The greatest violinist of all time. Ten violinists who play trending music. What else to see

Any anthology, poetry or prose, any collection of essays about great musicians, composers or actors, always bears the stamp of the taste of the author or compiler of this anthology. During the Soviet era, some literary anthologies (like their authors and compilers) underwent enormous and sometimes dangerous difficulties. Suffice it to recall the history of only two literary collections: "Literary Moscow", came out only twice and was subjected to devastating criticism along with the authors published there, and another literary collection - "Tarusa Pages", if I remember correctly, came out only once!

Books dedicated to music and musicians also bore the stamp of harsh censorship and indispensable "political correctness" of those years. Often, authors who had already prepared their books for publication could not publish their works, since the people about whom these works were written did not have "value" in the eyes of the authorities and were, as they said at the time, "inappropriate" for publication in large print runs ... All this is now well known.

It is less known that foreign compilers of anthologies very often also followed the "logic of state expediency." Even the art of violin was just as severely censored. I remember a book published in Germany in 1943 on the history of violin playing, where not a word was mentioned such historical figures as Joseph Joachim, Ferdinand Laub, Fritz Kreisler. Of the "non-Aryans", the Frenchman Jacques Thibault hardly "slipped through"! The most important luminary of all times and peoples was the German violinist Willie Burmeister in that book! Who today knows and remembers this name, except for the teachers of children's music schools, where children play some arrangements by the ancient composers of this today forgotten violinist?

I recently received a book by the renowned Austrian musicologist Kurt Blaukopf, The Great Virtuosos, published in German in the mid-1950s. Even he, living in a country of relative freedom of speech, could not resist the temptation of the influence of the "political correctness of those years" in his selection of "great virtuosos", devoting quite a lot of space to the then popular Soviet violinist Igor Bezrodny, completely bypassing the names of such young virtuosos as Yulian Sitkovetsky , Igor Oistrakh, Eduard Grach, Rafail Sobolevsky, Nelly Shkolnikova and even Leonid Kogan! and some others. Perhaps the fact was that until the summer of 1955, Austria was still under the occupation of three coalition allies in World War II. But this is just a guess. Naturally, any author-compiler is guided by his own taste and preferences, as well as partly by the fashion of the time. So, Kurt Blaukopf devoted a lot of space to the Soviet violinist Igor Bezrodny, known since the late 1940s, a truly exceptionally talented artist and one of the most "promoted" among his fellow students and colleagues who studied at the same time in the class of A.I. Yampolsky.

In 1951, a third-year student at the Moscow Conservatory Bezrodny received the Stalin Prize for "outstanding achievements in concert performance", which caused great bewilderment among the oldest professors of the Conservatory. The choice of an Austrian musicologist seems all the more strange today. Bezrodny was a brilliant artist, a very talented musician, but he was never a "great virtuoso" - he never performed in public the works of Henri Vietana, Niccolo Paganini, Pablo de Sarasate... Only once he made a recording of Variations on the theme of Rossini's opera Othello by G. Ernst on the Moscow radio. The author did not include such a world-famous virtuoso as Leonid Kogan in his collection! Igor Bezrodny performed excellently in his best years Concerts by Brahms, Saint-Saens, Suite Taneyev, Poem by Chausson, and Ravel's Gypsy. Then the musical authorities wanted to see him replacing David Oistrakh. It is understandable that he did not become a "replacement" and could not become.

So let's take it for granted that all anthologies are compiled in accordance with the spirit of the times and the taste of the author, which, of course, makes the selection biased and sometimes biased. It should be noted in advance that the author was guided by the principle of publishing materials about the famous violinists of the last XX century - long gone not only from the stage, but also from life. The history of young virtuosos of the XXI century (for example, Russian: Sergey Stadler, Vadim Repin, Alena Baeva, Nikita Borisoglebsky, Maxim Vengerov and Er.), Presumably, will be written by researchers of a new generation.

1. Fritz Kreisler - the greatest violinist of the 20th century ("Concert of the Virtuoso")

Several years ago, one of my acquaintances sent me a short story by Hermann Hesse, The Concert of the Virtuoso. If you do not know anything about Herman Hesse, then the reader may think that this short story was written by an immigrant from the “first Russian post-revolutionary wave” - the author felt so unhappy, somehow restless and certainly maybe after admitting that he was given a ticket to the concert?). This feeling was strengthened by the fact that the author had a clear dislike for wealth in general and for the wealthy public, who gathered at the concert of the famous virtuoso, in particular.

