Violin virtuoso. A child prodigy, Heifetz entered the Royal Society of Music in Vilna, Russia, before he was four. His first concert was held two years later; by the age of nine he was appearing with the great orchestras of Europe. Enthusiastic response to his New York debut in 1917 led him to settle in the U.S. Although Heifetz’s technique was perfected before he was 18, his career showed con_tinuous musical development. His own experiments in composition are believed to have contributed to this development. Heifetz is considered one of the most brilliant violinists of the concert stage.