Talk:Jascha Heifetz

Why take out my comments about Jascha...

Lets not be revisionist here. People reading about Jascha should realize the historical background of why his insistence to play Strauss' music was so contraversial. It is important part of Jascha personality to see that he placed music above ethical behaviour and details of this have been reported in the Israeli newspaper Maariv. If you want to edit my English, go ahead. But leave the quotes from Maariv alone. Let use a neutral point of view. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.215.170.193 (talk • contribs) 17:53, 8 April 2005.

• Please clarify. Are you suggesting the above paragraph? What quotes are you referring to? Paradiso 18:24, 8 Apr 2005 (UTC

Technique and Tonality

I just rewrote this section in the hope of providing something with more coherence and resonance. I had previously added the stuff about portamento and the Perlman quote but it seems other people came along and chipped away at this paragraph until it had all but disintegrated into dust. If you feel so moved to edit further try at least to leave the content in a coherent state and not looking like it was written by a committee otherwise my confidence in this whole wiki enterprise will begin to waver. --Julian Brown 07:06, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Unbalances the article

The stuff about Heifetz and Strauss is worthy of note, but should it really take up so much of the article? If this were a full-length biography, it would be OK, but as it stands it unbalances the article. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.135.247.23 (talk • contribs) 10:04, 10 April 2005.

I agree that it takes up too much of the article, but its a dramatic story and an interesting read! So I suggest keeping it while trying to expand the rest of the article a bit. Paradiso 14:15, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Heifetz had nothing to do with Nazi/Jew relations.

Yes, everything you said happened did happen. But to take up 50% of an article about Heifetz and a couple of concerts in Israel is both demeaning to a great artist and unproportional to his almost 70 year long career. It deserves at the most a passing reference and should not made so important. Most people thinking about Jascha Heifetz think about him as a Master Violinist, attaining the pinnacle of his art, and this should be the main focus of this article. --Luckybeargod 02:24, Apr 13, 2005 (UTC)

I agree with you. More on music, less on politics and religion. This is supposed to be an encyclopedia here, not a platform to express your own views. --k72ndst 02:03, Feb 14, 2006 (UTC)

I removed what was previously at the very top of this page because it was outrageously POV. --Todeswalzer|Talk 02:47, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

Expansion and Improvement

• As per user Smedley Hirkum, we should work at expanding and improving the article. We also should format it into sections.

My suggestions are:

• Prodigy;

• Recording Artist (explaining his recording);

• Touring Career ( explaining his concerts including the problem in Israel);

• Entertainment - including 3 movies, TV shows etc;

• Discography;

• Appeared in;

• References
  • Footnotes
  • Further Reading

Capitalistroadster 04:33, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Picture of Heifetz

Currently, there are two copies of the same portrait floating around: commons:Image:Heifetz.jpg and Image:Heifetz.jpg.jpeg. Both claim that the picture is in the Public Domain, but the evidence presented to support that assertion is rather thin. It looks like a promo shot made in the 2nd half of the 20th century. Does anyone know more? Algae 11:21, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

I am looking at the photo of him that is around 1920. If he was born in 1901 there is no way he could have looked like that at 19. He looks much older. At least 30. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.113.161.114 (talk) 22:12, 15 October 2010 (UTC)

Heifetz the pianist

I thought I knew a lot about JH, but I'd never heard he played piano. 24.226.90.180, I'm not doubting you, but can you provide a source for this so I can read more about it? Cheers JackofOz 09:01, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

Just to comment about JH playing piano: You can see him playing piano on his master class video. He was accompanying some Bach violin concerto, E major if I remember right. He played piano all right. He made lots of arrangements from piano to violin so he probably worked a lot with the piano. 88.192.204.65 20:26, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

Jascha Heifetz deserves our respect

It was definitely something I learned in Music School (Manhattan School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory) that Jascha Heifetz was an excellent pianist; Fritz Kreisler was as well.

