National Public Radio in the United States recently commemorated the centennial anniversary of Jascha Heifetz's American debut at Carnegie Hall. Here are some related images from our archives.

Heifetz in 1913 at the age of twelve.

Musical America, Vol. 25 No. 19 (10 March 1917): 11.

A young Heifetz with Professor Auer and his violin students at summer school in Dresden.

Musical America, Vol. 21 No. 1 (7 November 1914): 25.

Heifetz, a young man, with Professor Auer and his violin students in Petrograd (St. Petersburg).

Musical America, Vol. 24 No. 22 (30 September 1916): 11.

One month before the arrival of Heifetz in America

Musical America, Vol. 26 No. 18 (1 September 1917): 2.

The announcement of Heifetz’s debut.

Musical America, Vol. 26 No. 25 (20 October 1917): 33.

A compilation of reviews in several newspapers from his debut

Musical America, Vol. 27 No. 1 (3 November 1917): 18.

He has a technic which must make him the admiration and the despair of all the other violinists. His finger work is almost unerring, whether in rapid flights or in intricate passages of double stopping. But better than this is the exquisite finish, elasticity and resource of his bowing, which gives him a supreme command of all the tonal nuances essential to style and interpretation.

Above, The New York World (28 October 1917).

Genius is a big word for which there seldom is use. Comparatively few persons are qualified to have it applied to them. Yet one such--a seventeen-year-old Russian youth--stood upon the Carnegie Hall stage yesterday afternoon and before his musical task was half completed an audience numbering more than 2,000, that knew, pronounced him the greatest violinist heard here in years.

Above, The New York Sun (28 October 1917)

Musical America, Vol. 27 No. 2 (10 November 1917): 3.

He quickly settled in New York City ...

... and traveled the country.

Musical America, Vol. 27 No. 9 (29 December 1917): 47.

A rare photo of a playful Heifetz.

Musical America, Vol. 29 No. 15 (8 February 1919): 48.

A telling commentary, one month after his American debut.

"Mephistos Musings," Musical America, Vol. 27 No. 2 (10 November 1917): 8.

Finally, Heifetz with his beloved Professor Aurer.

RIPM search tip: A search for “Heifetz” in RIPM’s e-Library of Music Periodicals reveals that his name appears at least once on 1,545 pages!

A battleground ... with cavalry, cannons, bombs, and bullets.

The Baton, Vol. 9 No. 2 (1929 December): 15. For more on The Baton, read here!

In celebration of his birthday on 22 October 1811, we commemorate Franz Liszt with a set of caricatures published in The Musical World (Vol. 53 Nos. 45-48, 1875), originally printed in the Hungarian journal, Borsszem Jankó, depicting the great pianist-composer performing at the piano.

He appears with a smile...

The first chord... With eyes closed...

Pianissimo... Awesome tingling...

Recalling Chopin and George Sand... Dante in hell...

Just after the performance...

RIPM search tip: To access dozens of images of Liszt in the Online Archive, first select "illustration" in the Type field, then, keyword search for "Liszt".

Today marks the start of our new (mostly) weekly series, as part of the “Curios” section of RIPM’s enhanced Curios, News, and Chronicles publication. On most Wednesdays, we will post an illustration selected from the thousands in our archives. We will try to select only those that are interesting, often unexpected, and amusing. We want to share these with you, hoping that you enjoy them as much as we do.

Last week we published a curio entitled, “Study Under Caruso: Selling Recordings in the 20^th-Century”. Today we focus again on the great tenor by featuring another of his talents, that of illustrator. Caruso sketched dozens of influential musical personalities and many of himself. Here are just a few, along with contemporary photographs that offer interesting points of comparison.

RIPM search tip: A search for "Caruso" in RIPM's e-Library of Music Periodicals reveals that his name appears at least once on 7,865 pages!

A series of focused advertisements by the Victor Talking Machine Company of Camden, NJ began appearing in Musical America in late 1905. Along with promoting the sale of recordings for the pleasure of listening, the company’s advertisements also promoted their “Red Seal” records as a tool for individual instruction for singers. By securing exclusive contracts with the most revered opera stars of the day, Victor offered people the chance to “study” with their vocal idols. All one had to do was purchase a Victor Talking Machine, a handful of records, and, listen.

Are you interested in “making great strides forward in you musical education” … and improving your sense of expression, diction and breathing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmR1h5B5Thk

[Musical America, Vol. 4 No. 24 (27 October 1906): 18

Do you want to improve your phrasing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCrbs0OtmJ0

[Musical America, Vol. 5 No. 2 (24 November 1906): 18]

Did you miss that magic moment from the back row of the opera hall?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t936rzOt3Zc

[Musical America, Vol. 4 No. 13 (11 August 1906): 14]

Tired of all the painstaking hours of practicing with little to no improvement? Then take a more leisurely approach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbQSrDTrVnE

[Musical America, Vol. 9 No. 16 (27 February 1909): 31]

Do you even need a teacher when you can study with the best vocal instructors at home?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G98hlUfue54

[Musical America, Vol. 10 No. 6 (19 June 1909): 27]

And, of course, learning is a life-long undertaking and there is always room for improvement.

[Musical America, Vol. 16 No. 10 (13 July 1912): 15]

Caruso listening to Caruso

RIPM search tip: Select Musical America in the periodical title field of RIPM’s e-Library of Music Periodicals, and search for “talking machine.” This yields over one-thousand pages of pertinent content. For more focused results, restrict your search to a span of years.