Fritz Kreisler – The Charming Maverick (10 CD box set, APE)

Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, Max Bruch, et al.
Audio CD
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 10 CD box set
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: EMI Classics
Size: 2.36 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 01
Mozart: Violin Concerto No.4 in D, K218 (Cadenza: Kreisler)
01. I Allegro 9.06
02. II Andante cantabile 8.30
03. III Rondo: Andante grazioso – Allegro ma non troppo 8.27
with Orchestral accompaniment
Sir Landon Ronald

Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D, Op.61 (Cadenza: Kreisler)
04. I Allegro ma non troppo 23.34
05. II Larghetto 10.19
06. III Rondo: Allegro 10.03
with Berlin State Opera Orchestra
Leo Blech

CD 02
Mozart: Violin Concerto No.4 in D, K218 (Cadenza: Kreisler)
01. I Allegro 9.27
02. II Andante cantabile 8.28
03. III Rondo: Andante grazioso – Allegro ma non troppo 8.57
with London Philharmonic Orchestra
Malcolm Sargent

Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D, Op.61 (Cadenza: Kreisler)
04. I Allegro ma non troppo 23.01
05. II Larghetto 10.41
06. III Rondo: Allegro 10.06
with London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Barbirolli

CD 03
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64
01. I Allegro molto appassionato 11.42
02. II Andante 7.27
03. III Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace 6.34

Brahms: Violin Concerto in D, Op.77 (Cadenza: Kreisler)
04. I Allegro non troppo (Cadenza: Kreisler) 20.32
05. II Adagio 7.42
06. III Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace 8.07
with Berlin State Opera Orchestra
Leo Blech

CD 04
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64
01. I Allegro molto appassionato 12.10
02. II Andante 6.59
03. III Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace 6.41
with London Philharmonic Orchestra
Sir Landon Ronald

Brahms: Violin Concerto in D, Op.77 (Cadenza: Kreisler)
04. I Allegro non troppo (Cadenza: Kreisler) 20.59
05. II Adagio 8.24
06. III Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace 8.19
with London Philharmonic Orchestra
John Barbirolli

CD 05
Bruch: Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op.26
01. I Vorspiel: Allegro moderato 7.20
02. II Adagio 7.29
03. III Finale: Allegro energico 7.13
with Royal Albert Hall Orchestra
Eugene Goossens

Kreisler: String Quartet in A minor
04. I Moderato 7.55
05. II Allegro vivo con spirito 6.26
06. III Allegretto – Andante con moto 4.47
07. IV Allegro molto moderato 7.40
with Kreisler String Quartet:
Fritz Kreisler, Thomas Petre – violins,
William Primrose – viola,
Laurie Kennedy – cello

CD 06
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No.1 in D, Op.12 No.1
01. I Allegro con brio 6.08
02. II Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto 7.19
03. III Rondo: Allegro 4.36

Violin Sonata No.2 in A, Op.12 No.2
04. I Allegro vivace 6.49
05. II Andante, più tosto allegretto 5.35
06. III Allegro piacevolle 4.17

Violin Sonata No.3 in E flat, Op.12 No.3
07. I Allegro con spirito 5.49
08. II Adagio con molt’espressione 6.06
09. III Rondo: Allegro molto 4.07

Violin Sonata No.4 in A minor, Op.23
10. I Presto 3.56
11. II Andante scherzoso 8.11
12. III Allegro molto 5.40
with Franz Rupp

CD 07
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No.5 in F, Op.24 ‘Spring’
01. I Allegro 6.56
02. II Adagio molto espressivo 5.18
03. III Scherzo: Allegro molto 1.09
04. IV Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo 6.31

Violin Sonata No.6 in A, Op.30 No.1
05. I Allegro 7.01
06. II Adagio molto espressivo 6.51
07. III Allegretto con variazioni 7.19

Violin Sonata No.7 in C minor, Op.30 No.2
08. I Allegro con brio 7.27
09. II Adagio cantabile 8.33
010. III Scherzo: Allegro 3.12
011. IV Finale: Allegro 4.58
with Franz Rupp

CD 08
Beethoven: Violin Sonata No.8 in G, Op.30 No.3
01. I Allegro assai 4.02
02. II Tempo di minuetto 6.52
03. III Allegro vivace 3.06

Violin Sonata No.9 in A, Op.47 ‘Kreutzer’
04. I Adagio sostenuto – Presto 10.53
05. II Andante con variazioni 13.35
06. III Finale: Presto 8.14

