Fritz Kreisler

[Shapley]

I enjoy the music of Fritz Kreisler. I don't know much about violin music, but the few people I know that play the violin say that his music belongs in any serious musicians' repertoire. Why is this? Is it because of the technique required to perform his music, or simply because of the music itself? I can think of some music for violin that I would consider equally beautiful, yet they do not claim it belongs in a serious musicians' repertoire. What is it about Kreisler's music that earns him this recognition?

V/R
Shapley

[bignaf]

it's definitely not the technique. it's the music. it's encore music. it earned most of its bad name since Kreisler originially tried to pass it off as work of little known composers.

[Shapley]

bignaf,

Thanks. I'm not familiar with the history of the music. I know he fought in World War I, and immigrated to America, but little else about him. I think I read that much on the back of an album sleeve. I have an vinyl album of his music performed by him, I also have Joshua Bell's Kreilser Album. I have ordered Gilles Apap's album containing works by him (Had to go to his website, his albums are hard to find on the usual channels).

V/R
Shapley

[bignaf]

it's very fun music, in small doses, IMO.

[dai bread]

Oddly enough, I like it better transcribed for clarinet. On the violin, it comes across as a bit sugary.

[piqaboo]

That's interesting.
I wonder if you would like it better ala violin if someone used an instrument (violin) with a different tone? Maybe one with a bluesy voice instead of a classical sound?

[shostakovich]

Hi Shap. Kreisler's works run about 2-5 minutes long usually. There are many other composers who wrote equally good stuff. Kreisler just wrote more of it. His reputation as a performer is legendary. That in itself does not make the music better, but it lends an aura. The aura expands when the story Bignaf alluded to is added.

Kreisler the performer had the unique ability to discover miniatures by forgotten composers. They added spice to his programs. When it turned out he was writing them rather than discovering them a lot of critics had egg on their faces. It didn't hurt his reputation, and the works finally came out under his name.

I find them very enjoyable.
Shos

[Shapley]

Shos,

Thanks. I enjoy them as well, but had wondered what it was about them that made them a staple of most violinists' repertoires.

V/R
Shapley

[dai bread]

Originally posted by piqaboo:
That's interesting.
I wonder if you would like it better ala violin if someone used an instrument (violin) with a different tone? Maybe one with a bluesy voice instead of a classical sound?

You may be right, Piq. Unfortunately I don't know any violinists, so I can't experiment. My Private Pianist played the first movement of the "Moonlight Sonata" for me very fast as an experiment suggested by somebody's link somewhere. The result was very interesting, but I can't do it for violin. Can't do it for piano any more, either. My PP has gone flatting; i.e. she shares a house with others and is responsible for her own upkeep.