Heifetz As I Knew Him

by Ayke Agus

Book Overview

For the last 15 years of Jascha Heifetz's life, Ayke Agus was his closest companion. She came to him as a violin student in his master class at the University of Southern California, but he singled her out when he heard her play the piano. She became his private accompanist and ultimately his assistant and confidante. A sensitive and astute observer, Agus takes up where previous biographers left off; her book is a loving yet unblinking portrait of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574671219
• ISBN13: 9781574671216
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Globe Pequot Publishing Group Inc/Bloomsbury
• Length: 262 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

This is not a biography, this is a master class.

First, please dispel previous reviewers comments that too much of this book is about Ayke Agus. Her story is pretty much in one chapter. The rest is her first hand recollection of Heifetz in his last 15 years. This is no boring biography. You can read that in Bakers. This is a fascinating book. Over a chapter is devoted to Heifetz's teaching methods. It is really interesting to read this part if you are a violinist. There is no name-dropping. You won't read about Heifetz vs. this or that. This book is an intimate look at Heifetz the person as much as anything. It is not so much meant to be critical as simply to be fair. Heifetz is not painted in any moral terms so much as he is described as a real human being. In fact, the book simply is very candid about a musician who may well have been the last of his kind. If you are interested in Heifetz, this is clearly a "must read".

A Must Read for Violinists and Music Lovers!!!

This book was absolutely wonderful. I found it quite inspiring to read about who the man was behind the name Heifetz. It has made him more human in my mind, and ultimately more endearing. Before, I could not imagine that a person who played so close to perfection could be real. Agus does a fabulous job in giving us a glimpse of the "realness" of Heifetz. I have ordered copies of this book for several of my friends already. I even talked about it in my graduation speech! What else can I say... it's just a great book!

A wonderful book!

This is a wonderful book. Jascha Heifetz [1901-1987] was a great musician, an ingenious music transcriber, a gorgeous violinist and a very rigorous teacher. Ayke Agus, his private accompanist and ultimately his assistant and confidante hadn't an easy live working with him. This book is a good acquisition for the people that love the violin and would like to know a little more about the last 15 years of Heifetz's life.

The thoughts of a genuine twentieth century musical genius

Jascha Heifetz, sometimes called "The Violinist of the Century," is remembered in the pages of Heifetz As I Knew Him, written by his violin student and close companion for the last fifteen years of his life, Ayke Agus. Heifetz imparted to her not only his musical and artistic legacy, but also his personal beliefs and idiosyncracies, charging "Now, you make sure that you do not forget to put all this in the book you are going to write after I am gone." Ms. Agus fulfils this wish splendidly in Heifetz As I Knew Him, and absorbing, intimate, enthusiastically recommended look into the life, times, and thoughts of a genuine twentieth century musical genius.

Simply amazing - like Heifetz!

This book served for me as a rare inspiration in a world where one hears nothing but bad news and pessimistic ideas. I am a violinist myself, and I have always been awed by the recordings that Heifetz had left for us. Yet, as with all people who are known under public eyes, I never knew what kind of person he was, who was the man who was behind the juicy slides, powerful musical personality, and amazing virtuosity. This book quite coincidentally came into my hands at the right time - I had been quite unsatisfied with some of my recent concerts that I had given, and, being a student with ungodly amounts of homework and exams to take, was beginning to lose a sense of direction and determination. I asked myself, "is such personal struggle, isolation, and desolation worth the beauty and immortality of music?" By reading this, I found out that personal and professional struggle was mundane - especially to people like Heifetz. To find the balance between Triumph and Disaster, to deal with them equally is what Heifetz had done all his life, and he learned it the hard, painful way. It has allowed me to reflect and to introspect, and have a second look of what this obssession of us musicians really is. To put a cherry on top, it illustrates a very, very touching story between him and the author, Ayke Agus - it is impossible for the reader to not be deeply moved, to feel the isolation and pain of Heifetz. I recommend this book without the slightest hesitation to any musician, or music lover.