Besides playing jazz perfectly, he is quite an accomplished pianist and did some very clever and difficult stunts', which will endeavour to describe. I have seen many pianists in the Orpheum circuit in America' and can~honestly say that Heifetz could entertain on the piano as well or even better than the best of them.
For those who think they can play the piano, just try some of the following, all of which were executed by Heifetz with perfect case.
Take that siniple old German waltz, "Ach clu licher Augustine" which we all know. He started the melody with the right hand and after playing two bars, started the same thing with his left hand,'and continued until both" were completed, the left hand finishing two bars after the right. While the two hands were going, the effect was quite pleasing, and was not unlike one of Bach's fugues. Then he repeated this with the left hand, followed by the right. Again he did: this alternately with both hands crossed Did any one see a highly classical piece being played with an ordinary orange in the right hand? Jascha Heifetz did'it. The Piece in particular was Chopin's hardly believe it when t say that Etude op. 10 No. 5 and you would
it was executed perfectly. The orange was rolled over the keys dexterously and only as one like Heifetz could and presto! the effect was marvellous. Anyone in an adjoining room would. swear that a brilliant pianist was playing.
To illustrate that he understood jazz perfectly, Heifetz played a number on the piano with the base in three-four time and the treble in three-four time—in other words three notes against two in a bar. There "were many other very clever'' and difficult numbers Heifetz played, the names of which I cannot remember, but all of which were brilliantly done and clever enough to make any jazz pianist envious.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.