Artist

Jascha Heifetz

Russian-Lithuanian-American violin virtuoso, born February 2 [O.S. January 20], 1901, Vilna, Vilna Governate, Russian Empire (now Vilnius, Lithuania), died December 10, 1987, Los Angeles, California, US. His name transliterates to Iosif Ruvimovich Kheyfets, conforming to Russian patronymic usage. The Kheyfets were Jewish, and Jascha was a common Yiddish diminutive for Joseph. The surname was anglicized Heifetz. His father, Reuven Heifetz, was a local violin teacher and served as the concertmaster of the Vilnius Theatre Orchestra for one season before the theatre closed down. Heifetz and his family left Russia in 1917, traveling by rail to the Russian far east and then by ship to the United States, arriving in San Francisco. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1924. Famous for his arrangement and making popular the tune “Hora Staccato” composed by Grigoraș Dinicu.