October 3, 2023 • 21 mins
Virtuoso Fritz Kreisler was known and is remembered for his artistry as a violinist and composer -- and, also, as an unashamed showman. He was one of the most beloved and best known of the early recording-era artists, and a household name in his day. In fact, he was so adored by his audiences that when he revealed some of the pieces he'd performed and attributed to composers such as Vivaldi, Pugnani, and Couperin were, actually, his own compositions, the critics were irate, but his fans continued to pack concert halls.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Criminalia, a production of shondaland Audio in partnership
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
From my earliest days, I have been interested in music,
and music is my life. Violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler
once said that he's known and remembered for his artistry
as a violinist and also as an unashamed showman. He
was one of the most beloved and best known of
the early recording era artists, and a household name during
(00:37):
his day. In fact, he was so adored by his
audiences that when he revealed that some of the pieces
he'd performed and attributed to composers such as Vivaldi were
actually his own compositions, the critics they were irate, but
his fans continued to pack the concert halls. Welcome to Criminalia,
I'm Maria Tremarky.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
And I'm Holly Frye. World renowned concert violinist Fritz Krysler's
name was splashed across the front page of The New
York Times on February eighth, nineteen thirty five, but not
for another brilliant performance in a string of brilliant performances. Instead,
he was outed for composing works he described to classic
(01:21):
masters including Cooperant, Porpora, Punani, and Vivaldi. The next day,
The Times reported that some of Kreisler's friends and peers,
including some very famous names like concert violinist and composer
Ephrem Zimbalist Senior, as well as violinist and pianist Lewis Persinger,
(01:41):
admitted that they'd known that the compositions were really Chrysler's,
but they had kept the whole thing quiet. The pieces
in question had been published and played for more than
twenty five years masquerading as arrangements by Chrysler. So in
musical terms, an arrangement is an adept tape of an
existing composition, and creating an arrangement could mean changes to
(02:05):
musical elements like tempo, melodic rhythms, key harmonies, form, and instrumentation.
But these works were not based on existing compositions, and
for roughly three decades, Chrysler fooled his fellow musicians, critics, historians,
and the general public into believing they were something they
(02:26):
were not.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
He admitted his hoax to New York Times music critic
Olin Downs, who had started to investigate the origins of
one of Chrysler's works. Downs basically asked Chrysler straight up,
did he compose certain pieces and attribute them to classical masters?
Maybe not those exact words, but Chrysler in response said yes,
(02:49):
he did write them Mike.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Drop, and that, of course sparked an uproar in the
classical music world, at least initially. Some people felt really
angry about his deception. Others felt his fakes were enjoyable regardless,
and if audiences liked them, what is the problem. Chrysler
agreed with the latter stance and argued that no one
(03:14):
was harmed by his works, and in fact, many people
enjoyed them. To the critics, Chrysler brushed them off, replying
that they'd already judged the compositions as worthy of praise
before they found out the real composer, stating, quote the
name changes, the value remains. On October twelfth, nineteen thirty five,
(03:35):
a few months after the scandal broke, Chrysler was welcome
to perform at Carnegie Hall by a standing room only
audience in support of his music and artistry. The program
that evening included five Chrysler original compositions, of which three
were from the works previously believed to have been written
by various old masters.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So it's a bit early to do so. But we're
going to break for a word from our sponsor. When
we're back, we'll talk about what made Chrysler such an
important and influential violinist, not just in his time but
also in hours.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Welcome back to Criminalia. First, let's talk about Fritz Kreisler Sunderkins.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Friedrich Fritz Kreisler was an early twentieth century Austrian born virtuoso.
He began playing the violin in eighteen seventy nine at
the age of four. By the age of seven, he
became the youngest in its history to study at Vienna's
famous Music vern when he was ten. He transferred his
studies to Paris. At the age of twelve, in competition
(04:54):
against forty other players, all of whom were at least
twice his age, if not more, he was awarded the
pre to Rome. He made his debut with the Berlin
Philharmonic under Arthur Nikish, considered one of the finest conductors
of the late nineteenth century. The performance marked the beginning
of his international career.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
At age thirteen, he along with Polish pianist Mauret's Roltenthal
toured America. He made his United States debut at Steinway
Hall in New York City on November tenth, eighteen eighty eight,
and over the next year he also played the Mendelssohn
Concerto with the Boston Symphony and went on to perform
in concert with, among others, the Metropolitan Opera House Orchestra
(05:39):
and the Chicago Symphony. He received widespread acclaim during and
after several subsequent American tours between nineteen hundred and nineteen
oh three. In nineteen oh four, in London, he was
awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, the society's highest
honor given for most outstanding musicians.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
While touring America, Chrysler met Harriet Lies, a New York
born tobacco heiress. They married in nineteen oh two. The
couple was dedicated to Fritz's career, and he credited her
with his success. In fact, Harriet's support for her husband
and the love between them is perhaps best expressed by
Chrysler himself, who said, right around the time they were
(06:22):
approaching their fortieth anniversary quote, she is a very remarkable
woman with a fine rain and uncanny intuition. She is
a self sufficient person, and in that respect has what
I lack. I needed her, and she has made the
way easier for me all these years, for she has
looked after me in a natural, everyday way. When I
say such things about her, she says, that's right, Pop.
