Heifetz plays Tzigane by Ravel

Jascha Heifetz plays Maurice Ravel's Tzigane. Enjoy! Live Performance -
Rec. 1950's

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

I went to a chamber concert once with a very elderly Brooks Smith playing the piano. He'd been Heifetz' accompanist in the 50s. Had to ask him what it was like working with. He paused, chuckled, and said, "Very difficult. He knew the piano parts better than I did."

[@jackgedzelman5314]

Heifetz, long ago consigned to the dustbin of musical history as merely the greatest violinist of all time, which he was, and of which we have endless proofs to prove it, was far more than the greatest violinist of all time. He was, a great and absolute master of musical performance, he spoke the musical language perfectly and totally fluently, and no one, violinist or any musician ever spoke it in the sophisticated and more marvelous than marvelous way that he spoke it and no one ever will.

[@nikbivation]

lol you kidding right

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

He was and remains the best at what he did. There's a reason that his name was a synonym for perfection. But then again, music isn't ONLY about technical perfection. There are lots of pieces where I don't like his approach at all. But not this one. No one can even approach this. It's thrilling in every way: speed, intensity, intonation--makes your hair stand on it.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

That transition to the hoe-down with those pizzacati. Damn. It's funny--and then the square dance of demons--at that furious pace.....just wow

[@frankie6954]

Heifetz stands on his own unique pedestal, he was one of a kind, the greatest sound in history.

[@PBXVIILY]

Still The King Greatest Violinist that ever lived!!! Love Heifetz!!!

[@abelardoster]

No other violinist will ever achieve Heifetz's magical perfection.

[@oemj7147]

Joseph Hassid was a better violinist.

[@williamfielding6476]

@@oemj7147 WHO??

[@oemj7147]

@@williamfielding6476 It's "Josef" Hassid actually. To quote Fritz Kreisler: “A fiddler like Heifetz is born every 100 years, one like Hassid once every 200 years.”

[@frankie6954]

@@oemj7147 Why was Hassid a better violinist.

[@oemj7147]

@@frankie6954 Because he makes even somebody as great as Heifetz look like he's struggling.

[@jameswginn]

Wow--that's the best performance of that piece I've ever heard!

[@leegeon2096]

Best!! even this was live perfomance...

[@katekor44]

He's the best violist of all times!!! :)

[@Berlinchesmusic]

Violinist*

[@go4ahike976]

Thanks for the upload! Wish it was a video...

[@RamSadeh]

The very BEST

[@NathanielRobinson]

Heifetz owns this piece! How is a live performance like this even possible?!!

[@srinitaaigaura]

The one on the last recital CD (on YT) is even better - live performance at 71. That ending was stuck so majestically the crowd just went wild and cheered and clapped madly.

[@NathanielRobinson]

srinitaaigaura indeed! Amazing energy in that performance.

[@srinitaaigaura]

@@NathanielRobinson At 72, he hit every note and nailed every dynamic in this fiendishly complicated work. Nothing exaggerated to absurd extents, not one awkward change of tempo. Every movement flows into the next. What fire! What an ending!! Majestic performance one last time by the King! Only someone who played and felt every item in their repertoire a thousand times in their life could reach this kind of mastery.

[@bboygraff1]

like a freakin tornado!!! unbelievable

[@osmarmayoral3996]

Yes, but a refined tornado !!!

[@dchenviolinist]

I can't think of anyone more suited to play this piece

[@MrGer2295]

Beautiful performance! Thanks for posting :)

[@123must]

Great performance ! Thanks

[@LaBlaueBlume]

My favourite 💓 hav a nice day all of everyone 😙

[@baieun]

Greatest...!!!

[@almthomson]

Clearly one of the best and Great Performers forever - thanks - He did his own thing there

[@markusrobergshagen]

what an amazing playing!

[@srinitaaigaura]

Played it as the penultimate item of his last recital at 71, it's available on YT in full. What an ending! Crowd just exploded, clapped and roared wildly after that last chord. Wild!

