KREISLER'S "TRANSCRIPTIONS."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 70, 23 March 1935, Page 9 (Supplement)

KREISLER'S "TRANSCRIPTIONS."

\ Reference was made last week in this column to "Krcislcr's arrangements Musicians—violinists in particular—will be interested to learn that these "arrangements" now turn out to be the famous violinist's own original compositions. Fritz Kreisler has acknowledged the authorship of 14 compositions long attributed to classical comppsers, and the following extract taken rom the columns of '•The Christian Science Monitor" gives his reason for the 'gentle deception:— „„ Fourteen compositions which for 30 vears have been attributed to composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries have been disclosed by luitz Kreisler as original works of his own. The famous violinist acknowledged in a cablegram from Vienna to the Mew York Times" that he had written a series of compositions which bore the names of such masters as Vivaldi, Couperin, Porpora, Pugnani and Padre Martini, and which carried Kreisler's name only as arranger. The compositions range from a short encore yiece to a large

concerto. , .. They are included under the heading of "classical manuscripts" in Kreisler s printed works; and in his cablegram, the violinist said they are "m every detail, my original compositions, witli the sole exception of the first eight bars of the Couperin Chanson Louis taken from a traditional melody. As his reason for crediting the OKI masters with his own music, Mr. Kreisler said:

"Necessity forced this course on me 30 years ago, when I was desirous of enlarging my programmes. I found it inexpedient and tactless to repeat my name endlessly on the programe." The real authorship of the compositions came about through the investigation of a lecturer on music who wanted to find out what changes Kreisler had made in the Praeludium and Allegro "by Pugnani," but couldu t find it in Pugnani's printed works and manuscripts. He went to Kreisler'e puhlieher and the secret came out. The compositions and the names ot tho composers to whom Kreisler attributed them are: —

Concerto in C major iSin°o in ?. ™° • : ••padrVMa?t O iP &a^ P £u?s%: and PaVane -ggg La Chasse, a caprice porpora Praeludium - and " AlfegVo" ".'.".'.'.'.'.'.":Pusnanl " Se < Xβ LhfrVo Dlttersaorf sfclUenne" and Rljjaudon A Fr ft?3^ Study on n Choral • £t^miU Tempo di Minuetto Pugnani