Jascha Heifetz: The Original Jacket Collection (10 CD box set, FLAC)

Performer: Jascha Heifetz
Audio CD
SPARS Code: A-D
Number of Discs: 10 CD box set
Format: FLAC (tracks+cue)
Label: Sony Classics
Size: 2.98 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

CD 01
01. J. S. Bach: Concerto for Two Violins ind Dminor, BWV 1043 – I. Vivace
02. II. Largo ma non tanto
03. III. Allegro
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Friedman(violin); Lofthouse(harpsichord); New Symphony Orchestra of London; Sir Malcolm Sargent (cond)

04. Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, K. 364 – I. Allegro maestoso
05. II. Andante
06. III. Presto
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Primrose(viola); RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra; Izler Solomon (cond)

07. Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Cello in a minor, Op. 102 – I. Allegro
08. II. Andante
09. III. Vivace non troppo
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Piatigorsky(cello); RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra; Alfred Wallenstein (cond)

CD 02
01. Beethoven – Violin Concerto In D Op. 61 – 1. Allegro, Ma Non Troppo
02.2. Larghetto
03.3. Rondo – Allegro
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Boston Symphony Orchestra; Charles Munch (cond)

04. Mendelssohn – Violin Concerto In E Minor Op. 64 – 1. Allegro Molto Appassionato
05.2. Andante
06.3. Allegretto Non Troppo – Allegro Molto Vivace
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Boston Symphony Orchestra; Charles Munch (cond)

CD 03
01. Brahms – Violin Concerto In D Op. 77 – 1. Allegro Non Troppo
02. 2. Adagio
03. 3. Allegro Giocoso, Ma Non Troppo Vivace
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner (cond)

04. Tchaikovsky – Violin Concerto In D Op. 35 – 1. Allegro Moderato
05. 1. Canzonetta – Andante
06. 1. Allegro Vivacissimo
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner (cond)

CD 04
01. Bruch – Violin Concerto No. 1 In G Minor Op. 26 – 1. Vorspiel – Allegro Moderato
02. 2. Adagio
03. 3. Finale – Allegro Energico
Jascha Heifetz (violin); New Symphony Orchestra Of London; Malcolm Sargent (cond)

04. Bruch – Scottish Fantasy Op. 46 – 1. Introduction – Grave – Adagio Cantabile
05. 2. Allegro
06. 3. Adagio – Andante Sostenuto
07. 4. Finale – Allegro Guerriero
Jascha Heifetz (violin); New Symphony Orchestra Of London; Malcolm Sargent (cond)

08. Vieuxtemps – Violin Concerto No. 5 In A Minor Op. 37 – 1. Allegro Non Troppo
09. 2. Adagio
10. 3. Allegro Con Fuoco
Jascha Heifetz (violin); New Symphony Orchestra Of London; Malcolm Sargent (cond)

CD 05
01. Sibelius – Violin Concerto – 1 Allegro moderato
02. 2 Adagio di molto
03. 3 Allegro,ma non tanto
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Walter Hendl (cond)

04. Prokofiev – Violin Concerto No 2 – 1 Allegro moderato
05. 2 Andante assai
06. 3 Allegro ben marcato
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Boston Symphony Orchestra, Charles Munch (cond)

07. Glazunov – Violin Concerto – 1 Moderato
08. 2 Andante sostenuto
09. 3 Tempo I
10. 4 Allegro
Jascha Heifetz (violin); RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra; Walter Hendl (cond)

CD 06
01. Korngold – Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 35 – Moderato Nobile
02. Romance
03. Finale – Allegro Assai Vivace
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra; Alfred Wallenstein

04. Rozsa – Violin Concerto Op. 24 – Allegro non Troppo ma Passionato
05. Lento Cantabile
06. Allegro Vivace
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Walter Hendl (cond)

07. Rozsa – Sinfonia Concertante – Tema con Variazioni Op. 29a – Tema
08. Variation I
09. Variation II
10. Variation III
11. Variation IV
12. Variation V
13. Variation VI
14. Variation VII
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Piatigorsky(cello); Chamber Orchestra

15. Waxman – Carmen Fantasie (Based on Themes from an Opera by Georges Bizet)
Jascha Heifetz (violin); RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra; Donald Voorhees (cond)

