THIRTEEN’s American Masters Series Presents the National Broadcast Premiere of Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler April 16 and 17 on PBS; Emmy-winning filmmaker Peter Rosen’s profile of the violin virtuoso features Heifetz’ previously unseen home movies, Itzhak Perlman, Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel and Ayke Agus

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Season 29 of American Masters continues with the new documentary American Masters — Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler, premiering nationwide Thursday, April 16 at 8 p.m. and Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings**).

Discover the story of legendary musician Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987), the first truly modern violin virtuoso. Setting the standard in violin playing for nearly a century, Heifetz’ name became shorthand for excellence for everyone from Jack Benny to The Muppets to Woody Allen.

New videos:

Film excerpt: Jascha Heifetz Tests Itzhak Perlman’s Violin Skills 

https://youtu.be/AIQCg1n49EU

Filmmaker interview: Peter Rosen on the 3 key assets that led him to make the documentary

Additional embeddable videos are available here:

This documentary portrays an artist for whom only perfection would do through vintage performances, master classes and Heifetz’ previously unseen home movies. New interviews include other great violinists influenced by Heifetz, including Itzhak Perlman, Ivry Gitlis and Ida Haendel, former students Ayke Agus and Sherry Kloss, and biographers John Anthony Maltese and Arthur Vered. They reveal how Heifetz was a mysterious, idiosyncratic, solitary figure who embodied the paradox of artistic genius: a dedication to his craft at all costs. Tony-nominated actor Danny Burstein (Boardwalk Empire, Cabaret, Follies) narrates, reading from Heifetz’ personal letters. Filmed in Heifetz’ native Vilnius, Lithuania; Saint Petersburg, Russia; and his rebuilt studio in Los Angeles, Calif. Directed and produced by Emmy- and Peabody-winner Peter Rosen (American Masters — Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes, The Cliburn: Playing on the Edge). More details are below.

WNET

#AmericanMasters

Limited interviews are available with:

*Peter Rosen, Emmy- and Peabody-winning director/producer; NYC resident; Cornell University alumnus; Yale University alumnus, fellow and an instructor in the art department.

*Endre Granat, violinist, leading concertmaster for the Hollywood film industry (Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Henry Mancini, Hans Zimmer, Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards), Heifetz’ student at University of Southern California; editor for the Jascha Heifetz Collection; Assistant Concertmaster in the Cleveland Orchestra; former professor Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Illinois; studied at Indiana University; LA resident

*Ayke Agus, child prodigy violinist and pianist, Heifetz’ student, accompanist and longtime companion; author, Heifetz, As I Knew Him; University of Southern California alumnus, member of the Pasadena Symphony and California Philharmonic; Antelope Valley College (Lancaster, CA) teacher; LA resident

*Sherry Kloss, violinist, Heifetz’ student; Master Assistant in charge of Heifetz’ University of Southern California class; Heifetz left her his Tononi violin used at his U.S. concert debut at Carnegie Hall (1917) in his will; author, Jascha Heifetz Through My Eyes; Pittsburgh, PA native, Muncie, IN resident

*Nathaniel Rosen, American cellist, former faculty member at the USC Thornton School of Music (Los Angeles) and the Manhattan School of Music (NYC); LA native, former Riverdale & Nyack resident, now based in Japan

*John Anthony Maltese, Heifetz biographer, Albert Berry Saye Professor & Head of the Department of Political Science, University of Georgia; Athens, GA resident

*Michael Kantor, American Masters series executive producer; Scarsdale, NY resident; New Haven, CT native

 

**Confirmed Top 30 DMA premieres include:
New York: Thursday, April 16 at 10:30 p.m. on THIRTEEN
Los Angeles: Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal
Chicago: Thursday, April 16 at 8 p.m. on WTTW11
Philadelphia: Thursday, April 16 at 8 p.m. on WHYY-TV
Dallas: Friday, April 17 at 8 p.m. on KERA1San Francisco: Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on KQED

Boston: Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on WGBH 2   

Washington, D.C.: Friday, April 17 at 8:30 p.m. on WETA TV 26

Atlanta: Saturday, April 25 at 9 a.m. & 3 p.m. on GPB Knowledge

Houston: Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on Houston Public Media

Phoenix: Friday, April 17 at 8 p.m. on Eight, Arizona PBS (KAET)

Detroit: Friday, April 17 at 10 p.m on Detroit Public TV (WTVS)

Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota: Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on WEDU PBS

Seattle/Tacoma: Friday, April 17 at 10 p.m. on KCTS 9

Minneapolis/St. Paul: Sunday, April 19 at 3 p.m. on tpt2

Miami/Ft. Lauderdale: Thursday, April 16 at 10 p.m. on WPBT2

Denver: Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on RMPBS (KRMA) 

Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne: Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on WUCF TV

Cleveland/Akron/Canton: Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on WVIZ/PBS ideastream

Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto: Wednesday, April 22 at 7 p.m. on KVIE2

St. Louis: Friday, April 17 at 8 p.m. on Nine PBS (KETC)

Portland, OR: Sunday, April 26 at 12 noon on OPB TV

Charlotte: Thursday, April 16 at 10 p.m. on UNC-TV

Raleigh-Durham: Thursday, April 16 at 10 p.m. on UNC-TV

Indianapolis: Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on WFYI 1

San Diego: Sunday, May 3 at 12:30 p.m. on  KPBS

Nashville: Friday, April 17 at 8 p.m. on NPT-HD

For additional markets, contact your local station or check local listings.

