Fritz Kreisler Plays Kreisler

Fritz Kreisler (Composer), Josef A. Pasternack (Conductor), Charles O'Connell (Conductor), Donald Voorhees (Conductor), Orchestra Alessandro Scarlatti (Orchestra), Victor Orchestra (Orchestra), RCA Victor Orchestra (Orchestra), RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Carl Lamson (Performer), George Falkenstein (Performer), Fritz Kreisler (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Carl Lamson, George Falkenstein, Fritz Kreisler
• Orchestra: Orchestra Alessandro Scarlatti, Victor Orchestra, RCA Victor Orchestra, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Josef A. Pasternack, Charles O'Connell, Donald Voorhees
• Composer: Fritz Kreisler
• Audio CD (January 14, 1997)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003G1K
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #29,120 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only Kreisler Can Play Kreisler *****, May 7, 2005

By	Faddle "Steven" (California) - See all my reviews

What can I say? Only Kreisler can play Kreisler. Get a discography of Fritz Kreisler and start hunting down everything you can find by this man. You can compare violinists; Heifetz has astounding technique, Milstein's always wonderful, Oistrakh is a favorite of many, Kogan can play anything, etc., etc., etc.. But Kreisler... is a unique personality of the violin. Yehudi Menuhin said of him in his autobiography, there are many great violinists with perhaps greater technique in this area or that; but "Kreisler mystifies me." Bruno Walter, the great conductor, said of Kreisler, "He did not play the violin; he BECAME the violin." and this is true. There is something special about Kreisler that transcends violin playing itself. Something heavenly is communicated by him with his instrument. Transfers from old disks are always of varying quality. Kreisler lived a long time ago and recording techniques were very primitive; but Kreisler even seems to rise above the pops and the clicks. Other artists are drowned out by them but Kreisler soars above them and makes one forget they are there. You're focused on the beauty and the background noise seems to disappear entirely. Other violinists have tried
to play Kreisler and perhaps get the notes right, most notably among them, Zino Francescatti (who plays Kreisler better than any other man except Kreisler), but only Kreisler can play Kreisler.
If you want to hear it best, put up with the background hiss. It's worth it. If you want a modern recording, see if you can find Francescatti's tribute album to Fritz Kreisler. it's OOP, but an LP in mint condition sometimes appears on an online auction service. Why the Francescatti album ever went OOP I do not know. He is the only modern violinist that ever really tapped into the soul of 'Fritz' when he plays Kreisler. If the disk is ever again released, snap it up before it goes OOP again. In the final analysis, modern violinists, at most, will give you a representative selection of only about 16 tracks and usually you get the worn chestnuts over and over again. Enough of Kreislers own recordings are still available that you can still get the whole gamut of his discography if you just look. Do so!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection, March 7, 2004

By A Customer

No crap...really? OF COURSE THIS RECORDING IS A TRANSFER! YOU THINK THEY HAVE DIGITAL RECORDING TECHNOLOGY BACK THEN???? Man, that review from Delaware annoys me.

Go with the first review. This recording is a must. It is one of the great violin recordings. Even my old violin teacher advise me to play some of Kreisler stuff to improve techniques. Kreisler is a legend. Lesson and appreciate the beauties of the violin.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn from the Old Masters!, June 29, 2000

By	meiringen "meiringen" (the Midwest) - See all my reviews

I love these historical recordings--they give us a chance to study the performance practices of the Masters. Kreisler was a genius, and his refined playing is something that should be listened to by the players of today. They can learn much from his example.