Description

Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) and George Gershwin (1898-1937)were good friends and often played together. Heifetz had urged Gershwin to write a violin concerto for him, but unfortunately Gershwin died before the project got off the ground. These transcriptions by Heifetz are the next best thing. The five excerpts from Porgy and Bess and the Three Preludes are well known and Heifetz often played them as encores, but the substantial concert excerpt from An American in Paris has never been published before and may not have been performed by Heifetz in public at all. The infectious rhythms and gorgeous tunes of this classic are brilliantly served by Heifetz as transcriber, and the Porgy excerpts (which include "Bess, irtuoso pizzazz in these wonderful arrangements. A must-have for lovers of the violin and the music of Gershwin!