A friend of mine sent me a story so that I could answer the question - who is this famous virtuoso, whose concert is dedicated to Hesse's story. It was not difficult for me to immediately determine the name of this artist, who influenced all violinists of the world without exception - the most famous and unknown - all violinists of the XX century. But not only violinists, but even such a great artist as the composer-pianist S.V. Rachmaninov. I told all this to my friend who sent me this text. Later, there was a temptation to let my friends and acquaintances - musicians and non-musicians - read this story for the same purpose for which the story was sent to me. To some extent, the answer to this question was an indicator of knowledge about the performing arts and its heights in the past century. But first, let's get to know a little about this, not so widely known story, published in 1928. Here are the main excerpts from it.

“Last night I was at a concert that was significantly different from the concerts that I am used to listening to in general. It was a concert of the world famous secular violin virtuoso, an enterprise, therefore, not only musical, but also sports, and above all - public ... "" The program, however, promised for the most part real music ... It contained wonderful things: Kreutzer's Sonata, Chaconne Bach, Sonata Tartini ... These wonderful compositions filled two thirds of the concerto. Then, however, towards the end the program changed. There were musical pieces with beautiful, promising names, moon fantasies and Venetian nights of unknown authors, whose names pointed to peoples that had not yet been promoted in music ... In a word, the third part of the concert strongly resembled the programs displayed in the music pavilions of fashionable resorts. And the ending consisted of several pieces, which the great virtuoso composed himself. Curiously, I went to that evening. In my youth I heard how Sarasate and Joachim played the violin ... and was delighted with their playing ... "

“Long before I reached the concert hall, it became clear to me by many signs that today we are not talking about what my friends and I call music, not about some quiet and fantastic phenomenon in an unreal, nameless kingdom, but about an utterly real case. The events of this evening ... powerfully set in motion motors, horses, wallets, hairdressers and everything else. What happened here ... was very much like other powerful manifestations of life - a stadium, a stock exchange, festivals. " “It was difficult in the streets adjacent to the concert hall to break through the streams of hurrying spectators, through the lines of cars ...” “And already on the way… among hundreds of cars, heading, all as one, to the concert hall, I received information about the great man, his glory pounced on me, penetrated my loneliness, and made me who does not go anywhere and does not read newspapers into an astonished connoisseur of interesting details. "Tomorrow night," I heard, "he will already be playing in Hamburg." Someone doubted: “In Hamburg? How will he get to Hamburg by tomorrow evening? " "Nonsense! He will, of course, fly in an airplane. Maybe he even has his own airplane. " “And in the wardrobe… I learned from the lively conversations of my comrades-in-arms that during that evening the great musician had requested and received fourteen thousand francs. Everyone called this amount with awe. Some really believed that art was not only for the rich, but such a request was approved, and it turned out that most would be happy to get tickets at a normal price, but still they were all proud that they paid so dearly. I was unable to understand the psychology of this contradiction, because my ticket was presented to me. "

Famous classical violinists

* see also:jazz violinists | ethnic violinists | violin makers

Arcangelo Corelli

(Corelli Arcangelo) (1653 - 1713) - famous Italian composer, violinist, teacher, conductor. Acting as a virtuoso violinist, he directed string ensembles and chapels. Corelli created the Italian violin school, in parallel with the performance he created works, the novelty of which amazed many. His sonatas are complete examples of the concert style, allowing to fully reveal the possibilities of the violin as a solo instrument. He created the famous "Big Concerts", which played an important role in the development of symphonic music. In the works of Corelli, folk dance and song forms were widely used.

Giuseppe Tartini

( Giuseppe tartini) (1692 - 1770) - Italian violinist, composer, conductor, teacher. FounderPadua Violin School who brought up a galaxy of brilliant violinists; creator of classical compositions for violin - 200 concertos, about 200 sonatas, 50 variations, 50 trio sonatas, etc.

