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Not since Paganini had there been such a magician on the violin.
In this revealing documentary about the legendary musician we see vintage filmed performance clips of Jascha Heifetz and learn that he was the first truly modern violin virtuoso, the man about whom Itzhak Perlman said, “When I spoke with him, I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’m talking with God’.”
This insightful film portrays an artist for whom only perfection would do, a musical wunderkind who went on to set the standards for nearly a century.
We get to know Jascha Heifetz through home movies and personal family photos taken from 1903-1987, a prestigious concert artist so well known in popular culture, his name became shorthand for greatness, for everyone from Jack Benny to The Muppets to Woody Allen.
This unique program includes interviews with the great violinists of his generation, and from many of his former students, telling how Heifetz was a legendary but mysterious figure whose story embodies the dual nature of artistic genius: the paradox of how a mortal man lives with immortal gifts - gifts he must honor, but which extract a life long price.
Are the man and the artist the same person? What is the price each pays? And who was the man behind the music?
This illuminating program helps answer these questions about one of the greatest musicians of our time.
To Jascha Heifetz fans observing the late violinist’s 100th birth year, the 90-minute DVD Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler (KULTUR) promises to be a treat. The documentary profiles the late violin legend and digs into his personal life with photos, clips from home movies, and interviews with Itzhak Perlman,Ivry Gitlis,Ida Haendel, and others. Produced by Peter Rosen, the film was commissioned by the Colburn School, EuroArts, WDR, and Arte. It premiered before a sold-out crowd at Colburn on April 16. The DVD will be released July 26.
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Rory Williams of
Strings Magazine
Near the end of the film, we hear his own revealing definition of violin mastery: “the ability to make the violin a perfectly controlled instrument.’’ On those terms, who could argue with the master?"
JEREMY EICHLER of boston.com
