in tone quality if a violin has a shorter bridge?

[aimson]

@v3zah Well, I'm guessing that a shorter bridge creates lower tension in the strings, which would lead to lower sound volume and maybe clarity of tone. It might depend on the length of the violin or strings used though. Obviously, a tall bridge isn't better than a short bridge, but a bridge too short could dampen the sound too much. I'm totally guessing though, I'm not an expert.

[aimson]

It's worth watching this over and over just to hear Heifetz make mistakes. Maybe he is human, after all!

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

@aimson Heifetz never made any mistakes, he did them on purpose. He was just testing you

[aimson]

@AbsoluteZ3R0 "Please, for the sake of good, please make some mistakes so that we know you are human!" I can't remember who said that but it makes me smile every time. Oh, maybe Ivry Gitlis in the Art of Violin. You know, in a way, I get mad at Heifetz for his perfectionism sometimes. Before he came on the scene, making mistakes was a part of performance and no big deal. Now, we have musicians who exchange creativity and ingenuity for safety, convention, and technical perfection.

[shellymclean450000]

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[Crashof2008]

Oh come on Absolute Zero, who are you kidding? Pagani

ni was a perfectionist.

[punkypenguin321]

@andrewyick all instruments go out of tune quickly. Changes in humidity and string stretching happen constantly. Strings go out of tune the moment you finish tuning them.

[andrewyick]

How was his violin so out of tune when it was in the case?

[flutewarrior1]

where is the other part to this?

[ksviewerx]

@avenging209 At 4:49, it's from the Bach Chaccone. Just listen to it you'll get it halfway through the first part or so...