CD 07
01. Bach – Sonata No.1 In G Minor, BWV 1001: 1. Adagio
02. 2. Fugue: Allegro (
03. 3. Siciliano
04. 4. Presto
05. Bach – Sonata No.2 In A Minor, BWV 1003: 1. Grave
06. 2. Fugue
07. 3. Andante
08. 4. Allegro
09. Bach – Sonata No.3 In C, BWV 1005: 1. Adagio
10. 2. Fugue: Alla Breve
11. 3. Largo
12. 4. Allegro Assai
Jascha Heifetz (violin)

CD 08
01. Bach – Partita No.1 In B Minor, BWV 1002: 1. Allemande
02. 2. Double
03. 3. Courante
04. 4. Double
05. 5. Sarabande
06. 6. Double
07. 7. Bourree
08. 8. Double
09. Bach – Partita No.2 In D Minor, BWV 1004: 1. Allemande
10. 2. Courante
11. 3. Saraband
12. 4. Gigue
13. 5. Chaconne
14. Bach – Partita No.3 In E, BWV 1006: 1. Preludio
15. 2. Loure
16. 3. Gavotte en Rondeau
17. 4. Menuett I
18. 5. Menuett II
19. 6. Bourree
20. 7. Gigue
Jascha Heifetz (violin)

CD 09
01. Cesar Franck – Sonata in A – Allegretto ben moderato
02. Allegro
03. Recitative-Fantasia; Ben moderato
04. Allegretto poco mosso
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Brooks Smith (piano)

05. Richard Strauss – Sonata, Op.18 in E-Flat – Allegro ma non troppo
06. Andante cantabile
07. Finale: Allegro
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Brooks Smith (piano)

CD 10
01. Johann Sebastian Bach – Partita No. 3, BWV 1006 – Preludio
02. Loure
03. Gigue
Jascha Heifetz (violin)

04. Ernest Bloch – Nigun (Improvisation)
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Brooks Smith (piano)

05. Claude Debussy – La plus que lente
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Brooks Smith (piano)

06. Sergei Rachmaninoff – Etude-tableau, Op.33, No. 4 in E-Flat
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Brooks Smith (piano)

07. Manuel de Falla – Nana (Berceuse)
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Brooks Smith (piano)

08. Fritz Kreisler – La chasse (In the style of Cartier)
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Brooks Smith (piano)

09. Maurice Ravel – Tzigane (Rapsodie de conert)
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Brooks Smith (piano)

10. Mario Castelnuovo -Tedesco – Sea Murmurs (Deux Etudes d’ondes)
Jascha Heifetz (violin); Brooks Smith (piano)

Peerless…

One of the positive aspects of RCA/BMG’s merger with Sony is that they can bring together collections from both of their archives. Such is the case with this collection of Jascha Heifetz recordings, with most gathered from RCA’s vaults, but the last volume (a live recording of Heifetz’s final concert) from Columbia Masterworks, Sony’s predecessor.

It has long been popular in some circles to call Heifetz’s playing “cold”. I think “aristocratic” is a more apt term. It’s important to view Heifetz in the context of his time, in which personalized, romanticized performances were being rejected in favor of an accurate rendition of the score. Heifetz was a pretty faithful interpreter, yet all of these performances bear his own indelible stamp: flawless intonation, a strong, throaty tone, tempos that may seem a bit fast by today’s standards, well judged use of portamento. It was an approach that well served many different genres of music, from the relatively chaste Bach partitas, to the Slavic passion of the Tchaikovsky concerto, to the wintry fire of the Sibelius concerto. Unlike too many classical musicians, Heifetz knew when to quit. The violinist was only 71 when he gave his last public performance, although he lived another 15 years.

As the recordings date from the late 1940s to 1972, the sound varies considerably. The Bach items are in intimate mono, while the concertos with Reiner and Munch highlight RCA’s then new Living Stereo process – and still sound impressive today. While the balance in concerto recordings tends to favor the soloist (Heifetz was notorious for edging himself closer to the microphone during recording sessions), the orchestra is well heard. These recordings have been issued multiple times on CD. With the exception of a few that have been issued in three-channel hybrid SACD format, they’ve never sounded better.

This set is a must for all lovers of violin music. Heifetz fans will also want to update their collections for the improved sonics and excellent presentation.