Jascha Heifetz: Early Years in Russia

504 Pages·24.205 MB·English

by  Galina Kopytova, Dario Sarlo, Alexandra Sarlo

Jascha heifetz
5
Russian Music Studies Malcolm Hamrick Brown, Founding Editor
Jascha
heifetz
Early Years in Russia
5
Galina Kopytova
with the collaboration of
Albina Starkova-Heifetz
Translated and edited by
Dario Sarlo & Alexandra Sarlo
Indiana University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis
This book is a publication of Manufactured in the
United States of America
Indiana University Press
Office of Scholarly Publishing Library of Congress
Herman B Wells Library 350 Cataloging-in-Publication Data
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA Kopytova, G. V., author.
[Iasha Kheifets v Rossii. English]
iupress.indiana.edu Jascha Heifetz : early years in Russia /
Galina Kopytova with the collaboration of
Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Albina Starkova-Heifetz ; translated and
Fax orders 812-855-7931 edited by Dario Sarlo and Alexandra Sarlo.
pages cm. — (Russian music studies)
© 2014 by Indiana University Press “This work appeared originally in
This work appeared originally in Russian Russian as Jascha Heifetz in Russia
as Jascha Heifetz in Russia: From the : from the history of the musical
History of the Musical Culture of the culture of the Silver Age by Galina
Silver Age by Galina Kopytova (Russian Kopytova. ? 2004 Kompozitor, St.
Institute for the History of the Arts). Petersburg.”—Title page verso.
© 2004 Kompozitor, St. Petersburg. “The present edition in English is more
than a translation of the original. With
All rights reserved the support and approval of the author, it
has been updated with new research and
No part of this book may be reproduced sources and has been adapted to an English-
or utilized in any form or by any means, speaking audience”—Editors’ introduction.
electronic or mechanical, including Includes bibliographical
photocopying and recording, or by references and index.
any information storage and retrieval ISBN 978-0-253-01076-6 (cloth : alkaline
system, without permission in writing paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-01089-6 (ebook)
from the publisher. The Association of 1. Heifetz, Jascha, 1901–1987. 2. Violinists—
American University Presses’ Resolution Biography. 3. Heifetz, Jascha, 1901–1987—
on Permissions constitutes the only Appreciation—Soviet Union. I. Starkova-
exception to this prohibition. Heifetz, Albina, author. II. Sarlo, Dario,
editor, translator. III. Sarlo, Alexandra,
The paper used in this publication editor, translator. IV. Title. V. Series:
meets the minimum requirements of Russian music studies (Bloomington, Ind.)
the American National Standard for ML418.H44K6713 2013
Information Sciences—Permanence 787.2092—dc23
of Paper for Printed Library [B]
Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. 2013034077
1 2 3 4 5 19 18 17 16 15 14
Dedicated to the memory of Robert Heifetz
CONTENTS
Author’s Preface ix
Editors’ Introduction xv
List of Abbreviations xix
1 Early Roots of the Heifetz Family 1
2 1901–1906: Vilnius 12
3 1906–1909: Music School 24
4 1910: St. Petersburg Conservatory and Nalbandian 47
5 First Performances in St. Petersburg 70
6 Summer 1911: Concerts in Pavlovsk and Odessa 82
7 Fall 1911: In the Class of Professor Auer 102
8 The Beginning of 1912 124
9 1912: First Trip to Germany 177
10 1912: A German Tour 189
11 The Beginning of 1913 207
12 Summer–Fall 1913: Loschwitz 221
13 Winter 1913–1914: Bar Mitzvah 236
14 Spring 1914 257
15 Summer–Fall 1914: War 290
16 January–September 1915 302
17 The End of 1915 320
18 The First Half of 1916 328
19 The Second Half of 1916: Norway and Denmark 350
20 The First Half of 1917: February Revolution 363
21 Summer 1917: Departure for America 381
Appendix 1: Reviews of Jascha Heifetz’s Debut at 397
Carnegie Hall, October 27, 1917
Appendix 2: Jascha Heifetz’s Repertoire in Russia 405
Notes 411
Selected Sources 447
Index 455
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AUTHOR’S PREFACE
The idea for a book about the childhood of Jascha
Heifetz (1901–1987) did not arise overnight, and the story behind the book
is notable in and of itself. In the middle of the 1980s, I was conducting
research in the personal archive of the violinist and music critic Viktor
Grigoryevich Valter (Walter) (1865–1935) in the Russian Institute for the
History of the Arts. The documents and materials were fascinating, but
nothing stood out as particularly significant. At that time, I did not know
a surprise was hidden in a particular folder that a previous owner had la-
beled, “unidentified.” In that folder I discovered correspondence addressed
to Valter—letters and telegrams signed by a certain R. Heifetz and his son
Joseph. Judging by the postage stamps and the address of the sender, these
letters were written from Vilnius, Lithuania in the summer of 1911 and from
Loschwitz, Germany, near Dresden, in the summer of 1913. A tiny but en-
thusiastic voice rang out from the stillness of the archive: “Much Respected
Viktor Grigoryevich! I am on vacation now, and only practicing violin and
piano a little bit. I am now studying the Tchaikovsky Concerto and the
Handel Sonata. . . .” My immediate impression that these words belonged
to the great Heifetz was confirmed only when I reached the very last piece
of correspondence in the folder, which was signed, simply, “Jascha.”
ix