Fritz Kreisler | |
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| Born | (1875-02-02)February 2, 1875 Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | January 29, 1962(1962-01-29) (aged 86) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Composer,violinist |
| Years active | 1903–1950 |
| External audio | |
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 Listen to Fritz Kreisler performingAlt-Wiener Tanzweisen (Liebesfreud – Love's Joy),Liebesleid (Love's Sorrow) andSchön Rosmarin (Lovely Rosemary) in 1943at archive.org |
Friedrich "Fritz"Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born Americanviolinist andcomposer.[1] One of the most noted violin masters of his day, he was known for his sweettone and expressivephrasing, with marked portamento and rubato. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately recognizable as his own. Although it derived in many respects from the Franco-Belgian school, his style is nonetheless reminiscent of thegemütlich (cozy) lifestyle of pre-warVienna.
Kreisler was born inVienna, the son of Anna (née Reches)[note 1] and Samuel Kreisler, a doctor.[2][3] OfJewish descent, he was howeverbaptised at the age of 12. At age seven, Kreisler entered theVienna Conservatory where he studied underAnton Bruckner,Jakob Dont andJoseph Hellmesberger Jr., and studied composition and violin at theParis Conservatory between 1885 and 1887, where his teachers includedLéo Delibes,Lambert Massart andJules Massenet. He graduated from Paris Conservatory with a degree of "Premier Prix" gold medal at the age of 12, competing against 40 other players, all of whom were at least 20 years of age.[4]
He made his United States debut at theSteinway Hall inNew York City on November 10, 1888, and his first tour of the United States in 1888–1889 withMoriz Rosenthal. He then returned to Austria and applied for a position in theVienna Philharmonic, but was turned down by the concertmasterArnold Rosé. As a result, he left music to study medicine. He spent a brief time in thearmy before returning to the violin in 1899, when he gave a concert with theBerlin Philharmonic conducted byArthur Nikisch. It was this concert and a series of American tours from 1901 to 1903 that brought him real acclaim. Kreisler was also an excellent pianist, and his piano playing is preserved onAmpico reproducingpiano rolls.
During a concert tour of the United States in 1901, Kreisler met Harriet Lies, a New York-born divorcée who was a Vassar graduate and the daughter of a German American tobacco merchant. They fell in love immediately and were married a year later, though they repeated the ceremony three more times because of legal technicalities. They had no children, and Harriet devoted her life to his career. They were married for 60 years, until his death in 1962.
In 1910, Kreisler gave the premiere of SirEdward Elgar's Violin Concerto, a work commissioned by and dedicated to him. He served briefly in the Austrian Army inWorld War I before being honourably discharged after he was wounded. He arrived inNew York on November 24, 1914,[5] and spent the remainder of the war years in America. He returned to Europe in 1924, living first in Berlin, then moving to France in 1938. Shortly thereafter, at the outbreak ofWorld War II, he settled once again in the United States, becoming anaturalized citizen in 1943. He lived there for the rest of his life, giving his last public concert in 1947, and broadcasting performances for a few years after that.
On April 26, 1941, he was involved in a serious traffic accident. Struck by a truck while crossing a street in New York, he suffered a fractured skull and was in a coma for over a week.[6]
In his later years, he suffered from not only some hearing loss but also sight deterioration due to cataracts.[7]
Kreisler died of a heart condition aggravated by old age in New York City in 1962.[1] He was interred in a private mausoleum inWoodlawn Cemetery,the Bronx, New York City.
Kreisler wrote a number of pieces for the violin, including solos for encores, such as "Liebesleid" and "Liebesfreud". Some of Kreisler's compositions werepastiches ostensibly in the style of other composers. They were originally ascribed to earlier composers, such asGaetano Pugnani,Giuseppe Tartini andAntonio Vivaldi, and then, in 1935, Kreisler revealed that it was he who wrote the pieces. When critics complained, Kreisler replied that they had already deemed the compositions worthy: "The name changes, the value remains", he said. He also wroteoperettas, includingApple Blossoms in 1919[8] andSissy [de] in 1932, astring quartet, andcadenzas, including ones forBrahms'sViolin Concerto,Paganini'sD major Violin Concerto, andBeethoven'sViolin Concerto. His cadenzas for the Beethoven concerto are the ones most often played by violinists today.
He wrote the music for the 1936 movieThe King Steps Out directed byJosef von Sternberg, based on the early years ofEmpress Elisabeth of Austria.
Kreisler performed and recorded his own version of the first movement of Paganini's D major Violin Concerto. The movement is rescored and in some places reharmonised, and the orchestral introduction is completely rewritten in some places. The overall effect is of a late-nineteenth-century work.
| External audio | |
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| Listen to Fritz Kreisler performingLudwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 withJohn Barbirolli conducting theLondon Philharmonic in 1936at archive.org |
Kreisler owned several antique violins made byluthiersAntonio Stradivari,Pietro Guarneri,Giuseppe Guarneri, andCarlo Bergonzi, most of which eventually came to bear his name. He also owned aJean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin of 1860, which he often used as his second violin,[9] and which he often loaned to the young prodigyJosef Hassid. In 1952 he donated his Giuseppe Guarneri to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. where it remains in use for performances given in the library.[10]
On recordings, Kreisler's style resembles that of his younger contemporaryMischa Elman, with a tendency toward expansivetempi, a continuous and variedvibrato, expressivephrasing, and a melodic approach to passage-work. Kreisler makes considerable use ofportamento andrubato[citation needed]. The two violinists' approaches are less similar in big works of the standard repertoire, such asFelix Mendelssohn'sViolin Concerto, than in smaller pieces.
A trip to a Kreisler concert is recounted inSiegfried Sassoon's 1928autobiographical novelMemoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man.
The Australian manufacturer of electronics and consumer goodsKriesler (later a subsidiary ofPhilips) supposedly took its name after Fritz Kreisler but had intentionally misspelled the name as to avoid possible juristical actions from other parties.[11]
Kreisler created a number ofmusical forgeries throughout his career. These include
Kreisler recorded extensively forVictor/RCA Victor andHis Master's Voice. His recordings have been reasonably well represented on both LP and CD reissues. His final recordings were made in 1950.
Fritz Kreisler, the world-famous violinist and composer, died yesterday. He would have been 87 years old on Friday.
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