I have to say I am not clear about the first comments on the discussion page. How is it that the Berlin Philharmonic deserves the title "infamous"? Yes, they existed in Nazi Berlin during the war (and before and after), but it seems to me that to categorically attach a negative stigma to that very well respected organization lacks any neutral purpose. Although it seems clear that Richard Strauss in the very least was not anti-Nazi, but I am not sure why a JEWISH violinist (Heifetz) can be summarily indicted on the basis of playing music by one of the most well renowned composers of the time (indeed of any time). After all, does the accusation make the charge true? Does being attacked by a possibly unstable individual make the person attacked guilty of whatever fancy the attacker believes is a legitimate reason justifying his actions? There are many people who have led lives that do not come close to living up to any standard of ethics or morality who nonetheless have made incredible artistic contributions to society. It is a tribute the amazing nature of art that this can be so. To name a few people who created great works of art and yet could be considered artists in their fields and have made invaluable contributions to art. Should we ban their works? Doesn't this just give their extremist views more creedence (speaking more about the racists/fascists then the pedophiles :)). I think Heifetz is to be commended for understanding this difference. Heifetz is probably the greatest violinist of all time, and certainly did not contribute to the Holocaust, should we be so quick to judge his actions? Intolerance works all ways. You cannot stop intolerance by being so narrow minded as to allow your specific view of tolerance to be the only acceptable one. Krininaleni 20:12, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

I agreed with you until you started talking like a crazy man. --Smedley Hirkum 23:02, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

---Ditto!!--- Also, as a violinist, I agree entirely with what Heifetz did. If a mass-murderer wrote wonderful music, I would not hesitate to play it. That is the beauty of music: It can be completely seperate from the faults of its creator. It would have been different if he was playing songs written to promote the Nazis, but he wasn't. It was a violin sonata, for goodness sake! Person who likes to think 16:44, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Hey, guys, that's an encyclopaedia. What the hell does this paragraph about this incident in Israel has to do in an encyclopeadia, and with a so subjective point of view? Could we imagine that in encyclopeadia Britannica, for example? I mean, read Amoyal's version of the facts in his last book, it's absolutely different. Heifetz would have said:

"This man was better Jew than me. I hadn't to play Strauss in Israel"

Anyway, I think theses lines could be just delete, don't you think so? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.219.118.169 (talk • contribs) 17:59, 8 October 2006.

Hum. Strauss music is not "nazi's music". Read a bit of his correspondance with Stephan Sweig. He was just an opportunist, as were many musician at this time in Germany (who said Karajan?). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.219.118.169 (talk • contribs) 18:02, 8 October 2006.

I don't see why the fact that he was a Jew is relevant enough to be in the intro.--Karljoos (talk) 20:00, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Digital recordings?

Concerning "digital recordings" by Heifitz: Did JH actually make any digital recordings? He died in 1987, far into the age of digital recording, but I thought he'd retired before this technology was much-used. Perhaps I need further study on this matter, but I'm broaching the subject here where its answer is well-known.

--71.50.109.84 23:47, 6 February 2007 (UTC)GeronimoPFudgemuffin

No, Heifetz did not make digital recordings. He retired in 1972, before digital recording was commercially used in the recording industry. He DID make a number of stereo recordings, going as far back as 1955 and continuing to the end of his career. Naturally, many of his recorded performances have been digitally remastered. Sallyrob 18:34, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

Just one minor correction: Denon did launch the digital PCM recording system commercially in 1972 [1], so technically it would have been possbible. Yet Heifetz did not record for Denon ... --FordPrefect42 22:07, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

R. Kreutzer

I don't quite get the point of the "Kreutzer" anecdote given in the Miscellaneous section. Who is this "R. Kreutzer" meant to be? – But, what's worse: the story is unsourced, and no proof for it can be found on the web. Delete? --FordPrefect42 23:39, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Yup, I agree... I just took it out. If a cite can be found it could go back. Antandrus (talk) 00:19, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

I think that this is a mixed up version of a different event. When Heifetz first came to New York he attended an event at a patrons house and to play the Mendelssohn Concerto (around the time of his debut). He did not realize that he was expected to bring the sheet music for the Pianist as he had never done anything like that before. While he and the pianist were trying to figure out what to do, a guest emerged from the crowd and said something like, "I can try to play the piano part from memory" They played the concerto together much to the delight of the audience, and it was only afterward that this mystery pianist, Fritz Kreisler, introduced himself to Heifetz. If anyone thinks that this story should be included, I can clean this story up and can site a source (the Axelrod book, I believe) Nodrog71 06:14, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

Does not sound very plausible. Fritz Kreisler was a violinist himself, not a pianist ... But if the story can be properly referenced, why not? --FordPrefect42 13:25, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

