The question of style now came up. "I am not in favor of 'labeling' the
concert artist, of calling him a 'lyric' or a 'dramatic' or some other
kind of a player. If he is an artist in the real sense he controls all
styles." Then, in answer to another question: "Nothing can express music
but music itself. Tradition in interpretation does not mean a
cut-and-dried set of rules handed down; it is, or should be, a matter
of individual sentiment, of inner conviction. What makes one man an
artist and keeps another an amateur is a God-given instinct for the
artistically and musically right. It is not a thing to be explained, but
to be felt. There is often only a narrow line of demarcation between the
artistically right and wrong. Yet nearly every real artist will be found
to agree as to when and when not that boundary has been overstepped.
Sincerity and personality as well as disinterestedness, an expression of
himself in his art that is absolutely honest, these, I believe, are
ideals which every artist should cherish and try to realize. I believe,
furthermore, that these ideals will come more and more into their own;
that after the war there will be a great uplift, and that Art will
realize to the full its value as a humanizing factor in life." And as is
well known, no great artist of our day has done more toward the actual
realization of these ideals he cherishes than Fritz Kreisler himself.
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