(06:45):
She calls me pop or Fritzi, and I like it.
Years later, America became his home, and he became a
citizen in nineteen forty three.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
In nineteen oh five, when he was thirty, three of
Chrysler's most famous compositions were published. They include Libis Freud
Love's Joy, Libis Lyde Love Sorrow, and Jean Rosemren Lovely Rosemary,
collectively known as alt Weiner Tansweisen Old Viennese melodies, but
(07:15):
when they were published, they were attributed not to him,
but rather to Joseph Lanner, a Viennese dance music composer
and dance orchestra conductor from the early nineteenth century. Lanner,
like Strauss, was well known for helping to introduce the
waltz to high society. In nineteen ten, Kreisler published additional works.
(07:37):
These he attributed to classical composers Louis Kuperin, Carl Dieters
von Dietersdorff, Francois Francieur, Nicola Porpora, Gettino Pugnani, and Giuseppe Tartini.
On November tenth, nineteen o five, with the London Symphony Orchestra,
Kreisler gave the premier performance of English composer Edward Elgar's
(07:58):
violin Concerto in B Minor Opus sixty one, which was
written just for him. Elgar actually conducted, and that was
a hit.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
One year later, Chrysler published works misattributed to Wilhelm friedeman Bach,
Jean Batiste Carrier, Giovanni Battista Martini, and another to Couperan.
If you're wondering how this could keep going on, most
experts agree that at this time Baroque and classical music
wasn't as well known as it had been, and because
(08:31):
of that, when Chrysler claimed he'd unearth these lost manuscripts
from libraries and museums, no one really thought much about it.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
But before we get ahead of ourselves, there was a
period of time in his young adulthood when Chrysler, whose
father was a physician, actually put down the violin after
his first successful American tour. He spent two years studying
at Vienna Gymnasium and another two years as a pre
medical student. He was on his way to pursuing a
(09:03):
medical degree when he was called to active military service
during the First World War. Of that time, he has
said quote, in those youthful days, I had some very
weird thoughts about my future career. I envisaged myself operating
on a patient in the morning, playing chess in the afternoon,
giving a concert in the evening, and in anticipation of
(09:26):
a glorious military career, winning a battle at midnight. Chrysler, however,
was wounded by a bayonet in combat and dismissed from duty.
He recalled quote, a whole troop of Russian Cossacks ran
over me.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
The years between nineteen twenty four and nineteen thirty four
may best be described as anxious ones for Chrysler, who,
through his father was of Jewish heritage, and this was
a time when the Nazi Party was on the rise.
Chrysler and his wife resided in Berlin during this time,
receiving shelter from the French government. When the Nazi Party
annexed his home country of Austria. In nineteen thirty eight,
(10:06):
the Nazi Party banned all recordings and performances by him,
solely because of his Jewish ancestry. Chrysler was granted French citizenship,
which was not recognized by Germany, but in nineteen thirty
nine he was able to emigrate to America with his wife.
Legendary Hungarian violinist and teacher Carl Flesch, who knew him
and his musicianship quite well, once described one of Chrysler's
(10:29):
performances during this period as quote, his cantenana was an
unrestrained orgy of sinfully seductive sounds, deprivedly fascinating, whose sole
driving force appeared to be a sensuality intensified to the
point of frenzy.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
We're going to take a break for a word from
our sponsor, and when we return, we'll talk about Chrysler's
simple reason behind his musical misrepresentations and how he just
did not care.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Welcome back to Criminalia. Let's talk a bit about how
amazing Chrysler was as a musician and how his style changed.
Violin playing.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Musician Carl Flesh, who we heard from earlier, believed that
Chrysler's unique approach to his performance was quote the inevitable
result of his highly individual need for an increased intensity
of expression. His style was so new and unexpected it
was actually slow to catch on, but when it did,
(11:43):
he became famous seemingly overnight. Chrysler was one of the
first recorded instrumentalists, and he left a significant impact on
later generations of violinists who were able to listen to
him play.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Chrysler's sound was and is immediate recognizable as his His
phrasing technique and boeing, according to the Music Division at
the Library of Congress, were all quote nearly flawless. Most
violinists in the twentieth century acknowledge indebtedness to Chrysler, whether
it be for his boeing style, his fingering, or his
(12:19):
early use of vibrato Strings. Magazine once said of him
as a performer that he had natural and subtle timing,
and that he took a quote profoundly free spirited approach
to music and life. His vibrato was described as intense
and played in a way that had never been heard before.
