Austrian violinist and composer Kreisler Fritz: creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The world of musical art has several dozen names of true geniuses. Their talent and contribution to the development of art forever left a mark on history and gave the world many musical masterpieces, which today are called classics. A worthy place among the great musicians is occupied by the Austrian violinist and composer Kreisler Fritz. He became famous not only for his violin virtuosity, but also for the creation of amazing works that are replayed today by contemporaries and are included in the golden collection of classical music masterpieces.

Biography

Kreisler Fritz was born in 1875 in Vienna. My father worked as a doctor and was known as a passionate music lover among his acquaintances. Perhaps it was this passion that was the reason for the future choice of his son.

From the age of four, Kreisler Fritz studied the violin and quickly succeeded in it. Thanks to his genius abilities and contrary to the rules, at the age of seven the young violinist was admitted to the Vienna Conservatory. It was there that he made his first public appearance. Among his teachers were prominentcontemporary composer and organist Anton Bruckner and renowned violinist and conductor Josef Helmesberger. Three years later, Fritz graduated from the conservatory with a gold medal, and as a reward he received a violin made by the famous Italian master Amati, the teacher of the great Antonio Stradivari.

In 1885, the young violinist entered the Paris Conservatory. There he honed his musical skills in the lessons of Joseph Massard and Leo Delibes. Upon reaching the age of 12, he passed the final exam, received the Grand Prix and decided to start an independent musical career.

America

In 1889, Kreisler Fritz went on a joint concert tour of the United States with pianist Moritz Rosenthal. But expectations of an enthusiastic reception were hasty. The American public reacted rather reservedly to the work of the young violinist. Later, in 1900, Fritz made another attempt to tour the States. This time he received a warm welcome, and even offers of cooperation were received, but the violinist was in no hurry to move across the ocean. The European public was more familiar and responsive to him.

Recognition

In 1893 and 1896 Kreisler Fritz gave concerts in Russia. Sergei Rachmaninov also performed with him. In 1899 he was a soloist with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra under the then-famous conductor Arthur Nikisch. Fritz received a real triumph at London concerts in 1904, then he was awarded the gold medal of the London Philharmonic Society. And the outstanding British composer Edward Elgar dedicatedKreisler a violin concerto, which was repeated in 1910 by Fritz himself.

The Austrian violinist, despite conflicting responses and criticism, still remained popular and in demand until a very old age, until he had to end his musical career due to progressive blindness and deafness.

Creativity

Kreisler Fritz is considered one of the greatest violinists of the first half of the last century. He had a special style of playing, which combined both technical perfection, and elegance of sound, and lively rhythm, and precise phrasing. Of course, he adopted some technical "manoeuvres" from his predecessor colleagues, putting into them the warmth of his own soul and virtuosity. So, for example, the vibrato technique (alternating change in pitch, timbre or sound intensity), borrowed from the Polish composer Henryk Wieniawski, has become one of the distinguishing features of his work.

Besides the genius of the violinist, Kreisler had the talent of a composer. The operettas "Sissi" and "Apple Blossoms", the string quartet and works for violin, or cadenzas, composed by him for the concertos of Beethoven, Brahms and the Tartini sonata "Devil's Trills" are deservedly considered his masterpieces.

No less charming and virtuosic are the w altzes "The Pangs of Love", "Chinese Tambourine", "Joys of Love" and "Wonderful Rosemary". They still sound today in the interpretation of contemporaries, and the audience always meets them with a storm of applause. The play "Little Viennese March" evokes special sympathy among the listeners.

Hoaxes

Kreisler Fritz is also known as a musician-hoaxer. In 1905-1910 he published the Classical Manuscripts. These were pieces for violin and piano, which the composer presented as arrangements of works by Couperin, Punyani, Francoeur and Boccherini, composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. Critics, due to their ignorance, have repeatedly noted the magnificent style of these adaptations, the exact adherence of the author to the texts of the originals. And only in 1935, Fritz himself admitted that all these pieces were his own compositions, and not musical imitations of their predecessors.

However, there was a downside to such hoaxes. Thus, Kreisler once passed off the works “The Torments of Love” and “The Joy of Love” as stylizations of old w altzes. They were subjected to devastating criticism, opposed to transcriptions as examples of true music. But Fritz's self-disclosure shocked skeptics and detractors.

Collection

Kreisler Fritz had a small collection of antique violins made by prominent violin makers (eg Antonio Stradivari, Carlo Bergonzi). Later, these instruments began to bear the name of the owner - the great Kreisler.

The collection of violins came in handy for Fritz not only at numerous performances and in creative research. A case is known when, in order to pay off tax debts in the United States, a violinist had to donate a violin by Guarneri (Del Gesu) to the Library of Congress. In his declining years, Fritz sold his entire antique collection, leaving only a violin by Jean-BaptisteVuillaume.

Interesting facts

• In 1896 he tried to enter the orchestra of the Vienna Court Opera, but the competition did not pass: the weakness of sight reading prevented.
• When the First World War began, Kreisler was called to the front, but he was soon wounded and demobilized. Due to the turbulent situation, the violinist was forced to leave for the United States. But after 10 years, longing for his native Europe forced him to return. He lived first in Berlin, then moved to France.
• In 1938, due to the intensification of Nazi sentiment, Kreisler Fritz had to leave for the States again and take American citizenship. In 1941, an Austrian violinist was hit by a truck, but he quickly recovered from the disaster. However, later the consequences of the injury made themselves felt and forced him to leave his musical career.
• The genius of the violin - Kreisler Fritz - had a lively, cheerful disposition. One day he visited an antique shop to show off his violin and offer to buy it. In response, the owner called the police and said that the stranger had illegally obtained the tool of the “great Kreisler”. To prove his identity and innocence, the virtuoso violinist had to play the violin.

P. S

Kreisler Fritz died in New York at the age of 86. He was afraid that they would soon forget about him, and the glory of his works would fade and sink into oblivion. However, like most geniuses, the talent of the virtuoso violinist and composer was appreciated by critics much later. And today he deservesan honorable place in the list of musical geniuses, whose playing and works are examples of immortal classical music.