I can provide the proper documentation. There eare those who said that Kreisler was almost as good a pianist as he was a violinist! (I can cite references for that too! :)) Nodrog71 21:13, 15 October 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I was aware that Kreisler was a decent pianist. The piano accompaniments to his short compositions betray someone who knew the piano not just through theory. -- JackofOz 09:31, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Heifetz's debut

I'm new to editing in Wiki, but I just thought I could comment about the debut of Heifetz. According to a book "Violin Mastery, ISBN 0-486-45041-4" Heifetz said in an interview: "My first appearance in public took place in an overcrowded auditorium of the Imperial Music School in Vilna, Russia, when I (he) was not quite five. I played the Fantaisie Pastorale with piano accompaniment. Later, at the age of six, I played the Mendelssohn Concerto in Kovno to a full house." 88.192.204.65 20:36, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

IPA Pronunciation

Can someone add the correct IPA pronunciation of his name?--Geremia (talk) 07:15, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

The name is the more poetical word in Hebrew for "will, wish, desire" (also "thing, object", but this is not what's meant here). It should be pronounced "Chefez" - ch as in "Bach", both e's as in "bed", z as in "zar" (or ts in "boots").

The common transcription in English attempts to reflect the Russian way of pronouncing a Hebrew word: the Russian "e" is almost always pronounced "ei" , (but then why transcribe "Hei" and pronounce "Hai" and leave out the "ch" altogether ?). To the ears of a native Hebrew speaker it sounds funny and unnatural. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.68.97.207 (talk) 17:48, 1 November 2008 (UTC)

Weasel phrase?

"widely regarded as one of the twentieth century's preeminent violinists and one of the greatest violinists of all time."

Surely a sentence like that should have some reference supporting it?--83.88.93.176 (talk) 15:19, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

It's just POV. I've never seen this kind of statement in the Britannica and I don't think it has a place here.--Karljoos (talk) 19:59, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

What is a violin master?

User 74.243.219.178 has twice revised the lead to note that Heifetz was not only a violin virtuoso, but also a "master". I removed this once, because I had no idea how a violin master differed from a virtuoso. 74.243.219.178's insistence in including this word suggests that he or she believes the word adds important information. 74.243.219.178, could you please tell us on this talk page what you are trying to say? Thanks. --Ravpapa (talk) 07:05, 8 December 2009 (UTC)

Heifetz's US debut

I have not seen the 1920 NYT review that claims that this was Heifetz's first appearance in the US. But if it does make that claim, it is wrong. Heifetz's 1917 tour is well-documented in all his biographies (that I have read) and in contemporary newspaper reports. So I would suggest removing the reference to the NYT review, as it is only misleading. --Ravpapa (talk) 09:19, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

A moment later: Ah, I understand the source of the confusion. The NYT review is of Heifetz's appearance in Queens Hall in London, not in New York. It was indeed his first British tour. So I am removing the reference. --Ravpapa (talk) 09:22, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

I've removed the POV statement. It doesn't belong. (As for the claim that he was the best of all time, what about Paganini himself?) Triplestop x3 11:39, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Heifetz's birth date

User 68.239.8.157 has added a valuable citation to records of Heifetz's birth. 68.239.8.157, if you are still there, can you tell us where you found this information? Did you actually look it up in Salt Lake City, or read it in a secondary source? Because it needs a footnote. --Ravpapa (talk) 15:31, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

I'm not sure what happened here because this information is now in a footnote, but there are several problems with the sentence and footnote. First, Polotsk is NOT Vilnius. These probably refer to two different guberniyas in the Russian empire. Was his family registered in Polotsk because they had ancestors there? Second, reference to Lithuania as occupied by the Russian Empire during that period is problematic: the word is not neutral and reflects a national bias; and it would be as correct to say the city was in Russian-occupied Poland. A more neutral approach might be to say Vilnius was/is in Lithuania, which was part of the Russian Empire at that time. That avoids a lengthier treatment of the joint Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania, the Republic and the three partitions, which are covered in other articles. Hypatea (talk) 11:36, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

Russell Heifetz Byrne (grandson #1 of 5) here, ready to contribute

Hi, I've just recently started contributing to Wikipedia, and thought I'd wander over here to see what I might be able to add. I did a couple little things:

• I just updated the reference to Jascha Heifetz: God's Fiddler, and named it so we can refer to it repeatedly in the future.
• I added a reference to Ayke's book (Heifetz As I Knew Him) on the Wartime sentence where it mentions his piano playing.
• I added a link to Arthur Vered's fan site to the External links section.

