Jascha Heifetz Collection
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The collection contains primarily sound recordings of performances of Jascha Heifetz, but it also includes recordings of other artists, some of whom were collaborators with Heifetz, as well as one recording of his teacher, Leopold Auer. There are 924 recordings on 10" and 12" sound discs, including test pressings, instantaneous discs and commercially released records. Most of the discs are 78 rpm recordings, but there are also a few 33 1/2 rpm 12" discs. In addition to audio discs, the collection contains 88 recordings on magnetic tape which consist of 1/4" tape on 10" reels. 61 of the tapes, made between December 14, 1954 and November 21, 1972, include date information on the boxes. 27 of the tapes are in boxes which are undated; however, recording dates for most of those tapes have been provided in the donor's inventory.
Description
| Alternative title | Heifetz Collection |
|---|---|
| Uniform title | Bell Telephone hour (Radio program) |
| Type of resource | mixed material |
| Extent | 17.8 linear feet (27 boxes) |
| Place | United States |
| Publication date | 1911 - 1972 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
| Note | The Jascha Heifetz Collection was assembled and donated by the long-time friend and record producer of Mr. Heifetz, John (Jack) Pfeiffer, in January and July 1990. The collection consists of 924 sound discs, which include 10" and 12" instantaneous discs, test pressings and commercially released discs, housed in 21 boxes, and there are also 88 10" open reel tapes, which are housed in 5 boxes. The recordings were made between 1911 and 1972, and most of them contain performances by Heifetz, but many of the discs came from Heifetz's personal collection and contain performances by other artists. The collection also includes the donor's printed inventory which is kept in a file separate from the rest of the collection. |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Heifetz, Jascha, 1901-1987 | |
|---|---|---|
| Associated name | Pfeiffer, John, 1920-1996 | |
| Associated name | Auer, Leopold, 1845-1930 | |
| Associated name | RCA Victor Records |
Subjects
| Subject | Heifetz, Jascha, 1901-1987 |
|---|---|
| Subject | Violinists > United States |
| Subject | Violin with orchestra |
| Subject | Violin and piano music |
| Subject | Violin music |
| Subject | Concertos (Violin) |
| Subject | Sonatas (Violin and piano) |
| Subject | Trios (Piano, violin, viola) |
| Subject | Piano quartets |
| Genre | Test pressings (sound recordings) |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical/Historical | Jascha Heifetz, legendary American violinist, was born in Vilnius on February 2, 1901. His first teacher was his own father, but he also studied with Elias Malkin before being accepted into the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1910. He studied first with Leopold Auer's assistant, Nalbandyan, and then with Auer himself. Heifetz had impressed audiences from the age of six when he performed Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. At the age of ten he performed in St. Petersburg, and his highly successful Berlin debut took place on May 23, 1912. Later that same year he performed with the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Arthur Nikisch. In 1917 Heifetz was offered the opportunity to perform a concert tour of the United States, and on October 27 that year he made his Carnegie Hall debut. In 1925 Heifetz became an American citizen. During the early 1920s Heifetz performed in England, Australia and East Asia, and later in the decade he performed in Palestine. In 1934 he made a return concert visit to Russia. After the Second World War Heifetz reduced the number of his concert appearances although he made notable appearances with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1967 and at Carnegie Hall, where he performed collaboratively three times in 1964 with several artists, including Piatigorsky. Other musicians with whom Heifetz collaborated in chamber concerts were Emanuel Feuermann, William Primrose and Artur Rubinstein. Beginning in 1962, Heifetz taught at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles and was the first faculty member to hold the Heifetz Chair in Music which was established in 1975. Throughout his life Heifetz made numerous recordings on major labels such as Columbia, Decca and Gramophone, but the largest number of recordings he made were for the Victor/RCA Victor label. He composed music himself and also wrote numerous transcriptions for the violin. Under the alias Jim Hoyle, he wrote the hit song "When You Make Love to Me (Don't Make Believe)" which was sung by Bing Crosby. Heifetz also commissioned and performed several new concertos, of which probably the most well-known is the Violin Concerto by William Walton. Other concertos commissioned by Heifetz include those by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Louis Gruenberg and Arnold Schoenberg (which Heifetz never played). |
|---|---|
| Location |
|
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/fd004qk6100 |
| Location | Finding aid available online |
| Location | Stanford Archive of Recoded Sound, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif. 94305. |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- Property rights reside with the repository. Literary rights reside with the creators of the documents or their heirs. To obtain permission to publish or reproduce, please contact the Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound at soundarchive@stanford.edu.