Description
Jascha Heifetz was an exclusive RCA Victor artist for half a century for which he recorded virtually all the entire violin repertoire. Nevertheless, there were numerous works which he never committed to disc, and this CD features all the known works that Heifetz never recorded commercially. All of the recordings were originally radio broadcast performances, most of which were done for The Bell Telephone Hour. Heifetz made his debut on The Telephone Hour on 27 April 1942 and continued to perform into 1950s. Accompanied by the Bell Telephone Orchestra conducted by Donald Voorhees, several works were performed with piano accompaniment or even solo. The works on this CD range from the classical masters J. S. Bach and Mozart to 20th-century originals Villa-Lobos and Szymanowski. It also includes virtuoso works by such violinist/composers such as Novacek, Vieuxtemps, Hubay and Kreisler. Heifetz's own transcriptions of the American national anthem The Star-Spangled Banner and works by Rachmaninoff. Two of the selections items on this CD capture the usually imperturbable violinist off guard. The first is an impromptu rehearsal of the popular hit song Mairzy Doats ('Mares Eat Oats') from the 1940s. And the CD concludes with an entire 'Command Performance' programme featuring Heifetz in a skit with the American comedian Jack Benny.
