I tried to draw from the famous violinist some hint as to the secret of
the abiding popularity of his own compositions and transcripts but--as
those who know him are aware--Kreisler has all the modesty of the truly
great. He merely smiled and said: "Frankly, I don't know." But Mr.
Winternitz' comment (when a 'phone call had taken Kreisler from the room
for a moment) was, "It is the touch given by his accompaniments that
adds so much: a harmonic treatment so rich in design and coloring, and
so varied that melodies were never more beautifully set off." Mr.
Kreisler, as he came in again, remarked: "I don't mind telling you that
I enjoyed very much writing my _Tambourin Chinois_.[A] The idea for it
came to me after a visit to the Chinese theater in San Francisco--not
that the music there suggested any theme, but it gave me the impulse to
write a free fantasy in the Chinese manner."
[Footnote A: It is interesting to note that Nikolai Sokoloff, conductor
of the San Francisco Philharmonic, returning from a tour of the American
and French army camps in France, some time ago, said: "My most popular
number was Kreisler's _Tambourin Chinois_. Invariably I had to repeat
that." A strong indorsement of the internationalism of Art by the actual
fighter in the trenches.]