[@zoroforo323]

Beautiful !

[@lucasavila1576]

I think that He's very musical and can be fast on fast and hard excerpts with perfection...One of the bests violinists ...

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

still after all these years and many other interpretations, one of the best conceptions of the piece.

[@jackgedzelman5314]

a transcendental performance of a transcendental masterpiece. Tzigane, long relegated to the dustbin of history as a "violin showpiece", is far far more than that. It is an apotheosis of what once without a scintilla of a doubt, have been a highly evolved and glorious culture, the gypsies, and one that without a doubt, crumbled into the very depths of decadence.

[@christopherhogan691]

Do you know the story behind Hora Staccato.. I suppose yes. Well I, 50 years later, saw so many talented gypsy Violinists on the streets in Bulgaria that I realized for the first time why Heifetz worked so hard. There are unbelievable talents out there but have not the financial possibilities to study in NYC or else where...

[@heifetzigane]

Sublime beauty!!

[@nicoleludwig8793]

Great 🌹

[@carmenrubio3786]

Increíble 🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@OrpheusJRK]

Sound of God !!!

[@jneilschulman]

"Heifetz" means "jewel." Yes.

[@florincoter1988]

No, Heifetz means "thing", "object" - milog.co.il/%D7%97%D7%A4%D7%A5

[@dkal1952]

@@florincoter1988 That, and it can also mean desire

[@jeffersonfsoares]

Heifetz e Vengerov as minha interpretações favoritas desta peça

[@dont-want-no-wrench]

i like vengerov very much, but think this is the better one.

[@abelewin2855]

Absolutely amazing performance.

[@Berlinchesmusic]

Best

[@jktgirl01]

impeccable.

[@Cheryl-kristen]

Great^^

[@annaannaof716]

Krásna hra.Maestro J.Heifetz je môj obľúbenec zo staršej generácie,ale tentoraz sa mi oveľa viac páčil výkon Maestra D.Oistracha. Anika

[@katekor44]

you must agree he is one of the best

[@bourbakis]

Intense!

[@user-xf8he6bk9p]

Good!

[@billmcalpine]

Yes, Heifetz is unparalleled. And yes, Ravel absorbed (appropriated, was influenced by, couldn't help liking) Romani music, as did Franz Liszt and other classical composers, where it still resides. Fortunately and inevitably, "Gypsy" music also made its way into jazz.

[@kurinakornel1]

Yes!I think So!:-)

[@user-ge9lu1ki8x]

スーパーミラクル😸

[@OutrunCitizen]

I love him!!!! it's way too fast at times though

[@AlexanderArsov]

One wonders what the 17 downvoters didn't like about this performance? Did they click the wrong thumb? Or the wrong video? This is hair-raising stuff!

[@oddball_oddity]

i didn't downvote. but i'm regretting how heavenly and sublime everything could be with the perfect sound quality 😅 simply the best interpretation.

[@marcvilleneuve1359]

...because it is a bad interpretation, vulgar, and not Ravel’s writings and indications.Very bad and agressive bow technic, as always with Heifetz. It is really ugly, full of notes invented by Heifetz, to make it sound like Heifetz, not a Ravel composition.

[@themusicdr]

listen to kogan doing this will blow your mind!

[@katekor44]

you maybe right:)

[@rlwang6882]

Anyone think the melody a little alike Zigeunerweisen?

[@ucchoi01]

because they are both titled with the word for “gypsy”

[@meloniejen8400]

*Salvation*

[@katekor44]

i totally agree with you i didn't say he's the only one who is good:)

[@sheridan54]

Oh and BTW, I did study music formally, so I'm probably not gonna change... But the difference with you is that I'm a violinist and I know all the violinists I've cited. I'm not just merely stating "what everybody in the business says". Make your own opinion, listen to them...maybe YOU will change, although I doubt it).

