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  • Jascha Heifetz: Early Years in Russia by Galina Kopytova
  • Laura S. Hodgman
Jascha Heifetz: Early Years in Russia. By Galina Kopytova, with the collaboration of Albina Starkova-Heifetz. Translated and edited by Dario Sarlo and Alexandra Sarlo. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2014. 395pp. Hardcover, $45.00.

This book was formed through relationships: Robert Heifetz, a son who wanted to know more about the life of his famous father; the researcher he approached, Galina Kopytova, who had earlier discovered letters Jascha Heifetz wrote to his teacher Viktor Valter; and Robert’s wife, Albina Starkova-Heifetz, who was committed to furthering the investigation. The resulting volume is an encyclopedic account of the early, and largely unknown, life of Jascha Heifetz, one of the most prominent virtuoso violinists of the twentieth century.

Born in Vilnius, the capital of present-day Lithuania, Heifetz lived in the Russian empire until age sixteen. After a tumultuous revolution toppled the last tsar in 1917, Heifetz went on tour, emigrated, and spent most of the rest of his life in the United States. Since Heifetz spoke little about his formative years in Russia, this wide-ranging study by Kopytova and her collaborators will be eagerly welcomed by Heifetz enthusiasts, violin aficionados, and those interested in Russian musical culture more generally.

A theme that emerges from this study is the great personal assistance provided to one member of the Russian empire’s prominent Jewish minority—and indeed to the entire Heifetz family—because of the young boy’s talent. In violation of its own rules, which stipulated that students possess academic knowledge equivalent to the first year of gymnasium, the Imperial Russian Music Society enrolled Heifetz at age five. Shortly thereafter, the St. Petersburg Conservatory waived his entrance examination fee and accepted Heifetz’s father as a student so the pair could take up residency in the capital city; to facilitate the entire family’s move to St. Petersburg, the Conservatory later accepted Heifetz’s sister as a nonpaying student of piano. Though some supporters worried about the wunderkind’s strenuous schedule at such a young age, Jascha Heifetz’s performances supported his family and eventually allowed him to purchase a suitable violin and to open his own bank account. Notwithstanding his constant practice and regular performance schedule, the young Heifetz did not entirely escape being a child, as evidenced by his collection of butterflies and plants. [End Page 234]

Kopytova’s research is exhaustive and the monograph contains a wealth of information about Heifetz, including his material conditions, family life, religious observance, teachers, curriculum, performances, tours, and repertoire. Varied documents and letters, often quoted in their entirety, pepper the volume—so much so that readers with a casual interest in Heifetz may grow weary or wonder why items like violinist Leopold S. Auer’s official Russian work record are reproduced at length, even if Auer did teach Heifetz and documentary evidence relating to the elder violinist’s life is rare. But readers intrigued enough to follow Kopytova will be treated not only to detailed information about Heifetz himself but also to significant forays into the lives of Heifetz’s fellow students and teachers and the musical milieu in which Heifetz came of age.

In addition to conducting prodigious research in numerous archives in Russia, Kopytova utilized relevant collections at the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library. Oral recollections, especially from family members, also play a part in enlivening the text, though not as explicitly as many oral historians will hope. For instance, interviews are not listed as sources in the bibliography and there is no discussion of interviewing strategies or methodology. At times, the source of specific information—probably oral interviews—is both elusive and largely immaterial. (How important is it that readers know, for example, how Kopytova learned that chicken cutlets were reportedly one of Heifetz’s favorite meals?) Indeed, it seems unlikely—though not impossible—that audio recording of interviews ever took place. Rather, Kopytova and her informants seem to have developed relationships that involved numerous conversations in a variety of circumstances. Despite the informality, the conversations have added to the book’s often rich descriptions, including the portrayal of Heifetz...

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