"Not for Pianists"

by Mark Rosa

When Jascha Heifetz made his American debut at Carnegie Hall in 1917, Mischa Elman, a leading violinist of the older generation, attended the concert in the company of the pianist Leopold Godowsky. At one point, Elman asked if it was getting uncomfortably hot in the hall, to which Godowsky quickly replied, "Not for pianists."

Pianists and violinists alike, however, and others as well will certainly find much to instruct and delight them in "The Heifetz Collection," the library's most recent large-scale recording acquisition.

The RCA set contains the complete commercial Heifetz recordings on 66 CDs. More than 300 selections, running more than 75 hours, document Heifetz's extraordinary 61-year recording career from his first known acoustic disc made in Russia in 1911 to his last stereo recording in 1972. "The Heifetz Collection" won the 1995 Edison Award, the 1994 Gramophone Award, and the Classic CD Award for 1994.

Other Articles in This Issue

Library Bids on Dennis Brain Horn Collection| Volunteers Make a Difference | Ragas on Sax and Much More by Matt Appleby | Bountiful Benefactions by Mark Rosa | Imprint: Recent Faculty and Student Publications | Workshops on Music Library Resources | Top 10 Things to Do from the Library Homepage | Spring 1997 Calender