Some Suggestions:

Family life revision 1

Description

A small addition for my uncle Bob Heifetz, so all three of Heifetz's children have a mention. Also, I suggest a tiny reference to my father Robert Byrne.

Proposal

Heifetz's son Jay is a professional ... [omitting existing middle section of Jay's description -rb] ... Fremantle, Western Australia. His son Bob (1933-2001, "Robert Heifetz; Educator, Peace Activist". Los Angeles Times. April 19, 2001. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help)) was an Urban Studies and Planning professor, peace activist and a charter sailor based out of San Francisco Harbor. Heifetz's daughter, Josefa Heifetz (formerly Josefa Heifetz Byrne), is a lexicographer, author of The Word Lover's Dictionary (formerly Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary). She was married for 18 years to Robert Byrne, a Hall of Fame billiards instructor.

Family life revision 2

I suppose we could also expand the sentence about middle grandson Danny (3 of 5) into a longer sentence enumerating all 5 of us.

Other Suggestions:

• How about we add Arthur Vered's biography (Jascha Heifetz [1986]) to the References section?
• How about we change the References section to Notes, and then have a new References section for general bibliographic reference?
• How about a Discography section? We could limit it to the two massive box sets, the 65 CD set from 1994, and the 103 CD set from 2011. You need both of them (or at least the 2011 set plus the Decca Recordings, which are part of the 1994 set, but not the 2011 set) to have everything he ever recorded.
• How about a section called Notable Performances? It could include the one in front of 25,000 at age 12 in Russia, then the US premiere at 17, maybe a blurb about his extensive traveling the world equivalent to 5 round trips to the moon (!) done mostly before jet air travel was in full-swing. Finally, his last public performance could be mentioned here, along with a nod to the recording done in Paris for the TV special shown in the US, and later released on 12" Laser Video Disc. [I have one of these. -rb]
• How about a section called Transcriptions? He published about 100 of them.
• I'm writing an article on Ayke Agus, Heifetz's last piano accompanist, and I'll link it back here once it goes live.
• Once Dario Sarlo's Ph.D thesis is published, we should include it in the References section.
  • Same goes for Dario's English translation of the Russian biography of Heifetz covering his first 17 years.

Russellbyrne (talk) 09:07, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

Pupils

The list of pupils has been turning into a catchall - with no way of knowing which were actually Heifetz students and which were not. Per discussions in the Claudio Arrau and other article talk pages, I have trimmed the list, deleting any names which currently lack an article in English Wikipedia. This article is a biographical one on Heifetz and not an excuse for alleged pupils to promote themselves.THD3 (talk) 14:02, 25 July 2011 (UTC)

Considered greatest violinist

William2001 added a weasel word template to the article. I am assuming he was objecting to the lead sentence which (quite modestly) says Heifetz was considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. The statement was, in fact, unsupported by citations in the article. I have added three (in the Technique and Timbre section), and have removed the tag.

William, if you were objecting to something else, please post to the talk page and we can find supporting documentation. Thanks, --Ravpapa (talk) 16:56, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

OK. Thanks. :-) William2001 (talk) 23:57, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

Jim Hoyl

   Anyone who knows that Jim Hoyl was a Heifetz pseudonym will not mind landing in the Wartime section of the article; those who don't are entitled to be livid at being sent to the beginning of a section that doesn't mention the pseudonym. I changed that Rdr's target accordingly.
--Jerzy•t 02:48, 29 September 2015 (UTC)

See also

The link titled Richard Strauss and the Nazis points to the top of the article on Richard Strauss. There is a section in that article about this topic and it is the first place in the article that the word Nazi is used. Perhaps this link should be changed to go directly to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Strauss#Strauss_in_Nazi_Germany.Wcomm (talk) 07:20, 3 October 2015 (UTC)

This doesn't seem like the kind of thing that needs bringing up on the Talk page. Why don't you just go ahead and make the change?—Jerome Kohl (talk) 07:24, 3 October 2015 (UTC)

C'mon

The "In Popular Culture" section is a vast wasteland.173.72.63.96 (talk) 03:28, 26 October 2016 (UTC)Newton Minnough

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Not hot for pianists?