Violin Sonata No.10 in G, Op.96
07. I Allegro moderato 7.02
08. II Adagio espressivo 5.31
09. III Scherzo: Allegro 2.05
10. IV Poco allegretto 7.37
with Franz Rupp

CD 09
01. Kreisler: Caprice viennois, Op.2
02. Tambourin chinois, Op.3
03. Schön Rosmarin 1.57
04. La Gitana 3.09
05. Liebeslied 3.36
06. Liebesfreud 3.12
07. Bach arr. Kreisler: Partita No.3 in E, BWV1006 – Gavotte
with Franz Rupp

08. Kreisler: La Précieuse (in the style of Couperin)
09. Chanson Louis XIII and Pavane (in the style of Couperin)
with Michael Raucheisen

10. Mozart arr. Kreisler: Serenade No.7 in D, K250 ‘Haffner’ – Rondo
11. Kreisler: Rondino on a theme by Beethoven
with Franz Rupp

12. Schubert arr. Kreisler: Rosamunde, D797 – Ballet in G
13. Weber arr. Kreisler: Violin Sonata in F, Op.10 – Larghetto
with Michael Raucheisen

14. Bach: Sonata No.1 in G minor, BWV1001 – Adagio
15. Schumann arr. Kreisler: Drei Romanzen – Romanze in A, Op.94 No.2
with Arpád Sándor

CD 10
01. Mendelssohn: Lieder ohne Worte No.25 in G, Op.62 No.1 ‘A May Breeze’
with Arpád Sándor

02. Chopin arr. Kreisler: Mazurka No.45 in A minor, Op.67 No.4 Posth
03. Poldini arr. Kreisler: Poupée Valsante
04. Dvorák arr. Kreisler: Humoresque, Op.101 No.7
05. Tchaikovsky arr. Kreisler: String Quartet No.1 in D, Op.11 – Andante cantabile
06. Rimsky-Korsakov arr. Kreisler: Le Coq d’or – Hymn to the Sun
07. Sadko – Chanson hindoue
with Franz Rupp

08. Glazunov arr. Kreisler: Sérénade espagnole, Op.20 No.2
with Michael Raucheisen

09. Trad. arr. Kreisler: The Londonderry Air
10. Scott arr. Kreisler: Lotus Land, Op.47 No.1
with Franz Rupp

11. Falla arr. Kreisler: 7 Canciones populares españolas – No.4 ‘Jota’
with Michael Raucheisen

12. Falla arr. Kreisler: La vida breve – Danza española No.1
with Franz Rupp

13. Brandl arr. Kreisler: The Old Refrain
14. Heuberger arr. Kreisler: Der Opernball – Midnight Bells (Im chambre séparée)
with Michael Raucheisen

15. Kreisler: Scherzo alla Dittersdorf
with Kreisler String Quartet:
Fritz Kreisler, Thomas Petre – violins,
William Primrose – viola,
Laurie Kennedy – cello

16. Bach arr. Wilhelm: Suite No.3 in D, BWV1068 – Air
17. Kreisler: Aubade provençale (in the style of Couperin)
18. Tchaikovsky arr. Kreisler: Chanson sans paroles in F, Op.2 No.3

An Indispensable Anthology

Fritz Kreisler was a unique figure among the great violinists of the previous century: his seductively sweet tone and richly lyrical style of playing are instantly recognizable, and his delightful “stile antico” confections still grace recital programs worldwide. EMI’s recently-released “Icon” anthology of his recorded legacy, though by no means comprehensive, nevertheless contains all of this great artist’s important concerto recordings, his superb collaboration with Franz Rupp in the complete Beethoven duo sonatas, his own hauntingly nostalgic String Quartet (in a fine performance with an ad hoc ensemble) plus numerous other original pieces and arrangements. The recordings date from the acoustic through the early electrical eras, and include earlier and later versions of several concertos, including the Mozart D-major, the Beethoven, the Mendelssohn and the Brahms–and fascinatingly different they are. All are of immeasurable historic value, and, happily, all have been well transfered to CD. Indeed, the sound is remarkably smooth for 78-rpm era recordings, and even the acoustical recordings offer unusually vivid reproduction of the solo violin. The orchestral accompaniments, under various distinguished conductors (Blech, Ronald, Barbirolli, et. al.) range from more-rough-than-ready (in several the earliest recordings) to outstanding (in many of the later ones); piano accompaniments from Rupp, Raucheisen, and others are uniformly accomplished. Good documentation, too, including an intelligently written retrospective of Kreisler’s career and sufficient information about recording engineers and venues.

No collector of historic recordings or lover of great violin playing can afford to miss this.