ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on some of the same interpretative approaches and examines them across the wider recorded performance tradition of the Prelude. The chapter starts with the tempo and duration in the Prelude, since it is the single most frequently discussed issue by performers, critics, academics, and audiences. All four of Heifetz's recordings appear faster than the trend line and considerably faster than the average. Heifetz's fast tempo therefore cannot be called extreme, since dozens of other recordings fall further from the mean and the trend. While Heifetz falls between 1 standard deviation (STDEV) and 2 STDEV he is much closer to the trend. In fact, recent recordings by Wallfisch, Brooks, St. John, and various others are relatively farther from the trend than any of Heifetz's recordings. Although Heifetz's record collection in the Library of Congress does not include any period instrument performances, it is possible he heard of Telmnyis new approach in the early 1950s.