[@user-ex8ro7so9w]

모리스 라벨^에 '치칸느' (짚시) ~프랑스 낭만파시대''' 바이올린으로 짚시^ 을 잘 표현했던~연주자겸 작곡가 ♡ '' 야샤 하이페츠 ^ 천재 바이올린 연주자^

[@zemresende]

Just listened to Vengerov and then this. Sorry but Heifetz is always one step above...

[@havardrivansson7902]

Over Vengerov? One thousand steps.

[@penelopewhite1509]

Ginette is always the best for nuancing and shading of notes. As always Heifetz is always SKILL!! SKILL!! SKILL!!! as ever. Expression ? No.

[@RSW1950]

Expression, he's the most nuanced and profond violinist or musical artist I think ever existed. You need to listen more carefully. There are few musicians that have this overwhelmingly perfect musical soul and is able to deliver.

[@MrFpam]

Heifetz's performances are always close to perfection (if one accepts the fast speeds) and this is no exception. But to all those who say this is the best version I say listen to the extraordinary intensity of the famous version by Ginette Neveu, which I think set the benchmark for this piece, (And she was French!)

[@poseuresque]

a hell of a performance. the poor violinist, so often suspected of merely showcasing his own brilliance but the spirit of this and many other pieces is often only really intelligible when heifetz performed them. this is singular. ferras also, and a more polished version by hirschorn. but this is a hurricane, armageddon on the violin

[@erick-gd7wo]

8 MINUTES over prrfotmance time????? Reminds me to Horowitz on Tschaikowsky Piano Concerto.....

[@marianasif]

Such an emotional piece . . . . lovely rendition, but must be compared to Midori's spell-binding performance : ))))))))

[@lovemetu]

Quite divine !! Midori plays Ravel's Tzigane kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZ-TiZ6CdrJrm6c

[@sheridan54]

And there are people so full of themselves an arrogant that they think they know everything even when it comes to an instrument which is not related to theirs... shocker!

[@penelopewhite1509]

Ginette.

[@katekor44]

hahaha ok my bad :P

[@sheridan54]

This is the most cocky comment I've ever seen, written by someone really full of himself... Again, I've never said Heifetz is not a huge violinist. He was one of the greatest, but again, he was not alone at the top. Anyways, there is no need to argue any longer, You, as a pianist are entitled to think whatever you want (still laughing about Oistrahk playing out of tune, though, But this is probably because you are playing a tempered instrument, never had to create a pitch note yourself,had you?)

[@katekor44]

hahah ok i see my bad:P

[@chrislee8511]

~bweep bweep bweep bweep~ Oh wait, this isn't Mr. Simple.

[@MegaLajeunesse]

Bien que j'adore Heifetz, je préfère personellement ceci: Maurice Ravel - Tizigane Vengerov - Ravel - Tzigane

[@yodaramov216]

Et moi je préfère le jeune Ivry Gitlis ;)

[@jackgedzelman5314]

I am cocky because I know exactly what I am saying. You keep twisting my words, I never said that Heifetz was the greatest player of violin. Look under you tube Heifetz plays Ravel Tzigane and you will see that I said that he was the strongest player of all time. So now I will tell you exactly what I mean by strongest. It means that he had more musical and physical technique than any other player; that means if they could do 3 things he could not do, he could do 4 that they could not do

[@8thskyWithtea]

0:34

[@meloniejen8400]

0:33

[@Mrcabletwitch]

Take One

[@lokanta100]

jaszka strasznie sie tu napuszyl i naprezyzyl - ale tak wogole to calkiem niezle - da sie tego sluchac

[@sheridan54]

So everybody thinks like you or the so called "everyone in the buisness"? I know a dozen of accomplished violinist that would disagree with what you stated regarding at least Milstein and Neveu (never heard anything wrong with Oistrahk's tone, mut maybe I am tone deaf after all).... But I can't wait to know what you have to say about those ones...Let's go: Hassid, Vengerov, Perlman, Hirshhorn, Hahn, Szigetti, Thibaud, Repin, Chang, Kremer, Khatchatryan, Haendel...

