Four Centuries of Great Music February 2, 2024 Sesquicentennial of the birth of Fritz Kreisler

Today on Four Centuries of Great Music we are exploring the music of violinist, arranger and composer Fritz Kreisler because today February 2nd is the sesquicentennial of the birth of Fritz Kreisler 150 years ago on February 2, 1875.   He was born in Vienna, Austria and at seven entered the Vienna Conservatory in 1882 and studied there with violinist composers Jakob Dont and Joseph Hellmesberger Jr. and composer Anton Bruckner until the age of 10 in 1885 when he moved to the Paris Conservatory  to study for two more years with violinist Joseph Lambert Massart and composers Léo Delibes and Jules Massenet.  He graduated with a degree of "Premier Prix" gold medal in violin performance at the age of 12, competing against 40 other players, all of whom were at least 20 years of age.  

He made his United States debut at the Steinway Hall in New York City on November 10, 1888, and his first tour of the United States in 1888–1889 with pianist Moriz Rosenthal.   He applied at the age of 14 to join the Vienna Philharmonic. but was turned down by the concertmaster/orchestra leader Arnold Rosé.   At which point he studied medicine, served in the Army as a physician and only returned to violin performance 10 years later in 1899. After a concert with the Berlin Philharmonic and a very successful United States tour, he had made his name as a violinist.  On top of these accomplishments, he was also a skilled pianist.

He married an American in 1902 and they were married until 1962 when he died.  They lived in America until returning to Europe in 1924 living mostly in Berlin.  But leaving Germany in 1938 and moving back to the United States.  He had a Jewish heritage although he was Baptized at 14.  He retired from public concert performing in 1947 but continued radio performances for a few years after that.

There is an photograph of Kreisler with with pianist Harold Bauer, cellist Pablo Casals, and conductor Walter Damrosch at a performance at Carnegie Hall on March 13, 1917, my guess is perhaps the Beethoven Triple concerto for violin, cello piano and orchestra.

In addition to being one of the most prominent violinists of his era, he also was a composer and arranger.  And today we will explore all three aspects of his musical life. We open with his String Quartet in A minor which was premiered 1919 and  published 1921).  It is in 4 movements: I. Fantasia; II. Scherzo. Allegro vivo, con spirito; III. Einleitung und romanza and IV. Finale. Allegro molto moderato


Fritz Kreisler:  String Quartet in A Minor - I. Fantasia
Fritz Kreisler:  String Quartet in A Minor -  II. Scherzo. Allegro vivo, con spirito
Fritz Kreisler:  String Quartet in A Minor -  III. Einleitung und romanza
Fritz Kreisler:  String Quartet in A Minor -  IV. Finale. Allegro molto moderato
Muir String Quartet
Kreisler Quartet, Schulhoff 5 Pieces and Berg Op. 3
Classics for Kids Foundation Records

You have been listening to  Fritz Kreisler’s  String Quartet in A minor

Early in his career he composed a number of works that he attributed to other composers in his concerts including Luigi Boccherini, Louis Couperin, Antonio Vivaldi, Giuseppe Tartini, and Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf.  Many years later, he revealed that he had actually written these.   

He also composed a lot for solo violin and violin and piano which he took credit for, playing these works and publishing them for other violinists to play particularly as encores.

Let's listen to a couple of these works first his Caprice Viennois, Op. 2 written early in his career in 1910.

Next let’s listen to his Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta written in late in his career in 1948.

Fritz Kreisler:   Caprice Viennois, Op. 2
Fritz Kreisler:   Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta
Pier Narciso Masi, violin & Luigi Alberto Bianchi, piano
Kreisler: Famous Encores
Dynamic Records

But in addition to his original composition written to play at his recitals, he also did a lot of transcriptions of music particularly music of Bach, Paganini, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Schubert and Chopin.  But clearly a favorite composer of his was Antonin Dvorak and Kreisler transcribed a number  of Dvorak’s works for violin and piano.  Among these were many of Dvorak’s Slavonic dances.  Let open with his transcription of

Antonin Dvorak:  Slavonic Dance in G Minor, Op. 46 No. 1 (arr. F. Kreisler)
Jérôme Ducros, piano & Renaud Capuçon, violin
Capriccio - Works for Violin and Piano
VIrgin Classics



Antonin Dvorak:   Slavonic Dance No. 2 in E minor, Op. 46/2 (arr. F. Kreisler)
Antonin Dvorak:   Slavonic Dance No. 10 in E minor, Op. 72/2 (arr. F. Kreisler)
Fritz Kreisler, Milana Chernyavska & Nicolas Koeckert
Kreisler:  Russian & Slavonic Miniatures
Naxos Recordings


In addition to the Slavonic Dance transcriptions, Fritz Kreisler wrote a piece called Slavonic Fantasy which was a composite of several of Antonin Dvorak’s melodies

Here is Fritz Kreisler’s Slavonic Fantasy as performed by Milana Chernyavska & Nicolas Koeckert
Kreisler:  Russian & Slavonic Miniatures


And of course he was a very famous concert violinist so we need to reflect that aspect of him as well.  Here Is a performance by Fritz Kreisler of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61



Ludwig van Beethoven:  Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61- I. Allegro ma non troppo
Ludwig van Beethoven:   Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 - II. Larghetto
Ludwig van Beethoven:  Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 - III. Rondo - Allegro
Fritz Kreisler, violin & Leo Blech conducting the State Opera Orchestra of Berlin
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61
Discover Classical Music Recordings

We will close with a Fritz Kreisler original, his toy soldier march as performed by Anders Kilstrom, piano and Tobias Ringborg, violin from the album Kreisleriana - Compositions and Transcriptions by Fritz Kreisler


Fritz Kreisler:  Toy Soldier March
Anders Kilstrom, piano and Tobias Ringborg, violin
Kreisleriana - Compositions and Transcriptions by Fritz Kreisler
Caprice Records