Jascha Heifetz and George Gershwin were close friends who often performed together. The two celebrated American musicians shared a common Russian-Jewish heritage. Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, while Heifetz was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. Escaping the Russian Revolution, he emigrated to the United States in 1917, and became a citizen in 1925.
Heifetz urged Gershwin to compose a violin concerto, but the project never materialized. Gershwin’s life was cut short at age 38 as a result of a brain tumor.
In 1947, Heifetz transcribed themes from Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess for violin, including Tempo Di Blues, A Woman Is A Sometime Thing, My Man’s Gone Now, It Ain’t Necessarily So, Summertime, and Bess, You Is My Woman. The transcriptions are virtuosic, soulful, and exuberantly American.
Set in the Catfish Row tenement of sultry 1920s Charleston, George Gershwin’s opera, Porgy and Bess, tells the story of a tumultuous love triangle poised between darkness and redemption.
Abandoned by her violent, drug-dealing lover, Crown, Bess turns to the caring, disabled beggar, Porgy, for support. Their newfound happiness is cut short when Crown abruptly returns. The stormy human drama is underscored by an approaching hurricane. Vowing to protect Bess, Porgy kills Crown and is taken to jail. A week later, when Porgy is released, he discovers that Bess has gone to New York with Sportin’ Life, Crown’s dope-pedaling associate. Undeterred, Porgy prays for strength and sets out on the journey to find her.
Porgy and Bess was based on a 1925 novel by DuBose Heyward. (The libretto was written by Heyward and Ira Gershwin). The three-act opera, the first to require an all-black cast, opened at the Alvin Theatre on Broadway on October 10, 1935, and ran for 124 performances. Distinctly American in its subject matter, Gershwin described the work as “a folk opera.”
Here is Jascha Heifetz’ 1965 RCA recording with pianist Brooks Smith:
(Summertime, A Woman Is A Sometime Thing, My Man’s Gone Now, It Ain’t Necessarily So, Bess, You Is My Woman Now, Tempo di Blues)
Recordings
- Gershwin: Porgy and Bess (transcriptions for violin by Jascha Heifetz), Jascha Heifetz, Brooks Smith Amazon