Customer Reviews

The Concerto Collection [Box Set]

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Jascha Heifetz has had the consensus among critics and fans of the violin alike as "The Greatest Violinist Who Has Ever Lived." No other violinist in the 20th Century has had such a major impact in modern violin playing than Jascha Heifetz. He has single handedly raised the standards in violin playing... His tempo is like a rock and does not waver like many violinists do. He DOES though tend to take the tempo on many pieces much faster than other violinist, but that's because most violinist are not able to play properly at such death defying tempos. Itzahk Perlman even once commented that while listening to a recording of Heifetz in a music class, he and his classmates wept, NOT because Jascha Heifetz was playing so beautifully, but because they knew they could never reach such perfection. This perfection is wonderfully put together in a Concerto Collection. For those who sadly never had the chance to listen to Heifetz, this collection is possible the BEST collective representation of some of his BEST work. The Tchaikovsky is worth noting separately because of such a strong connection with the composer himself. Tchaikovsky personally dedicated the concerto to Heifetz's teacher, Leopold Auer. At first, Auer refused to play the concerto on the grounds that it was "unplayable." After being rejected by other violinists citing it's terrifying passages, a young violinst by the name of Adolf Brodsky finally performed the work and the work was re-dedicated to him. Auer eventually performed the Concerto and improved the flow of the piece by adding and augmenting passages. In my personal opinion, the Auer Edition of the Tchaikovsky is much more difficult than the original edition. Importantly though, Auer introduced the piece to his budding young prodigy, Jascha Heifetz. Heifetz performed it with great flair and amazing ease at the age of eleven. This particular recording of the Tchaikovsky was recorded in the 50's and displays an older and wiser Heifetz (critically his best recording of the piece). Once you've listened to Heifetz completely tear apart the Tchaikovsky and then go back and listen to the other violinists, you will realize that many violinists will slow down in the more difficult sections of the piece. What I love about this collection is the quality of them. They have all been recorded after RCA began to release its recordings in stereo sound. Furthermore, the digital re-mastering have all been overseen by John Pfeiffer; a man who engineered the sound during the actual recording sessions with Heifetz! To let you know how crystal clear the recordings are, if you listen carefully you can actually hear Heifetz doing a quick tuning adjustment during the 3rd movement of the Tchaikovsky. I consider each concerto he recorded in this collection as a Gold Standard for other violinists. Two of the concertos, the Glazunov and the Prokofiev were comissioned for him to debut. I may receive some critcism by the devout fans of David Oistrakh(among other great violinists)saying that Oistrakh is greater, but even they cannot not deny the great influence Jascha Heifetz had on the violin and the large recording repetoire that will immortalize him forever. This Concerto Collection is a piece of that immortality.

Although it has been some time since I've listened to the "standard repertoire" ( having moved onto mostly 20th century modern / "contemporary" music ), Jascha Heifetz' artistry was the reason I was drawn to classical music in the first place. I can't possibly imagine better performances of the BRAHMS and SIBELIUS concerti. Some critics from days past have mentioned the Heifetz tendency to "rush" but I've always felt that in some of the ultra-romantic pieces ( TCHAIKOVSKY for example ) that this was a plus. Perhaps Itzhak Perlman's version of the BEETHOVEN ( Barenboim conducting ) surpasses the Heifetz but not by much. The "lesser" pieces of BRUCH and GLAZUNOV are elevated by Heifetz' extraordinary musicianship. My only possible complaint would be that the ELGAR and WALTON concerti were not included, the latter piece being a Heifetz commission and superior musically to the PROKOFIEV #2 ( not PROKOFIEV's best work ) which IS included in this collection. Certainly those pieces would have sealed this set as "platinum" ( the VIEUXTEMP piece is of inferior musical quality in my opinion and Heifetz doesn't really "do it" for me in MOZART and BACH ). But, this box set is spectacular as it is and really offers quite a bargain.

By the way, the AMAZON reviewer refers to "Daniel Heifetz"; the name of course is JASCHA Heifetz.

The great violin concerti played by the Man. I bought this 5-CD set at a secondhand store without a second's thought. Okay, so the sound here and there sounds a trifle dated, but what do you want, miracles? Oh, you do? Then listen to the musicianship. Gotcha! Essential.

As much as I love Heifetz and admire his musicianship, I cannot help but to prefer Oistrakh's warmth and tone in every performance in which I have had the luxury of comparing the two great violinists. I have always had a soft spot for the Brahms and Tchaikovsky concerti; after listening to Heifetz play the latter, it was a revelation to hear Oistrakh play the same concerto. You'll be moved to tears. Get this set, but get Oistrakh and compare the two

At the outset i admit that i have listened to only two of these concertos-The Beethoven and the Brahm's.these are good performances but that does not mean that Heifetz was the BEST EVER!I have listened to far superior performance of the Beethoven concerto By Sir Yehudi Menuhin who i believe own's this piece!He brings a sensitivity and otherworldly grandeur that i do not find in Heifetz playing.Yes Heifetz plays it faster but not better.As for the Brahms i find Isaac Stern's rendering matchless.Just listen to the Deep sighing and Rhapsody of his playing towards the end of the First movement of this concerto with Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic.Again listen to his passionate playing in the second movement after a celestial Oboe theme.The heavenly beauty of this movement is matchless.Heifetz may be better in Pyrotechnics but certainly there are better violinists.What about David Oistrakh's Tchaikovsky?What about Perlman?These are truly great violinists who can hold their own and are unstoppable when inspired.
Yes for collectors these are a boon and worth possessing!