"Fellow violinist Mischa Elman in the audience asked 'Do you think it's hot in here?', whereupon the pianist Leopold Godowsky, in the next seat, replied, 'Not for pianists.'" Does this belong in the article? I can't think of any reason it does. Deletion proposed, and if no one objects I may do it myself. Bret Sterling (talk) 18:32, 8 August 2022 (UTC)

I think it is relevant and characteristic, and see no justification for removing it. --Ravpapa (talk) 07:01, 9 August 2022 (UTC)

He had 3 children

Heifetz had two children by his first marriage, See: https://jaschaheifetz.com/about/biography/#:~:text=Heifetz%20was%20married%20twice%2C%20to,%2C%20Jay%2C%20with%20his%20second. "Heifetz was married twice, to Florence Vidor from 1928 to 1946, and to Frances Spiegelberg from 1947 to 1963. Both marriages ended in divorce. He had two children, Josefa and Robert, with his first wife, and one, Jay, with his second. " P0M (talk) 20:19, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

Lithuanian-American, not Russian-American

Regarding the nationality of the violinist, it needs to be changed from Russian-American to Lithuanian-American. Although he was born during the Russian Empire rule time, but as regarded in the wider biography on this article, J. Heifetz comes from Lithuanian-Jewish (or Litvaks, yid. ליטװאַקעס) family, which was based in Vilnius. First and foremost he is Lithuanian, now considered as one of the greatest ambasadors' of Vilnius – capital of Lithuania. As cited in official page: „Born in Vilnius, Lithuania — then occupied by Russia — on February 2, 1901, he became a U.S. citizen in 1925“. See: https://jaschaheifetz.com/ Historically, Lithuania (then Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) was occupied by the Russian Empire. Lithuania regain its independence in 16 February, 1918, becoming Lithuanian Republic. Please, don't spread false information and misleading narratives. No "Kovno", no "Lithuania now", more so "Russian Empire then", it was and still is Kaunas. 78.56.47.86 (talk) 21:12, 2 February 2024 (UTC)

The website is interesting but it is not the whole picture. Heifetz has long been considered a violinist of Russian origin, especially as he came from the Russian school of violin performance, and was one of the most famous violinists of this style. See The Russian Violin School: The Legacy of Yuri Yankelevich, page 2, which mentions how Heifetz was a student of Hungarian Leopold Auer who taught the Russian style in St Petersburg.

The book Jascha Heifetz: Early Years in Russia says that his mother was born in Belarus, and that his paternal grandfather was also from Belarus, teaching at a Jewish boys school in Vitebsk. His father was born in either Puławy in Poland or Polotsk in Belarus. The family spoke Yiddish which they considered their native language, and they could read, write and speak Russian to various degrees. The author, Galina Kopytova, writes "Jascha's parents, their spoken language drew on a cacaphony of Russian, Polish, Lithuanian and German words..." At no time was the Heifetz family hewing closely to Lithuanian culture, or identifying as Lithuanian specifically. They were Jewish trans-nationals. Binksternet (talk) 23:16, 2 February 2024 (UTC)

Since when nationality or etnicity of the professor dictates nationality of the student? And your definition "interesting" on the official website of the Violinist suggests that you are partial in this or atleast trying to go around the question. This website I'm reffering to is run by the people who are responsible for the bright memory and the copyrights of the Violinist and His heritage, and the link to this page is put on the same article in wiki as already pre-approved.

Also, it is clear, that you are not familiar with the term "Litvak" and Litvaks regional cultural heritage, when you say, that He has never identified himself as Lithuanian, has nothing to do with Lithuanian culture and but that His family were Jewish trans-nationals. To learn about Litvaks, please read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litvaks

Further more, born in long time and current capital of Lithuania, as also written further in this wiki article, in Lithuanian-Jewish family. So how can this information split and differ?

His parents may origin from the theritory of Grand Duchy of Lithuania which nowadays may be part of Belarus or Poland, that is true, but their family, Litvaks, were living in and specially linked to the Lithuanian city Vilnius, back then – capital of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and residence city of the monarch of Both Nations Commonwealth, within many nations and etnicities got along well. I'm truly sure, that J. Heifetz nationality has nothing to do with Russia, which imperialistic politics lead to the occupation of Lithuania and region of Lite – homeland of Litvaks. Please, study and make the changes.

konkurso statusas. 2A00:1EB8:C247:FDDA:50F1:7BFF:FEA1:D6B2 (talk) 20:48, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

I don't see any sources specifically connecting Heifetz to Lithuanian culture or ethnicity, nor do I see any sources connecting Heifetz to the Litvak Jews. Except, of course, the one website in your link. One source is not defining, especially when there are many other sources failing to mention the connection. Binksternet (talk) 21:10, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

