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FRITZ KREISLER 1875–1962 1 Caprice viennois, Op.2 3.59 2 Andantino in the style of Martini 3.41 3Allegretto in the style of Boccherini 3.18 4 La gitana 3.12 5 Slavonic Dance , Op.72 no.8 (Dvo ˇrák, arr. Kreisler) 5.27 6 Chanson Louis XIII & Pavane in the style of Couperin 4.06 7 Schön Rosmarin 1.57 8 Liebesfreud 3.18 9 Danse espagnole (from Falla La vida breve , arr. Kreisler) 3.24 10 Liebesleid 3.25 11 Recitativo & Scherzo capriccio, Op.6 4.03 12 Tango (Albéniz, arr. Kreisler) 2.32 13 Rondino on a theme by Beethoven 2.42 14 Tambourin chinois, Op.3 3.35 Arrangements by Fritz Kreisler 15 TARTINI Violin Sonata in G minor “Devil’s Trill” 14.41 16 POLDINI Dancing Doll 2.44 17 WIENIAWSKI Caprice 1.33 18 TRAD. Londonderry Air 4.33 19 MOZART Rondo (from Serenade in D, K250 “Haffner”) 7.00 20 CORELLI Sarabande & Allegretto 4.00 21 ALBÉNIZ Malagueña, Op.165 no.3 4.20 22 HEUBERGER Midnight Bells (from Der Opernball ) 3.42 23 BRAHMS Hungarian Dance in F minor 3.56 24 MENDELSSOHN Song Without Words, Op.62 no.1 3.16 25 KREISLER La Précieuse in the style of Couperin 2.44 26 KREISLER Siciliano & Rigaudon in the style of Francœur 5.09 27 CHAMINADE Sérénade espagnole, Op.150 (arr. Kreisler) 2.13 28 KREISLER Aubade provençale in the style of Couperin 2.32 29 KREISLER Menuet in the style of Porpora 4.02 30 LEHÁR Serenade (from Frasquita , arr. Kreisler) 2.33 31 PADEREWSKI Melody, Op.16 no.2 (arr. Kreisler) 3.15 32 KREISLER Toy Soldiers’ March 1.45 33 TCHAIKOVSKY Andante cantabile (arr. Kreisler) 5.12 34 TCHAIKOVSKY Chanson sans paroles (arr. Kreisler) 2.56 35 KREISLER Scherzo in the style of Dittersdorf 3.27 36 DVO RˇÁK Slavonic Dance, Op.46 no.2 (arr. Kreisler) 3.27 37 PAGANINI Caprice No.20 (arr. Kreisler) 2.40 38 KREISLER Syncopation 2.03 39 GRAINGER Molly on the Shore (arr. Kreisler) 2.43 145.20 ITZHAK PERLMAN violin SAMUEL SANDERS piano 2 Itzhak Perlman and Samuel Sanders Photo: Don Hunstein © Parlophone Records Limited 3 FRITZ KREISLER: COMPOSITIONS, ARRANGEMENTS & TRANSCRIPTIONS Scarcely a single violinist of Itzhak Perlman’s stature has recorded more of Fritz Kreisler’s compositions — barring Kreisler himself. Perlman has played virtually all of them with the same passion and the same thirst for discovery. In the mid-Seventies he recorded three LPs devoted entirely to his great predecessor, under the title Itzhak Perlman Plays Fritz Kreisler , and they are all gathered together in this edition. He would go on to complete the tribute ten years later, in a fourth recording, My Favourite Kreisler (volume 39). Among the personalities who have shaped the history of the violin, Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962) holds a special place. If for generations of music-lovers Casals was the iconic representative of the cello, or Caruso of the voice, Kreisler was the violinist. He was also one of the last composers who were also executive musicians, in the tradition of Corelli, Paganini, Vieuxtemps and Sarasate. He had no pupils and therefore no heir, which explains why the void he left is still unfilled over 50 years after his death. Never in history has a violinist been so cherished by audiences and admired by his peers. Indeed, for over half a century the man dubbed “king of violinists” enjoyed unparalleled popularity, and to this day his name remains synonymous with nobility and charm. He was an innovator in matters of tone and expression, and contributed countless compositions and arrangements to the repertoire; what is more, he was the only one of the great violinists born in the 19th century whose career never suffered from the “Heifetz phenomenon”. There was something magical about every Kreisler performance. Blessed with a delightful sense of humour and an irresistible charm, his natural air of nobility captivated audiences; there was nothing affected or portentous about his style. He hated practising, and is said to have not even bothered with a warm-up before going on stage. Relaxed spontaneity and a sense of effortlessness were the hallmarks of his playing. There was something bewitching about his tone, refined yet virile, pungent yet never mannered, and the same could be said about his vibrato, which he was able to vary in degree and speed like no one else. Moreover, he was the first high-profile violinist to use a constant vibrato, which gave his phrasing a flavour altogether different from other violinists of the time. His portamentos had an extraordinary capacity to enchant the ear, such was their subtlety, and he possessed a natural flair for rubato, which enabled him always to remain faithful to the spirit of the music even while taking rhythmic liberties. In his hands every note took on a uniquely sensuous