He was universally acclaimed as the violinist of the century. Even his harshest critics had to admit that Jascha Heifetz had the greatest technique in history.

Born in Vilnius, Russia in 1899, Jascha was taught the rudiments of violin playing at an early age by his father. He was quickly recognized as a child prodigy of extraordinary gifts, and even more amazing, his fabulous talent was fully formed by the time of his first teenaged records, cut weeks after his sensational 1917 Carnegie Hall debut.

Heifetz’s career spanned over sixty years and his recording output was prodigious. Heifetz played uninterruptedly well into his seventies, making his last public appearance only a few months prior to his seventy second birthday.

Heifetz enjoyed an elevated status among his peers. Most of them admitted to holding him in the highest reverence.

Artistically, Heifetz was endowed with a near perfect technique and an unusually attractive lyric tone. His repertoire, both in performance and on record, encompassed the entire violin literature, but he was regarded to have excelled, stylistically, in the romantic works in particular.

On a personal level Heifetz was not considered to be an easily accessible individual and had the reputation of a guarded and private man.

Jascha Heifetz continued to receive universal acclaim for his music and style until his death in 1987 in Los Angeles.

From a historical perspective Heifetz will be remembered as the foremost violinist of this century … an artist who alone managed to elevate the art of violin playing to peaks believed to be unattainable.