Heifetz Favorites

The American violinist of Romanian descent Jascha Heifetz is one of the greatest violin virtuosos of the past century. The Austrian violinist Benjamin Schmid takes the 120th anniversary of his birthday in 2021 as an opportunity for the release of an album in honor of this extraordinary musician. Together with his wife Ariane Haering at the piano, Schmid presents Heifetz Favorites, featuring Heifetz's arrangements of works which he used to perform with great success in concerts. The album comprises countless audience hits which Heifetz arranged with virtuosity such as the Saber Dance by Khatschaturian, the Valse from Tchaikovsky's String Serenade, Banjo and Fiddle by W. Kroll or Alt-Wien by Godowsky. Two pieces from Gershwin's Porgy & Bess create a link to jazz, which is represented by Mish Mash by Romanian Antoni Donchev and two tracks by Austrian Sabina Hank inspired by Duke Ellington. Thus, this repertoire is entirely in the tradition of Heifetz, who always thought across genres and kept an eye on contemporary art.