In about 1910 Fritz Kreisler announced to the American press that ‘the king of the bow has arrived’, the bow in question belonging to Pablo Casals. Before long Kreisler had joined Casals and the pianist Harold Bauer in a trio which was to excel both in chamber music and performances of Beethoven’s ‘Triple’ Concerto. Kreisler was born in Vienna in 1875, studied at the Conservatoires both in his native city and in Paris, became a French citizen in 1938, an American citizen in 1943, and was the most famous violinist of his time. Early in his career, he started composing short pieces for his own recital use but, imagining that they would receive scant attention and practically no critical acclaim if his own name were attached to them, described them either as arrangements of folk songs or as transcriptions of works by long-dead composers such as Vivaldi, Rameau, Martini and Pugnani. Included amongst these are the
Chanson Louis XIII and Pavane composed ‘in the style of’ Couperin.
from notes by Peter Avis © 2011
