Heifetz, Jascha. (1901–1987)
Signed Photograph at Age 15 to a Fellow Auer Student
Stunning and boldly signed photograph of the supreme violinist as a young boy, shown wearing a sailor suit and holding his violin and bow, signed and inscribed to fellow Leopold Auer student, Jaroslav Siskovsky. Heifetz has signed (translated from the German): "A kind souvenir for Mr. Siskovsky of Jascha Heifetz. Petrograd, April 16, 1916." Photographer's stamp at the lower right. Some light silvering around the edges, mounting remnants to verso, else fine. 3.5 x 5 inches (8.8 x 13 cm).The young prodigy violinist was born in Lithuania in the then-Russian Empire. He made his public debut at age seven (possibly about the age at which he is shown in this photograph), performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in Kovno, Lithuania. At age 9, he entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory, studying first with I. R. Nalbandian and then with the legendary pedagogue Leopold Auer. Heifetz began to tour Europe extensively while still in his teens. Following the Russian Revolution in 1917, Heifetz and his family made the long and difficult journey to the United States, where he gave his Carnegie Hall debut in October 1917.
The Czech-American violinist Jaroslav Siskovsky (1888–1979) also studied with Auer in St. Petersburg and went on to be a founding member of the New York String Quartet, with Ottokar Čadek, Bedrich Váška and Ludvik Schwab. Siskovsky recounts his association with Heifetz in his 1975 memoir Fiddler on the Hoof. (16146)
Signed Photograph Classical Music