This famous violinist is going to surf into Sheila's Corner
With his fast bow glinting in the spotlight
There he goes--------------

Jascha Heifetz is the most famous violinist of this century. He was born February 2, 1901 in Vilna, Lithuania and died November 12, 1987 in Los Angles, California. Jascha began to learn the violin when he was only 3 years old. He gave his first concert at the age of 7 and made his first recording when he was 10 years old.
He studied with Leopold Auer in St. Petersburg. During the Russian Revolution his family moved to America and in 1917, when he was 16 years old he debuted in Carnegie Hall. He became an American citizen in 1925. In his early years he had a Park Avenue apartment in NYC. Heifetz had a son and daughter while married to Florence Vidor, a silent movie actress, and a son with his second wife,divorcing his second wife about 1964 and lived 22 more years in Beverly Hills California where in the early 1960's he taught many famous master classes at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. The USC masterclasses were recorded on video tape in two volumes.

Sites about Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz - Classical Notes
Official Jascha Heifetz Webpage
Jascha Heifetz Society

I added this picture because I thought you would enjoy it. Many of us are not in a position to own such a wonderful artifact of violin playing. Thank you, David Sanders for sharing this picture. If anyone is interested in purchase, the details are below.
Signed Photo - 1914 © David Sanders

Jascha Heifetz went to school at the Royal School of Vilna but soon began to study violin with Leopold Auer at the conservatory of St. Petersburg. On october 28, 1917 when he was only sixteen years old, he played at Carnegie Hall. He was accompanied by Andre Benoist and Jascha played the Wieniawski D minor Concerto, Paganini's Twenty-Fourth Caprice, and the Vitali Chaconne.

Heifetz believed:
• A student should spend more than half his pratice time on scales in all rhythms and bowings and double stops
• When he judged a young violin student, he would ask hiim to play a 3 or 4 octave scale and watch his finger action, shifting, string change and intonation
• Students can improve their vibrato if they become sensitive and susceptible to beautiful vibratos performed by others. Vibrato is a part of each individual personality
• Carl Flesch studies for the trill used without the bow are the best
• For bow changes at the frog, the player should have the feeling that the bow is a continuation of the arm and part of the wrist.

The old music conservatoire of the university
where Heifetz used to have lessons
and where he was "heard" by Leopold Auer
when the latter came through Vilnius
picture © Harry Collier