Jascha Heifetz's Memorable Rendition of Tchaikovsky's 'Unplayable’ Concerto
Jascha Heifetz's Memorable Rendition of Tchaikovsky's 'Unplayable’ Concerto By Ronald F. Owens, Jr.
March 2, 2011 In 1878, Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), my favorite classical music composer, composed Concerto in D, Op. 35 for Leopold Auer (1845-1930), “who was perhaps the most noted virtuoso and certainly the greatest teacher of his time,” according to the “Brahms & Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos -- Heifetz/Reiner's” compact disc (CD) liner notes. Tchaikovsky was disappointed because Auer wouldn't play it. The piece was so difficult, Auer deemed it “unplayable.” But Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky (1851-1929) played it in on December 4, 1881 in Vienna. I guess Brodsky did all right. But he wasn't good enough for Auer's standards. An aging Auer introduced the violin concerto to his young prodigy -- Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987). Heifetz's first public concert -- at ten years old -- was in St. Petersburg on April 30, 1911. Throughout his life, Heifetz traveled more than two million miles. According to this CD liner notes, most of those miles was traveled on behalf of World War II troops. Heifetz had a “prodigious recording program,” appeared in concerts, on radio, in several films and TV programs. Heifetz also taught. After many, many years of countless performances, Heifetz had become a worldwide renown violinist. Thus on April 19, 1957, just under a month before I was born in Japan, Heifetz played Tchaikovsky's Concerto in D, Op. 35 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As a child growing up, I listened to Heifetz's Living Stereo RCA Victor rendition of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto on a record player, thanks to my father, who played French Horn in the United States Air Force and my Mother, who was a violinist throughout high school. Indeed, one of my many fondest childhood memories is repeatedly hearing and listening to this record. Fortunately for classical music lovers, this April 19, 1957 recording was digitally remastered and converted in 1993 to CD! Years later, I downloaded the CD on my desktop computer. That nearly 54-year-old recording is now memorialized in my iPod, iPhone and iPad. My favorite part of Heifetz's interpretation of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto is eight minutes and 25 seconds into the first movement. One can hear, and certainly attest, why Auer said 79 years earlier that Tchaikovsky's violin concerto was indeed “unplayable.” Because Heifetz's plays a most impressive, most impeccable and most impassioned one minute and 25 second solo. No other violinist has interpreted Tchaikovsky's Concerto in D, Op. 35 like the late, great Jascha Heifetz! Here is the Wikipedia link of Jascha Heifetz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jascha_Heifetz Here is the illustration that appeared on the record and now on the CD jewel case: http://pixhost.info/pictures/973245
March 2, 2011 In 1878, Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), my favorite classical music composer, composed Concerto in D, Op. 35 for Leopold Auer (1845-1930), “who was perhaps the most noted virtuoso and certainly the greatest teacher of his time,” according to the “Brahms & Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos -- Heifetz/Reiner's” compact disc (CD) liner notes. Tchaikovsky was disappointed because Auer wouldn't play it. The piece was so difficult, Auer deemed it “unplayable.” But Russian violinist Adolf Brodsky (1851-1929) played it in on December 4, 1881 in Vienna. I guess Brodsky did all right. But he wasn't good enough for Auer's standards. An aging Auer introduced the violin concerto to his young prodigy -- Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987). Heifetz's first public concert -- at ten years old -- was in St. Petersburg on April 30, 1911. Throughout his life, Heifetz traveled more than two million miles. According to this CD liner notes, most of those miles was traveled on behalf of World War II troops. Heifetz had a “prodigious recording program,” appeared in concerts, on radio, in several films and TV programs. Heifetz also taught. After many, many years of countless performances, Heifetz had become a worldwide renown violinist. Thus on April 19, 1957, just under a month before I was born in Japan, Heifetz played Tchaikovsky's Concerto in D, Op. 35 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. As a child growing up, I listened to Heifetz's Living Stereo RCA Victor rendition of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto on a record player, thanks to my father, who played French Horn in the United States Air Force and my Mother, who was a violinist throughout high school. Indeed, one of my many fondest childhood memories is repeatedly hearing and listening to this record. Fortunately for classical music lovers, this April 19, 1957 recording was digitally remastered and converted in 1993 to CD! Years later, I downloaded the CD on my desktop computer. That nearly 54-year-old recording is now memorialized in my iPod, iPhone and iPad. My favorite part of Heifetz's interpretation of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto is eight minutes and 25 seconds into the first movement. One can hear, and certainly attest, why Auer said 79 years earlier that Tchaikovsky's violin concerto was indeed “unplayable.” Because Heifetz's plays a most impressive, most impeccable and most impassioned one minute and 25 second solo. No other violinist has interpreted Tchaikovsky's Concerto in D, Op. 35 like the late, great Jascha Heifetz! Here is the Wikipedia link of Jascha Heifetz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jascha_Heifetz Here is the illustration that appeared on the record and now on the CD jewel case: http://pixhost.info/pictures/973245