[@lovemetu]

Agree, there are some wonderful musicians around nowadays, be it both pianists and violinists and add to the list of excellent recordings of this music...Midori plays Ravel's Tzigane kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZ-TiZ6CdrJrm6c

[@lovemetu]

Yes you are correct, many excellent violinists and pianists around in this day and age who are every bit as good as the old masters. Midori plays Ravel's Tzigane kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZ-TiZ6CdrJrm6c

[@harrynking777]

Heifetz gets the maximum intensity and emotion without the histrionics. Compare with Vengerov. The difference between a great violinist and a good one.

[@Mj-kl3rb]

cmon. You can't call vengerov just a "good" violinist very unfair.

[@joshuaC.]

@@Mj-kl3rb well I'd agree, but comparing Heifetz to any violinist is also unfair haha

[@thihaaung520]

Vengerov is not a good violinist. He is a great violinist

[@jackgedzelman5314]

Look at Sheridan54 comments above. He thinks that all these other players are as accomplished as Heifetz. There are people who are ignorant and they spout their opinions endlessly naysaying anything erudite that comes their way

[@jackgedzelman5314]

I do not have to create a pitch note myself to hear intonation. The proof of that is if someone doesn't have a good ear for intonation in the first place, they cannot produce good intonation. There must be an inner ear at work with an inner pre-disposition to create good intonation. Hahn has it, Lekeu not, Milstein had it, Oistrahk did not. Heifetz had it, Menuhin after his early years when he had it, lost it. Elman had it, Kreisler played in and out of tune.

[@user-hx9eq3pt5s]

Im so sorry, but version Oistrah with Frida Bauer was better. :)

[@jackgedzelman5314]

You do not know of one knolwn violinist that would say that Heifetz was surpassed as a violinist by anyone in the violin business. You are tone deaf concerning Oistrakh. I frankly never heard of Neveu. All the other names that you spout are valid in their own way. You just like to argue. But you are entitled to your way of thinking and perceiving, its just that certain opinions are much better informed than others. Yours are not in the lead. Sorry, study music formally and you will change

[@raoultak]

Let's rush and get it over with......

[@jackgedzelman5314]

Now you stupidly assume that because I am a pianist, that I am no judge of intonation. So since you so stupidly gave me a laundry list of players for God knows what reason, I ask that you write to them and ask them whether Oistrahk was in tune or not, and you will get your answer from them. On the musical level, I have studied music for several hours a day for 60 years and I know the musical language fluently. Your comments show for certain that you do not.

[@sheridan54]

That's complete bullshit! He was a great violinist, no doubt about that but at this level of performance, you can apply the same statement to Oistrakh, Milstein, Menuhin, Neveu... and so many others that it is mainly a matter of taste. And there are great violinists even today BTW, stop being that focused to the good old times...

[@jackgedzelman5314]

You cannot, Mr Know it all who knows far less than that. Not Oistrakh, because he was always 1/8 tone out of tune, check out the recordings, if you cannot hear that, you are tone deaf. Not Milstein, because he was a great but colorless player, there is no warmth to his sound. Not Menuhin, because he never practiced hard enough to master any violin work, musical genius that he was, everything on his violin was tonally flawed, if musically wonderful. And Neveu is below all three of them

[@user-op6vy3gg2b]

Milstein ~ Colorless player. I always thought same way.

[@nicholasschroeder3678]

Fantastic as this is, I like the one he did with Wallerstein better...then this was live. His heart and taste was often questionable: he often played the romantic concertos like a cab was waiting outside with the meter running. He was an odd--and I think--unhappy man, and it often showed in the technically perfect but rather soulless playing. But in pieces like this, where precise execution was everything, he's still untouchable.

[@egon1519]

Heifetz didn't understand the humor.

[@jiancai_nocturne]

I really don't like ravel.

[@musicalme27]

He always spoke well of you