Nicolo Paganini

(1782 - 1840) - an outstanding Italian violinist and composer. As a child, he studied violin under the guidance of his father, and later took lessons from the best Italian teachers. At the age of 11, he began concert performances, having made many trips around Italy. Since 1827. he gives concerts in Europe with great success, quickly gaining fame as a genius violin virtuoso. Phenomenal technique, volcanic temperament made a tremendous impression on the audience, giving rise to numerous legends about the supernatural, demonic personality of Paganini - a bright representative of musical romanticism - made a radical revolution in the technique of playing the violin, unprecedentedly expanding its expressive and virtuosic possibilities. The role of Paganini as a composer is also great. He is the author of 4 concertos for violin, concert pieces, 24 capriccios, cycles of variations, etc. Paganini's activities had a great influence on the development of piano performance. Under the impression of his playing, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and others created works that significantly enriched piano music.

Vietnam henri (1820 - 18881) - Belgian virtuoso violinist and composer. Pupil of the famous Belgian violinist S. Berio... He has been giving concerts since 10 years in Europe and America. His playing was distinguished by the exceptional beauty of tone, brilliant technique, and classical completeness. Viétagne is the author of numerous works for violin, including 7 concertos. In 1845 - 52. he worked in Russia as a court violinist-soloist; in 1871 - 73 was a professor at the Brussels Conservatory. Among his students, the famous Belgian violin virtuoso and composer stands out E. Izai.

Wieniawski Henryk (1835 - 1880) - Polish violinist and composer, an outstanding virtuoso of the 19th century. Studied at the Paris Conservatory under J. Massard. In 1860 - 72 years. lived and worked in St. Petersburg, where he was concertmaster of a symphony orchestra, head of the quartet of the Russian Musical Society and professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Wieniawski is the author of violin works, including 2 concertos, sonatas, polonaises, mazurkas, etudes, fantasy, improvisations, variations, etc. His contemporaries called him the "Chopin of the violin" for the poetry and spirituality of the play.

Auer Leopold Semenovich (1845 - 1930) - an outstanding violinist, teacher, conductor. Born in Hungary; studied at the Budapest Conservatory, in Vienna improved himself with J. Joachim. Creative activity took place in Russia: from 1868. to 1917 he was a professor of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in violin and chamber ensemble classes. Conducted symphonic concerts, performed in ensembles with A. Rubinstein, A. Esipova, F. Leshetitsky, A. Verzhbilovich. Among his students: J. Kheifets, M. Elman, E. Tsimbalist, M. Polyakin, etc.

* see also:jazz violinists |

From the originator

1. Fritz Kreisler - the greatest violinist of the 20th century ("Concert of the Virtuoso")

“Finally, we all entered the hall ... Between the rows, in the corridors, in the next hall, on the stage up to the piano, additional chairs were placed, not a single free seat was ...” “The bells rang, it became quiet. And suddenly the great violinist came out with a brisk step, followed modestly by a young pianist-accompanist. We were all immediately delighted with him ... he was a serious, handsome, agile and yet dignified man of glorious appearance and refined manners. " “We all liked the virtuoso very much. And when he began to play the slow part of the Kreutzer Sonata, it immediately became clear that his world fame was deserved. This handsome man knew how to handle his violin remarkably, he had the plasticity of the bow, the purity of his techniques, the strength and elasticity of the sound, the skill to which you readily and joyfully submit. The second part he started quickly, slightly forcing the pace, but wonderful. The first third of the program was exhausted by the Kreutzer Sonata, during the break the person sitting in front of me was counting to his neighbor how many thousands of francs the artist had already earned in that half hour. The Chaconne of Bach followed, splendidly, but only in the third piece, the Tartinian Sonata, did the violinist show himself in all his brilliance. This piece performed by him was truly a miracle - amazingly difficult, amazingly played, and, moreover, very good, solid music. If the general public listened to Beethoven and Bach, maybe only out of deference and only to please the violinist, then she swayed and warmed up. Applause thundered, the virtuoso bowed very correctly and added a smile at the third or fourth exit.

