He laughed when I put forward the theory that he worked many hours a
day, perhaps as many as six or eight? "No," he said, "I do not think I
could ever have made any progress if I had practiced six hours a day. In
the first place I have never believed in practicing too much--it is just
as bad as practicing too little! And then there are so many other things
I like to do. I am fond of reading and I like sport: tennis, golf,
bicycle riding, boating, swimming, etc. Often when I am supposed to be
practicing hard I am out with my camera, taking pictures; for I have
become what is known as a 'camera fiend.' And just now I have a new car,
which I have learned to drive, and which takes up a good deal of my
time. I have never believed in grinding. In fact I think that if one has
to work very hard to get his piece, it will show in the execution. To
interpret music properly, it is necessary to eliminate mechanical
difficulty; the audience should not feel the struggle of the artist with
what are considered hard passages. I hardly ever practice more than
three hours a day on an average, and besides, I keep my Sunday when I
do not play at all, and sometimes I make an extra holiday. As to six or
seven hours a day, I would not have been able to stand it at all."
I implied that what Mr. Heifetz said might shock thousands of aspiring
young violinists for whom he pointed a moral: "Of course," his answer
was, "you must not take me too literally. Please do not think because I
do not favor overdoing practicing that one can do without it. I'm quite
frank to say I could not myself. But there is a happy medium. I suppose
that when I play in public it looks easy, but before I ever came on the
concert stage I worked very hard. And I do yet--but always putting the
two things together, mental work and physical work. And when a certain
point of effort is reached in practice, as in everything else, there
must be relaxation.