The influence of the artist's personality in his art finds a most
striking exemplification in the case of Fritz Kreisler. Some time before
the writer called on the famous violinist to get at first hand some of
his opinions with regard to his art, he had already met him under
particularly interesting circumstances. The question had come up of
writing text-poems for two song-adaptations of Viennese folk-themes,
airs not unattractive in themselves; but which Kreisler's personal
touch, his individual gift of harmonization had lifted from a lower
plane to the level of the art song. Together with the mss. of his own
beautiful transcript, Mr. Kreisler in the one instance had given me the
printed original which suggested it--frankly a "popular" song, clumsily
harmonized in a "four-square" manner (though written in 3/4 time) with
nothing to indicate its latent possibilities. I compared it with his
mss. and, lo, it had been transformed! Gone was the clumsiness, the
vulgar and obvious harmonic treatment of the melody--Kreisler had kept
the melodic outline, but etherealized, spiritualized it, given it new
rhythmic _contours_, a deeper and more expressive meaning. And his rich
and subtle harmonization had lent it a quality of distinction that
justified a comparison between the grub and the butterfly. In a small
way it was an illuminating glimpse of how the personality of a true
artist can metamorphose what at first glance might seem something quite
negligible, and create beauty where its possibilities alone had existed
before.
It is this personal, this individual, note in all that Fritz Kreisler
does--when he plays, when he composes, when he transcribes--that gives
his art-effort so great and unique a quality of appeal.
Talking to him in his comfortable sitting-room in the Hotel
Wellington--Homer and Juvenal (in the original) ranked on the piano-top
beside De Vere Stackpole novels and other contemporary literature called
to mind that though Brahms and Beethoven violin concertos are among his
favorites, he does not disdain to play a Granados _Spanish Dance_--it
seemed natural to ask him how he came to make those adaptations and
transcripts which have been so notable a feature of his programs, and
which have given such pleasure to thousands.
[Illustration: FRITZ KREISLER, with hand-written note]