quality, born out of sheer beauty of tone, generosity of spirit and joie de vivre . He had no other aim but delighting his audience, and in that department he had no peer. His arrangements, just like his original works, were an accurate testimony to his style and personality. They exhibit a refinement so timeless that they have remained part of the repertoire of every violinist, generation after generation. All he needed was to be charmed by a melody, be it Viennese, Spanish, Slavic, Irish or American — and then he would reinvent it with that blend of fantasy, melancholy and tenderness which was the unmistakable Kreisler trademark. His famous pastiches, written “in the style” of composers of the 17th and 18th centuries, led to a number of run-ins with music critics in the 1930s, when he was forced to disclose that these pieces, which he claimed to have discovered in an old convent in the south of France, were in fact his own. 4 As Itzhak Perlman wrote in the notes accompanying the first LP of the series, “Fritz Kreisler’s music was the essence of Fritz Kreisler. He was a Viennese and all that wonderful feeling of what he was came out in his composing. In short works for the violin, nobody surpassed him. When I came to the United States in 1958, Kreisler had at last reluctantly retired so I was never to have the joy of meeting him or hearing him in concert. After his death in 1962, I attended a memorial concert at which Stern, Morini, Francescatti and Milstein played. Someone recalled a remark Kreisler once made to Olin Downes of the New York Times . Kreisler had talked of what it was like to be in Vienna as a young musician, when Johannes Brahms still lived. ‘We knew then a wine of the spirit,’ said Kreisler. ‘We were preoccupied with beauty. And thank God, the spell did not wear off.’ That wine of the spirit flows in abundance through all that Kreisler composed.” Jean-Michel Molkhou Translation: Saul Lipetz 5 Fritz Kreisler : COMPOSITIONS, ARRANGEMENTS ET TRANSCRIPTIONS Hormis leur auteur, il n’est guère d’autre violoniste de la stature d’Itzhak Perlman qui ait enregistré plus de compositions de Kreisler. Qu’il s’agisse de ses pièces originales ou de ses arrangements, Perlman a quasiment tout joué avec la même passion et la même curiosité. Au milieu des années 1970, il enregistra trois microsillons intégralement dédiés à son idole, sous le titre Itzhak Perlman Plays Fritz Kreisler , réunis ici. Dix ans plus tard, avec son même partenaire Samuel Sanders, il complétera l’hommage par un quatrième disque, My Favourite Kreisler (volume 39). Parmi les personnalités de l’histoire du violon, celle de Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962) tient une place à part. Si pour plusieurs générations de mélomanes, Casals incarnait à lui seul le violoncelle, ou Caruso la voix, Kreisler était « Le » violon. Il fut aussi l’un des derniers compositeurs-interprètes à perpétuer la tradition de Corelli, Paganini, Vieuxtemps ou Sarasate. Il n’eut aucun élève donc aucun successeur, raison pour laquelle, plus de cinquante ans après sa mort, le vide qu’il a laissé reste entier. Il n’est pas un violoniste dans l’histoire qui ait été autant chéri par son public et admiré par ses pairs. Pendant plus d’un demi-siècle, celui qui fut surnommé le « Roi des violonistes » a en effet joui d’une popularité sans égale et son nom reste encore aujourd’hui synonyme de charme et de noblesse. Il fut un novateur en matière de sonorité et d’expression, a enrichi le répertoire d’innombrables compositions et arrangements, et il fut aussi le seul, parmi les grands violonistes nés au XIX e siècle, dont la carrière n’ait pas eu à souffrir du « phénomène Heifetz ». Chaque apparition de Kreisler avait quelque chose de magique. Doué d’un humour délicieux et d’un charme irrésistible, sa noblesse naturelle envoûtait son auditoire, car son style n’avait jamais rien d’affecté ni de pompeux. Il détestait travailler, et ne prenait même pas, dit-on, le temps de s’échauffer avant de monter sur scène. La spontanéité, l’aisance et la décontraction étaient les traits dominants de son jeu. Sa sonorité raffinée mais virile, parfumée mais jamais maniérée, avait quelque chose d’ensorcelant, tout comme son vibrato dont il savait nuancer l’amplitude et la vitesse comme personne. Il fut d’ailleurs le premier violoniste de renom à user d’un vibrato permanent, ce qui donnait à ses phrasés une saveur tout à fait différente de celle des autres violonistes de l’époque. Ses « portamentos » avaient un pouvoir de séduction inouï, tant ils étaient subtils. Il possédait en outre un art inné du rubato, grâce auquel ses libertés rythmiques n’altéraient jamais le cours spirituel de la musique.

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