And in the third part of the concert, we, true music lovers and puritans of good music, were displeased, for now the general public was gratified, and what the good musicians Beethoven and Bach did not succeed in, and the extraordinary artisan Tartini managed only half, - this unknown exotic composer of tango succeeded as it could not be better: thousands of people flared up, they melted and ceased resistance, they smiled enlightened, shedding tears, they moaned with delight and after each of these short entertaining plays they burst into thunderous applause. “And we, a few disgruntled Puritans, defended ourselves internally, we fought heroically useless battles, we laughed irritably at the nonsense that was being played here, and yet we could not help but notice the sparkle of this bow, the charm of these sounds and not grin at some a charming, albeit vulgar, but magically played passage. The great magic took place. After all, we, disgruntled Puritans, were captured even for a moment by a mighty wave, we, too, even for a moment, were engulfed in a sweet and charming frenzy ... "" Thousands of people ignited. They could not allow this concert to end. They clapped, shouted, stamped their feet. They forced the artist to appear again and again, to play beyond the program for the second, third, fourth time. He did it gracefully and beautifully. Bowed, played encore; the crowd listened standing, breathless, completely enchanted. They thought, these thousands, that now they had won, they thought that they had conquered the violinist, they thought that with their delight they could make him come out and play again and again. And he, I suppose, played the encore exactly what he had agreed with the pianist about in advance, and, having performed the last, not specified in the program, but provided part of his concert, he disappeared and never returned. Nothing helped here, it was necessary to disperse, it was necessary to wake up. During this whole evening there were two people in me ... One was an old music lover with incorruptible taste, a Puritan of good music. He was not only against applying such skill to music of average quality, not only against these languid, entertaining plays - he was against all this audience, against rich people who will never be seen at a more serious concert ...

And the other person in me was a boy, he listened to the victorious hero of the violin, merged with him, took off with him, dreamed ... And how much I had to think about the artist himself, about this correct magician! Was he a musician in his heart who would be happy to play only Bach and Mozart and only after a long struggle learned not to impose anything on the audience and give them what they themselves demand? .. Or, perhaps, for very deep reasons and On the basis of experience, he lost faith in the value of real music and the possibility of understanding it in today's life, and on the other side of all music tried to first return people to the origins of art, to the naked sensual beauty of sounds, to the naked power of primitive feelings? The riddle has not been solved! I'm still thinking about it. "

Here is a short story by Hermann Hesse. After reading it, it will seem to many of us that the author concentrated in one story reflections on three important things in the performing culture of the 20th century: the spiritual value of certain compositions of the present and the past, the low tastes of the average listener, who made up the mass of the public, who to some extent , perhaps the great artist indulged and, finally, the place of money, that is, the invasion of the financial world into the sacred realms of true high performing arts. Indeed, reflections on these topics never become outdated, they are as characteristic and relevant for today as for 1928 - an era separated from us not only by almost the past century, but also divided into periods of monstrous catastrophes and relative peace in history existence of humanity.

Let's return to the beginning and to the main question - who is this magician of the bow, who so amazed the author in his split mind of a visitor to such an extraordinary concert?

For the sake of pleasure, I asked this question, as already mentioned, to my friends - musicians and non-musicians. One familiar non-musician, having read, apparently by mistake, the words "secular violinist" as "Soviet violinist" said that this magician ... Gidon Kremer! When I asked why Kremer in particular, I received a remarkable answer: "He also plays tango, and Kremer plays Piazzolla's tango!" Of course, one could ask what kind of era this narration belongs to, as you can see the "airplane" is still a new means of transportation, and the author himself in his youth heard the play of Joachim and Sarasate, who passed away at the beginning of the 20th century. Consequently, the author (or his hero) was about forty years old at that time. But all this was not so important. My interlocutor knew Piazzolla, but did not know the dates of the life and work of the greatest violinists of the nineteenth century, which is quite forgivable for a non-musician.

So, this short story is dedicated to a concert by Fritz Kreisler, which took place, as you might guess, somewhere in one of the cities of Romanesque Switzerland in the mid-1920s. By this time, Kreisler's fame was truly worldwide. He was the first artist to visit Japan; before him no major classical musician had honored the audience of the Land of the Rising Sun with tours. In 1973, I was very surprised when I saw a portrait of Kreisler in a record store in Osaka. I then asked the seller if he knew who the man in the portrait was? He, without hesitation, answered - "Kreisler". To be honest, I was amazed at this knowledge of a completely simple person. Kreisler is still honored in Japan today precisely because he believed in the Japanese public and its ability to understand and appreciate classical music.

