John Smyth wrote:

> ... Within a seemingly unbroken arc of supreme concentration from
>beginning to end, Heifetz' crisp articulation, his lighting and shading
>of the different variations, unabashed virtuosity, and finally his
>clarity of the different lines kept me entranced throughout.

Nothing "seeming" about that concentration!  When I was eight years old,
I had just started studying the violin. My parents took me to a Heifetz
recital, and the Chaccone was an encore. It totally knocked me out. I
was hearing three, four lines and watching only one person play.  I was
his fan for life.

> I looked for reviews to see what others felt and other
> than positive nods towards Heifetz' virtuosity, many felt
> that his Chaconne as too "cool."

This has been a slander I just never understood! He looked composed when
he played, didn't make faces or emote, but everything important can be
heard in his music. With technical skill to spare, he could do ANYTHING
and make it look easy.

> I don't like his Sibelius Violin Concerto at all (where's the "heart"
>in the slow mov't?)

Oh, please listen again. Heifetz is a master of "parlando" ... there
is a hushed place in that movement where there are detached notes in
a short phrase, repeated once again, and expanded a bit ... it's ALL
emotion.  He makes his violin speak the international language. I hear
PLENTY of heart. I also hear perfect intonation and phrasing, a practical
violin-player's dictionary of sliding and varied vibrato, and bowing
beyond compare. The man revolutionized violin playing.  Of course he did
more than one recording of the Sibelius. Perhaps the one I heard is
different from yours.

Mimi Ezust

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