Classical Musicians, the Way They Were

In the 1940s and early 1950s, some Hollywood producers decided to bring classical music to the masses. So they produced six short films starring three classical superstars: pianist Artur Rubinstein, violinist Jascha Heifetz and cellist Gregor Piatigorsky.

The people who made these films were apparently afraid to just show these musicians playing, so they created the corniest, silliest, clumsiest scenarios imaginable. Once the Hollywood screenwriters get out of the way and let the musicians play, however, we have priceless visual records of great musicians in their prime.

These rare films are now available on videotape from Kultur (1340 Ocean Ave., Sea Bright, N.J., 07760. 1-800-4-KULTUR).

“Artur Rubinstein” (78 minutes, under $60) contains three separate films. In the first, if you can get past the unctuous scenario (a Mr. Johnson tries to persuade Rubinstein to make a movie), you will be treated to rare footage of Rubinstein Rat home” playing Mendelssohn, Liszt, Chopin and even “Pop Goes the Weasel” for his two children (little son John, now a well-known actor and musical arranger-composer, makes a nervous film debut).

The second film is an all-Chopin program and is simply magnificent (great close-ups of those famous hands; Rubinstein talking about Chopin; the joy of watching the pianist play music he obviously adores).

The third film features Rubinstein, Heifetz and Piatigorsky “rehearsing” the first movement of Schubert’s Trio in B-flat and the Mendelssohn Trio in D-Minor. If you can ignore the plot line (the man hired to write the film finally throws the scripts on the floor and asks the audience just to listen to the music, a sensible idea better thought of before shooting began), you can relish the sight of watching these three superstars perform. It is a compelling piece of historical film.

“Heifetz/Piatigorsky” (88 minutes, under $60) is a fascinating portrait of Heifetz at home, practicing, then performing. During the clumsy at-home portrait, Heifetz pushes the Hollywood writers out of the way with some inspired playing of Paganini’s 24th Caprice. This and the second film, an Rimpromptu” concert at Pomona College with Heifetz’s longtime accompanist Emanuel Bay (they play pieces by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Gluck and Prokofiev) are superb documents showing off Heifetz’s astounding virtuosity.

The Piatigorsky segment features brilliant cello playing combined with a hopelessly inane plot line about a TV hostess bird-dogging the famous cellist so she can get some personal information out of him for her show. Again, the performances are so wonderful-Piatigorsky plays his arrangement of Schubert’s “Introduction, Theme and Variations”Qthat all of the cornball slop surrounding them can be ignored.

There is more Heifetz on video offering a rare opportunity to see the master violinist perform. Although Heifetz hadn’t played in public since 1972, his playing was still the standard by which all other violin virtuosos are judged.

The Heifetz legacy is well-documented on “CA records, but he seldom was captured by the cameras. What there is, however, is top choice.

“Heifetz-The Greatest Violinist of the Twentieth Century in Performance” (63 minutes, Video Arts International, P.O. Box 153, Ansonia Station, N.Y. 10023) is a long-forgotten NBC-TV program produced when Heifetz was 70, but still in top form. Sadly, it was to be his only videotaped special.

The tape includes a cherished bonus: two selections edited from the program (a Mozart Rondo and Rachmaninoff’s “Daisies” arranged by Heifetz) as well as the complete, unedited performance of the dazzling Bruch’s “Scottish Fantasy,” in which Heifetz not only plays the violin but also conducts.

The last Heifetz treasure can be found on a 29-minute videotape distributed by Homevideo Exclusives (2105 Lakeland Ave., Lakeland, New York 11779; 1-800-228-2038). It is “Heifetz Master Class,” a splendid sampling of Heifetz the teacher as well as Heifetz the incredible virtuoso.

The cameras follow Heifetz at the University of Southern California in 1962 as he shows a student how to do much more than simply play Chausson’s “Poeme.” It appears she plays it well enough until Heifetz rips into the piece with such intensity and emotion that everyone, including the student, is overwhelmed.