He was also the first world-renowned artist to visit China and Korea. Of course, in those years there were cities in China where a significant number of Europeans lived, and yet China, Korea and Japan were not the Mecca of classical music. But Kreisler visited all these countries. Kreisler was not only in the Middle East - in Palestine, although some of his colleagues, for example, Arthur Rubinstein, played there more than once. There were reasons for that. But more on that later.

Hesse's description of the "concert of the virtuoso" is of great interest even today even for professional musicians. Some of the pieces from that program have come down to us in the form of sound recordings - for example, Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata. Hesse's remark about the slightly rapid tempo of the second movement of the Sonata is entirely correct. It was Kreisler's style - the slow movements of all Beethoven's Sonatas (for piano and violin), which Kreisler for the first time in the world I recorded everything on gramophone records. They attract us in slow parts with some inexpressible "Schubert" mood, that is, with the stylistics of a Schubert song rather than a philosophical reflection of the great master. Perhaps this feeling of Beethoven's lyrics came from the Viennese character of the artist himself - his charm, love of life, love for the Viennese "air", which made even Beethoven's lyrics sound in a new way in his performance.

Bach's "Chaconne" performed by Kreisler "reached" us only in the story of Henrik Shering, one of the outstanding violinists of the 20th century, who heard Kreisler in Paris sometime in the early 30s. The young violinist was then completely amazed by the sound of the violin - it seemed to him that in many episodes not one violinist played, but three at once! Such was his feeling from the very sound of the instrument in the hands of the great artist. Unfortunately, there is no recording of this work, just as there is no recording of the performance of Tartini's Sonata "Devil's Trills", which Hesse told about. It should be added here that Hesse listened to this Sonata in processingKreisler with his own cadence. That is why this composition made such an impression in his performance both on the public and on Hesse himself.

Kreisler had an amazing trill - one of the greatest effects of violin playing. His incredibly fast, clearly articulated short trills always gave his playing a special charm. From the recordings of the Tartini Sonata by other outstanding violinists left to us from the 20th century, one can get a distant idea of \u200b\u200bKreisler's performance of this work. One of the best recordings in the world was made by David Oistrakh shortly after the war. She is, along with the recording of Ida Handel's Sonata, the pinnacle of the performing skill shown in this work.

The main secret of the success of this play with the public and Hesse's extraordinary impression of the "difficulties" of a virtuoso character lies in a rather simple thing - this work, with the exception of two or three places, is not at all as difficult and "diabolical" as it is felt by the audience. Seeming difficulties are nothing more than skillfully used violin-instrumental effects inherent in the very nature of the instrument. These effects are akin to those in the writings of Heinrich Wieniawski (1835–1880). But you had to know about them and successfully identify them on your instrument! The violin wizards - Wieniawski and Kreisler, and before them Paganini - were their pioneers, skillfully used amazing harmonics, even double and triple, strikingly sounding passages of double notes, falling at a dizzying speed on the listener, unaware of their natural naturalness and well-known "convenience" for the violin virtuoso.

In other words, the art of using violin effects creates in the listener a sense of the extraordinary difficulty of the material being played, in fact, very natural and even almost “comfortable” for the violinist's hands. In this respect, the works of the famous virtuoso Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1812–1865), who, in the opinion of the European public, were a competitor of Niccolò Paganini himself, stand at a completely different pole! His compositions, transcriptions and fantasies on operatic themes seem not too difficult, lacking brilliant effects, but in reality they are hellishly difficult for performers. Some exceptions can only be his famous Etude "Rose" - variations on the theme of the once popular song "The Last Rose of Summer" for solo violin. Perhaps it was this quality of Ernst's compositions that made most of them not only well forgotten, but most likely deservedly forgotten.

In this regard, I recall the Moscow concert of the Guid on Kremer mentioned here in the winter of 1977 in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, who performed Ernst's Variations on an Original Theme in his program. The variations lasted more than 15 minutes and established their reputation as a "well-deservedly forgotten piece", despite the excellent performance of the soloist.

The Concert of the Virtuoso is not only a literary composition, but also the most valuable testimony of a thoughtful and educated listener endowed with excellent and strict taste. And nevertheless, even such a discerning and picky listener, in the end, despite his desperate efforts to resist the art of Fritz Kreisler, was conquered by the performance of the brilliant musician.