 

—–

 

THIRTEEN’s American Masters Series Presents the National Broadcast Premiere of

Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler April 16 and 17 on PBS

(check local listings)

 

Emmy-winning filmmaker Peter Rosen’s profile of the violin virtuoso features Heifetz’ previously unseen home movies, Itzhak Perlman, Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel and Ayke Agus

 

Emmy- and Peabody-winning filmmaker Peter Rosen (American Masters – Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes, The Cliburn: Playing on the Edge) uncovers the story of legendary musician Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987), the first truly modern violin virtuoso, for THIRTEEN’s American Masters series. The one-hour documentary American Masters — Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler premieres nationwide Thursday, April 16 at 8 p.m. and Friday, April 17 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Major market premieres include Thursday, April 16 at 8 p.m. on WTTW11 in Chicago and WHYY-TV in Philadelphia and 10:30 p.m. on THIRTEEN in New York, and Friday, April 17 at 8 p.m. on KERA in Dallas, 8:30 p.m. on WETA TV 26 in Washington, D.C., and 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal in Los Angeles, on KQED in San Francisco, on WGBH 2 in Boston and on Houston Public Media.

 

Setting the standard in violin playing for nearly a century, Heifetz’ name became shorthand for excellence for everyone from Jack Benny to The Muppets to Woody Allen. Through vintage performances and master classes, God’s Fiddler portrays an artist for whom only perfection would do. New interviews include other great violinists influenced by Heifetz, including Itzhak Perlman, Ivry Gitlis and Ida Haendel, former student, accompanist and longtime companion Ayke Agus, former student and master assistant in charge of his world-renowned violin class at the University of Southern California Sherry Kloss, and biographers John Anthony Maltese and Arthur Vered. They reveal how Heifetz was a mysterious, idiosyncratic, solitary figure who embodied the paradox of artistic genius: a dedication to his craft at all costs, including two failed marriages, estrangement from his children and very few friends. Characterized as serious and intense while performing and teaching, his students describe him as generous and playful when socializing.

 

Filmed in Heifetz’ native Vilnius, Lithuania; Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he studied with the influential Leopold Auer; and in his rebuilt studio in Los Angeles, Calif., American Masters — Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddleralso features Heifetz’ previously unseen 16mm footage from 1917-1985, which Rosen discovered at the Colburn Music School in Los Angeles. A self-professed “camera fiend,” Heifetz’ home movies show scenes from his apartment in Saint Petersburg just months before the Russian Revolution, his immigration to America, his early social life in New York City, his family life, his travels through Europe, the Middle East and Japan, and his later years in Los Angeles. Tony-nominated actor Danny Burstein (Boardwalk Empire, Cabaret, Follies) narrates, reading from Heifetz’ personal letters.

 

“I’ve made previous documentaries about great figures in the arts, and there’s always a debate on who was the greatest conductor, who was the greatest pianist, who was the greatest tenor or soprano. But in making this film, I found no debate in music circles on who was the greatest violinist: Jascha Heifetz,” says Rosen.

 

“Heifetz is thrilling to watch, even if you rarely listen to classical music,” says Michael Kantor, executive producer of American Masters. “His technique was just astounding and he was revered around the world. What makes Peter Rosen’s film so compelling is the way that it takes a deeply personal look at the struggle of an artist to realize greatness.”

 

Launched in 1986 by series creator Susan Lacy, American Masters has earned 28 Emmy Awards — including 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series since 1999 and five for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special — 12 Peabodys, an Oscar, three Grammys, two Producers Guild Awards and many other honors. Now in its 29th season on PBS, the series is a production of THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET.

To take American Masters beyond the television broadcast and further explore the themes, stories and personalities of masters past and present, the companion website (http://pbs.org/americanmasters) offers streaming video of select films, interviews, photos, outtakes, essays and other resources. American Masters is also seen on the WORLD channel.

 

American Masters — Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler is a production of Peter Rosen Productions, Inc. Peter Rosen is producer and director. Sara Lukinson is co-producer. Josh Waletzky and Peter Rosen are editors. Peter Rosen is photographer. Barry Markowitz is photographer of The Heifetz Studio at The Colburn School. Michael Kantor is executive producer for American Masters.

 

Major funding for Jascha Heifetz: God’s Fiddler is provided by the Colburn School. Additional funding for this program is provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, Judith and Burton Resnick, and Kitty Hawks and Larry Lederman. American Masters is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Rosalind P. Walter, The Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Rhoda Herrick, Vital Projects Fund, Michael & Helen Schaffer Foundation, Rolf and Elizabeth Rosenthal, Jack Rudin, The André and Elizabeth Kertész Foundation and public television viewers.

 

About WNET

As New York’s flagship public media provider and the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than 5 million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings available on air and online. Pioneers in educational programming, WNET has created such groundbreaking series as Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase and provides tools for educators that bring compelling content to life in the classroom and at home. WNET highlights the tri-state’s unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Reel 13, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. WNET is also a leader in connecting with viewers on emerging platforms, including the THIRTEEN Explore App where users can stream PBS content for free.

 

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http://instagram.com/pbsamericanmasters

http://youtube.com/AmericanMastersPBS

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Natasha Padilla

Senior Publicist

WNET

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WNET is the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21, New York’s public television stations, and operator of NJTV.

 

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