For connections to the Litvaks see: https://www.lzb.lt/en/2017/02/14/ongoing-hommage-a-heifetz-project-provides-chance-to-learn-more-about-jewish-culture/

https://www.lzb.lt/en/2021/08/10/ceremony-to-unveil-plaque-commemorating-jascha-heifetz/

https://la.mfa.lt/losandzelas/en/news/concert-celebrating-the-heritage-of-lithuanian-jewish-litvak-music-will-be-held-in-santa-monica

https://etalpykla.lituanistika.lt/fedora/objects/LT-LDB-0001:J.04~2012~1367185466570/datastreams/DS.002.1.01.ARTIC/content

https://www.urm.lt/default/en/news/lithuanias-foreign-vice-minister-congratulates-the-yivo-institute-for-jewish-research-on-its-90th-anniversary

https://polishjewishstudies.co.uk/2018/11/15/8th-annual-litvak-days-london-music-soundtracks-jewish-life-wider-world/

https://english.lithuanianculture.lt/lithuanian-culture-guide/music/ 78.56.47.86 (talk) 21:28, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

Of course Heifetz had Litvak ancestry; he was a Jew descended from the previous glory of Greater Lithuania, which had been conquered by Russia and divided up a hundred years prior to his birth. But the life and career of Heifetz has nothing to do with preserving or promoting Lithuanian heritage or culture, nor did he promote Litvak culture. He trained in and stuck with the European classical music traditions, and was a sterling example of the Russian school of violin performance. He did not play Jewish klezmer music like his father. He did not speak out about Lithuanian issues.

I see the website jaschaheifetz.org as engaging in historical revisionism. They are rewriting history to promote Lithuania. The webpage http://jaschaheifetz.org/muse1.html is especially characteristic of this effort, showing how the unnamed author is jumping through hoops to try and establish an overlay of Litvak culture on everything Heifetz did, which completely fails. I don't think such activism is proper for Wikipedia. Binksternet (talk) 22:28, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

Is this your personal thought? Because J. Heifetz was born in Vilnius, at the time occupied (or conquered, as you like to put it) by Russians, which most of the time was part of Lithuania, he comes from Lithuanian-Jewish family, as stated further in the wiki article on J. Heifetz, and belong to the Litvak community. Those are the facts. School does not give person his nationality, as far as I know. It is also agreed, that his interpretation was effected by the multicultural environment of the city he was born, and he, as his parents, were part of Litvaks. His roots and blood line has nothing to do with Russians. Based on your logic and assumptions, long lasting cultural and religious line of Lithuanian Jews was rapidly and fully blown with this "conquest"? With all due respect, aside everything else you have said, this sounds both non-logical and ignorant.

You are now opposing to your own thought, but your last idea is based mostly on the Russian written articles and studies, which seems to be the real activism. History changes, those who write too, but please stick to the facts and reliable sources, because it seems you are trying to neglect those. You are fast to dismiss the information, provided by the official website, let it be. But sources you asked for, connecting Heifetz to the Litvaks directly, stay ignored. Could you please give validation for the disapproval of the position regarding Heifetz nationality, made by the nowadays Lithuanian officials, academics, musicians, international Jewish cultural institutions and Litvak community itself?

If changes (at least consensus-like) will not be made, I will be in need to draw attention of the institutions having the authority and widely representing J. Heifetz name. Just can't fight your "I think/I don't think". 78.56.47.86 (talk) 23:30, 3 February 2024 (UTC)

I looked at your links. All this activity in Vilnius to honor Heifetz is recent, not part of the standard literature on Heifetz. The earliest such activity is the establishment in 2001 in Vilnius of the International Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists. The website jaschaheifetz.org was registered in 2009. The scholarly discussions titled “Vilnius, Litvak Culture in the 19th and 20th Centuries and Jascha Heifetz” took place in 2017. None of this proves that Heifetz represented Lithuanian culture in his life and career. He became an ardent US citizen, volunteering for several years to play the violin for WWII American troops. He married a Christian woman in 1928: Florence Vidor née Arto, the ex-wife of King Vidor.[2] The descriptions of him published during his life do not match the hyperbole found at jaschaheifetz.org. Note that jaschaheifetz.com is the website of the Heifetz estate, and it was registered in 2001. The dot org website is an upstart. Binksternet (talk) 03:17, 4 February 2024 (UTC)