* * *

Professor Karl Flesch, one of the world famous violin pedagogues of the 20th century, vividly described in his memoirs his first visit to the Vienna Conservatory and his meeting with the patriarch of the Viennese violin school Josef Helmesberger Sr. “He didn’t like two categories of children - Jews and short-sighted. I was both, ”wrote Flash. Helmesberger, however, received him and his mother very politely. To begin with, they are offered to go to the hall where, as the professor said, little Kreisler is rehearsing Sarasate's Faust-fantasy with the orchestra. Kreisler's play made an indelible impression on the boy Flash. But if Professor Helmesberger did not like Jews, then for some reason this did not apply to young Kreisler.

Fritz Kreisler studied with the son of a professor - Joseph Helmesberger Jr., nicknamed "Pepe". He was, above all, a talented composer - the author of numerous operettas, he also worked as a concertmaster of the Vienna Opera Orchestra, but was a reveler, a reveler, and often paid tribute to young ballerinas. After a short romance with one of the ballerinas and a meeting with her father, "Pepe" began to limp. Nevertheless, it was in his class that Fritz Kreisler, at the age of 10, brilliantly graduated from the Vienna Conservatory and soon left, accompanied by his mother, to Paris. There, in 1887, at the age of 12, he graduated with First Prize and Gold Medal from the Paris Conservatory under Professor Joseph Lambert Massard (at one time teachers of Heinrich Wieniawski and Eugene Isaye). Even then, Massar wrote a short letter to Kreisler's father, which said: "I was the teacher of Wieniawski and many others, but little Fritz is the great among them."

After that, young Kreisler, although not quite smoothly and not immediately, gradually became a virtuoso concertist, who by the age of eighteen (according to the description in the Riemann dictionary) “had traveled many countries of the world up to Russia and Greece”. By the beginning of the 20th century, Kreisler had become one of the most famous and popular violinists in the world (under the living of Joachim, Izaya, Sarasat, Jan Kubelik, Ole Bull). Some of the critics wrote already in the 1920s:

"Heifetz is by far the most perfect violinist, but Kreisler is the most beloved." Oddly enough, only three books have been written about him: the journalist Louis Lochner (long-term American correspondent in Berlin), who was close friends with the artist and met him very often, so that his book "Fritz Kreisler" is actually an authorized biography. It was published in 1950 - in English, German and French (a copy of the book in German was sent to my professor DM Tsyganov in 1951. The book was delayed, it is good that not the addressee himself, and was issued only in 1955- m year on the agenda from the special security). The second book about Kreisler was written in Russian by Israel Yampolsky, coincidentally my first violin teacher. This book is basically a short retelling of Lochner's book with additions by the author. The third book was published in 1998 and belongs to the pen of Emmy Biancolli - the daughter of the famous American music critic Luis Biancolli. It touches on some aspects of the life of the great violinist-composer that Lochner's book has left out. Bypassed is no coincidence - Kreisler's wife Harriet strictly controlled Lochner's work and was categorically against the publication of the chapter "Culture in Boots", which spoke about the beginning of the Nazi era in Germany. Harriet was a fan of the "new order" and wanted to delete this chapter. But here the author - an intelligent and gentle man - firmly said that in this case there would be no book at all. This was no longer part of Harriet Kreisler's plans.

This essay does not pretend to acquaintance with the full biography of the genius violinist, but includes some rather little known details, as well as the excerpt from Kreisler's interview, published for the first time in Russian, concerning the performing process - the connection of music with real life and its higher purpose as a species art.

* * *

Friedrich-Max Kreisler was born on February 2, 1875 in Vienna in the family of the doctor Samuel (Solomon) Kreisler and his wife Anna (nee Rehes) in the 4th district of Vienna, Wieden. Christopher Gluck lived in this area in the 18th century, and Johannes Brahms and Johann Strauss Jr. lived in the 19th century. The future Viennese mayor Karl Luger was born and lived in Wieden, who already in 1897 founded the Christian Socialist Party, the prototype of the future National Socialist Party. But, while the children of Dr. Kreisler were growing up, no one had thought about such a neighborhood. In this area, in the current sense, populated by the "middle class", the family of Dr. Kreisler hardly reached this level. First, the family had five children, two of whom died at an early age. Among the three remaining - Fritz, Hugo and their sister Ella - only the elder Fritz was noted for longevity. Secondly, Dr. Kreisler was an impractical person, a humanist and an altruist. Often he did not take anything from poor patients, leaving them his money for medicines.

