HEIFETZ AS I KNEW HIM Ayke Agus Amadeus Press ISBN: 1-57467-062-X Hardback £17.99

His name was once treated with the same kind of awe that one would associate with an international movie star, yet he gradually faded from the public eye and today is known only through his recordings. Through his skill as a virtuoso violinist, Jascha Heifetz became the greatest violinist of the 20th century. However, despite being a household name and a multimillionaire, his was not a happy life. He was a private man with few friends and Heifetz As I Knew Him provides a rare chance to view intimate details of a giant of a musician, warts and all.

A native of Indonesia, Ayke Agus studied in Heifetz’s masterclass at the University of Southern Carolina in the late 1970s. Although first his student, her role changed considerably in the succeeding years, becoming the pianist for the class and eventually his private accompanist: “he felt that a title was necessary to justify my being around...we left it as unofficial private accompanist, a euphemism for indispensable factotum.”

The book charts their relationship until his death in 1987 and thus is not intended as a biography – on the contrary, it is a detailed discussion of a relationship. However, this is not a criticism and, rather than a dry biographical account, we learn about Heifetz the brilliant, yet very difficult man. Nevertheless, Agus documents valuable information for musicians with details of Heifetz’s teaching method and attitude to performance, including his secrets of keeping audiences spellbound.

He was a strict teacher, to the extent that he even dictated how his students should dress and what length they should have their hair! But most fascinating of all is the rarely discussed relationship between pianist and violinist and how they interact. Heifetz saw the two as equals and Agus was given a gruelling and unorthodox training in the art of accompaniment courtesy of Heifetz.

His lack of friends seems clearly due to his caustic personality: “[he] prided himself on being difficult even at relatively normal times, and ‘You are no bloody good’ came easily from him when I thought I had done something quite well”. Once, after a performance, one of his fans came to him saying that the playing was so beautiful that it had made him cry. “Well that’s your problem”, was the cutting reply. Similar behaviour was to ensure his gradual isolation – with a waning fame, few were prepared to accept such conduct, which, according to Agus, was a test of people’s loyalty.

The book follows a roughly chronological pattern, but darts to (and from) related incidents, which leads to a great deal of repetition of events. There is also a rather slow start to the tale, but once in motion it is utterly fascinating and extremely readable for musicians and non-musicians alike.

When Heifetz knew that his remaining days were few, he explained more and more of his secrets to Agus, adding “Now, you make sure that you do not forget to put all this in the book you are going to write after I am dead and gone”. She certainly fulfils his last wish and gives an enthralling and moving account of the virtuoso’s final years, told with complete honesty and devotion. With his chauvinistic attitude to women it appears that he was very fortunate to have had such a faithful and besotted friend as Ayke Agus.

Jonathan Scott