One of EMI’s Great Recordings of the Century sports
a triptych of concertos played by Heifetz; Tchaikovsky, Sibelius
and Glazunov [EMI 3615902 - see review]
recorded pre-war with Barbirolli, and Beecham (the Sibelius).
Another triple-concerto disc now comes from Naxos and adds the
Sarasate Zigeunerweisen for good measure. All four were recorded
in the early 1950s.
There are three commercial Heifetz recordings of the Tchaikovsky,
all made in London, with Barbirolli, Susskind and Sargent. Off-air
traversals have survived as well, for example the 1949 Los Angeles/Hollywood
Bowl with William Steinberg (review).
My own favourite is the Barbirolli when Heifetz was at his freshest
and ripest, but the tautly expressive control of this 1950 traversal
comes with the added advantage of better recorded sound and
the Philharmonia with its warm string tone and phalanx of exceptional
wind soloists, who grace the work’s tapestry with liquidity
and eloquence. The subtle warmth of Heifetz’s Canzonetta
is contained within a forward-moving pulse, but one that at
no times becomes cool; there’s such a wealth of nuance
here, and in the finale the cantilena is augmented by some especially
richly voiced wind statements, and terrifically exciting final
few paragraphs.
Whereas Heifetz was strongly associated with Tchaikovsky, he
only left behind one recording of the concerto by Julius Conus,
and may not often have played it with orchestra; in the early
days he’d played it in piano reduction at recitals. The
Conus is a Glazunov-sized work though it lacks the Glazunov’s
profuse lyricism and stream of ideas. That said it is full of
panache and rich expression and makes a fine statement, fluent
in the opening movement, reaching a peak of passionate intensity
in the Adagio, then laying on a virtuosic cadenza at the start
of the finale after which, with a memorable ‘flick’,
Heifetz is off for the finishing line. In truth the finale is
rather ungenerously shaped, but no matter when the playing is
so convincing; and listen to the ballsy horn playing too. The
work was premiered by the composer-executant in 1898 and if
you are intrigued by Conus - and I mean really intrigued - you
should know that he was the first violinist to have recorded;
his private cylinders made in 1892 can be heard in an amazing
Marston two-disc set (see review).
And for a modern counterpart to the Heifetz recording you could
do a lot worse than seek, out the few made, that of Perlman.
The Sarasate is a splendid vehicle for Heifetz, and so too is
the Korngold, one of his very best recordings in my opinion.
As is, I think, well-known, though Heifetz badgered Korngold
to finish the concerto, it had originally been intended for
Huberman, who was to die shortly after the premiere. It’s
curious to think what kind of work it would have sounded had
Huberman lived to give its first performance and recording -
spikier, less ingratiating, rougher-hewn. The 1953 recording
was made, not inappropriately, in Sound Stage 9 of Republic
Pictures Studios in Hollywood, and witnesses one of the violinist’s
habitual feats of marvellously communicative, quiveringly intense
and breathtakingly virtuosic violin playing. Once heard, never
forgotten.
Excellent restorations and notes enhance this release. Father
Christmas seems not to have delivered to me, as requested, the
recent vast 103 CD Sony Heifetz Complete Album Collection, so
this disc will have to do for now. And very nicely too.
Jonathan Woolf
Masterwork Index: Korngold
Concerto
Masterwork Index: Tchaikovsky
Concerto
Review Index: Naxos
Historical
Jascha Heifetz (violin) 