Kreisler's grandfather and father arrived in Vienna from Krakow, then part of Austria-Hungary. The grandfather was a street vendor, but eventually managed to educate his son, who became a doctor. Quite a common profession for a poor Viennese Jewish family. What we know about the life of the great musician's family comes from his own stories to Louis Lochner. What is amazing is that in them never there are no words "Jew", "Jewish". The family was not only assimilated, but also completely distanced from Jewry.

Dr. Kreisler loved music, and in an amateur quartet, a weekly saturdays meeting at his home, played the violin part. These meetings often created tension in the very modest budget of the doctor's family, who resembled in character the Russian zemstvo doctors of those years, who were well known to us from literature. Anna Kreisler, suffering from myelitis, had to prepare at least a light snack for beer, which ended the weekly quartet meeting every time. Yet Dr. Kreisler was not an ordinary amateur violinist and physician. His guests were Sigmund Freud, a chess partner; star of European surgery Theodor Billroth, close friend of Johannes Brahms and composer Karl Goldmark. Here are the recollections of Fritz Kreisler himself, told by him to Louis Lochner for his book: “Freud made a deep impression on me, although the subject of discussions with my father was mostly beyond my understanding ... He tried to heal my sick mother with hypnosis, but I never saw her after all, walking normally ... Freud was not yet famous, but his father was interested in his theory of psychoanalysis, especially to explain a number of cases when he sometimes had to replace a permanent doctor in the police department. "

The family lived in one of the side streets of the Wiedener Haupt-strasse in an apartment building, still occupying a 6-room apartment. There was no hot water in these houses in this area yet, and every week a special company brought a bath and hot water for the family. The doctor himself was content with public baths. This practice existed in those years not only in Austria, but also in Germany and France.

“I knew the sheet music much earlier than I learned to read,” Kreisler told Lochner. “I was presented with a toy violin, but not so toy that it was impossible to extract sounds from it. And so, during a quartet meeting in our house, I began to play the Austrian National Anthem with the quartet. Soon all the members of the ensemble fell silent, and I alone finished playing the Austrian Anthem in the correct key. Everyone said that I was a "little miracle", and my father bought me the smallest, but already a real violin. " As you can see, his father began to give him his first lessons, but soon the first real teacher of "Fritzi" was a friend of his father - the accompanist of the "Ring Theater" orchestra Jacques Aubert. The little violinist made such incredible rapid progress that the question arose about his admission to the Vienna Conservatory. The normal age for admission to the preparatory department was 10 years. Kreisler was still only seven (the official date of birth of the great artist - February 2, 1875 may still raise some doubts. Very often in those years, and in the first decades of the 20th century, the geeks were reduced in age by two or three years in order to slightly extend their career. “Little miracle.” It is very possible that Kreisler was born in 1873, since in his first tour of America in 1888, some reviewers suggested that he was already 14-15 years old, and not his “official” 13

The entrance exams for the preparatory department of the Vienna Conservatory in 1882 were completely different from the entrance exams faced by our generations in the 40s of the XX century. True, in the late 50s and 60s, it was already required to play a program of a number of simple pieces on the instrument, as well as take an exam in initial music theory. Yet this was no match for the high demands of the Vienna Conservatory in 1882. Suffice it to say that already at the preparatory department it was required to study harmony and ... composition! Little Kreisler's teacher was none other than the famous composer-symphonist Anton Bruckner! He taught his class not only the basics of harmony, but also the art of writing fugues - both on a given theme and on his own! It seems incredible today, but these were the requirements at the Vienna Conservatory of those years.

Leader - Stradivarius?

The most famous violins are not only the most expensive or the most sounding ones. The ranking of instruments also includes violins, which have become famous for their unique design.

Is it worth asking the question, what are the most famous violins sung in the hands of contemporary performers? Surely there will be only one answer - Stradivarius violins. In extreme cases, they will be able to remember about Amati tools. Is it really?

