Alchemy

Heifetz’s Decca recordings show him doing what he did best: transforming two- and three-minute trifles into works of perfection. —John Maltese Imperfect things are always— it seems—a wave of some wand away from perfection. They’re there—the toady and the bumpy with warts—for turning into princes. Even pumpkins— propped upon piles of lumber— idle like unupholstered carriages up on cinder blocks. But a trifle’s potential— its capacity for alchemy, actually— can leave you longing for lead. So many things you think are Prince Hals are really just kings.