When classical musician Jascha Heifetz died aged 86 in 1987, 'Gramophone Magazine' called him "the most innovative and influential violinist" of the 20th century. Over 75 years he was acclaimed for what the 'New York Times' called his "silken tone and technical perfection".

Born in Vilna, which was then within the Russian Empire and is now in Lithuania, his talent was observed while he was an infant by his concertmaster father who taught the violin. A child prodigy, at the age of five he began to study with Leopold Auer and at nine he attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Public performances in Germany and Scandinavia preceded an outdoor concert in St. Petersburg that created a sensation. Towards the end of World War I, his family moved to the United States and he performed at Carnegie Hall in New York when he was just 16. His reputation grew and over the years he performed chamber music in the world's great concert halls with tours across Europe, Asia and South America. In 1934, he returned to what is now the Soviet Union to perform in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Lauded for his excellence when performing works by Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel, Schubert and Tchaikovsky, he also commissioned and played contemporary pieces by composers such as Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Louis Gruenberg, Erich Korngold, Miklós Rózsa, Richard Strauss and William Walton. He played music by George Gershwin and under the name of Jim Hoyl he wrote popular songs including 'When You Make Love to Me (Don't Make Believe)', which was recorded by Bing Crosby, and in 1939 he played himself in the Hollywood musical 'They Shall Have Music'. He performed in a great many concerts for charity throughout his life, played for Allied serviceman all over the world during World War II and later became a dedicated teacher. After the war, he toured and recorded with pianist Arthur Rubinstein and cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, remaining busy on the concert circuit and in the recording studio until 1974 when an injury to his shoulder ended his playing career.

Jascha Heifetz

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