Top 5 from the end

If you compose the top violins, then 5-6 places are occupied not by works of ancient masters, but by modern instruments - electric violins, made for the talented musician Stoppprd Linzy, who ordered them. Violins have a special sound, and ... a unique design, thanks to which the price is explained - $ 2.2 million. Each instrument has 50,000 Swarovski crystals!

The next place in the ranking is occupied by the violin, which was played by Niccolo Paganini himself. She came out from under the hands of Guarneri del Gesu, an Italian master, in 1742. It was on this violin that Paganini performed his legendary concerto, during which all his strings broke. For a long time they thought that this was just a beautiful legend. But it turned out - the violin exists! And a private buyer who does not want publicity bought it for his collection for $ 5 million.

The honorable third place is occupied by the Guarneri violin, created in 1741. At present, experts estimate this unique instrument at $ 7 million. But its owner, a Russian businessman, once bought it for half the price.

The second place went to Stradivari violins, one of which was sold for $ 9.8 million. The great master gave a name to all his offspring - as he called the instruments - and the dearest daughter is called Lady Blunt. This instrument was made, one might even say - performed, in 1721.

And in the first place in the ranking is again the Guarneri violin - Vietnam. It was brought to light by the brilliant violinist, Niccolo Paganini. It is considered the most valuable not only in monetary terms, but also in sound. The price of the instrument is $ 18 million. It is in the possession of the Belgian Eugene Ysaye.

Although Stradivari violins are ranked second in the ratings, most modern performers prefer them. The instruments have a completely unique sound, and each Stradivarius violin can be recognized by its voice. In total, the master made more than 1100 instruments. Less than half have survived to our time.

Remembering the most famous violin makers and the most famous violins, one cannot but recall the instruments made by the Russian serf master Ivan Andreevich Batov. Nikollo Paganini's rival, Karel Lipinski, once played on Batov's instrument.

Batov restored many of the Stradivari violins that are now played in the hands of Russian performers. It is rumored that one of these instruments is ranked ninth in the world violin ranking. Its cost is 1.2 million dollars.

But you can still see that the most famous violins are those of Italian masters. And it is very pleasant that among the wonderful instruments there are those that have passed through the hands of a Russian restorer.

bow type, which became widespread in the Baroque era (17th century). At the same time, the first professional violinists appeared.

Giovanni Battista Viotti

The first Russian violinists also appeared. Composer and teacher of musical art Ivan Khandoshkin, who became the first virtuoso violinist in Russia, became widely known.

Famous violinists of the 19th century

The 19th century is, first of all, the generation of Paganini. Nicolo Paganini, who lived in Italy in 1782-1849, was recognized as a genius of musical art during his lifetime. An artist with extraordinary talent, receiving royalties unthinkable at that time and conquering all of Europe. His name was shrouded in an aura of secrets - no one believed that a person was capable of performing the most complex passages so masterly, opening up more and more new possibilities of violin technique.

Nicolo Paganini

The 19th century was also characterized by the emergence of talented violinists in almost all European countries, which was explained by the incredible popularity of violin music in that era. Thus, in Belgium, a national violin school was founded by the efforts of the famous composer and violinist Henri Vietant (1820-1881). He is the author of seven concertos for violin and orchestra, many studies, variations and fantasies. His other famous compatriot is Eugene Isan (1858-1931), he was not only a violinist and composer, but also a famous conductor. Izan composed variations on a theme by Paganini and left behind 6 magnificent violin concertos.

Talented violinists have appeared in the countries of Eastern Europe. Henrik Wieniawski (1835-1880) was born in Poland and became famous throughout Europe. And Russia was made famous by the Hungarian-born violinist Leopold Auer (1845-1930), who founded the Russian violin school.

Famous violinists of the 20th and 21st centuries

20th century - the era of Russian and American violinists.

The greatest violinists of the 20th century are rightfully considered the Americans Yasha Heifetz (1901-1987) and Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999). Both are of Jewish origin and with Russian roots.

In the Soviet Union, famous violinists were the teachers of the Moscow Conservatory David Oistrakh (1908-1974) and Leonid Kogan (1924-1983).

Leonid Kogan

The famous American violinist Yitzhak Perlman continues to create in the 21st century. Among the new generation of violinists, the Russian Vadim Repin stands out.