Vibrato is a musical technique that provides a slight fluctuation
(12:42):
in pitch, and it's used to create warm and rich tones.
A good example of Chrysler's vibrato style is his nineteen
oh four performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Air on the
G string. He was also known for his portmento, which
is the name for sliding from one note to another
on a bowed string. Instrument experts still aren't exactly sure
(13:03):
how he was able to combine his sliding techniques and
unique Boeing style, which included a really tight bow and
frequent Boeing changes. But he did it.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
We've all heard the joke, how do you get to
Carnegie Hall practice? Anyone who's tried to learn an instrument
knows you got to put in the time. You have
to practice. But Chrysler's attitude to practicing was he was
against it. He believed, quote everything is in the brain.
You think of a passage and you know exactly how
(13:34):
you want it. I mean it when I say that
in my mind is the concept. My arm and my
fingers are like private soldiers who execute commands from above.
Too much practicing, he said, quote benumbs the brain, renders
the imagination less acute and deadens the alertness. He preferred
(13:55):
warming up, not before a recital, but during its first
fifteen or twenty minutes, and he had the skill and
talent to pull that off.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Chrysler regularly held recitals, and among the works he regularly
included were hoax compositions. Though no one knew or suspected
it at the time, he passed them off as the
compositions of works of seventeenth and eighteenth century masters instead
of his own, because, as he later explained, quote, it
would be impudent and tactless to repeat my name endlessly
(14:29):
on the programs it's said. When the truth got out,
Chrysler didn't apologize, but rather he seemed to revel in
his deception, calling out the quote snobs of the music
world who quote judged merely by name. More than two
hundred of Chrysler's compositions were published, some under his name
and some not, including concerto's chamber music solos for violin
(14:51):
and piano, as well as operettas.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
In nineteen forty one, Chrysler was hit by a truck
while crossing in New York City street and spent weeks
in a coma. Although he recovered and made some additional recordings,
experts and non experts felt that his playing was not
quite the same after the accident. He owned and played
more violins than we could count, but there's one that's
(15:17):
notable here. For a few years he owned the famously
storied seventeen thirty two Guarneri del Jesu, which had previously
been played by tiv Dar Natchez, a Hungarian violinist. It
actually has quite a background story, including that it was
once owned by a general of Napoleon, who lost it
(15:37):
to British pirates, who then sold it to a vicar
for two pounds. This was the instrument that was used
to test Chrysler for any cognitive damage. While he recovered
in the hospital, he played the andante of the Mendelssohn
Concerto perfectly. Of the overall event, Chrysler stated, quote, my
(15:58):
accident took my site and my hearing. I could not move,
and I was bandaged and useless, but my mind was
still there waiting.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Chrysler gave his final public performance in nineteen forty seven
and played a few broadcast performances for a few years
after that. Violinist Isaac Stern said of him, quote, there
is not a violinist alive in this century. Who does
not have the sound of Chrysler's works in his ear
and indeed in his heart. Chrysler himself once said life
(16:30):
begins and ends with music. He died in January of
nineteen sixty two, just a few days before his eighty
seventh birthday.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Said legendary violinist Yehudi menuhin quote. The typical Chrysler sound
was subtle and insistent, filled beneath its surface with emotion
and impulses, with hints and illusions that the primitive recording
technology of those days as well as I did our
utmost to capture, I yearned desperately to play schoen Rose
(17:00):
and Caprice Viennoy with such refined elegance. And if you're
curious about his music, you can listen. Some must hears
include Alta Vayner, Tanswissen, Caprice Viennoy, and the Operetta Sissy.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
In writing about him and listening to his music, it's
all so beautiful that I actually wish that I had
a bogus bevy to listen to as I was enjoying it.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Listen, I got you. Although I'm gonna warn you up
front this is not your flavor. I'll try this is
not your cocktail. Here's what I love about this man.
We're not naturally drawn to people who are incredibly gifted
and talented. I have certainly spoken to artists of various
types who when people are like, oh, you're so lucky
(17:50):
to be so gifted, and they're like, no, I work
very hard. He is that rare exception. It's likesh yep.
He's so modest, and I really liked how completely nonchalant
he was about the discovery of his deception. And so
we're making a drink today that I'm calling the Cavalier.
(18:13):
Like his attitude. It's an easy one to make. It's
very yummy. You're gonna know what it's going to look
like by the time I get to the actual service
portion of this. You're gonna start with three quarters of
an ounce of lime, three quarters of an ounce of
Orja or other almond syrup is fine, and then an
(18:34):
ounce and a half of vanilla vodka, and you're gonna
shake that in your shaker so it's nice and chili willy.
And then you are gonna rim a glass with sugar,
put your ice in, and then pour that mixture over
it and top it with just a little kiss of
ginger beer, and I would do one of the lighter
flavored ones. I often like a nice sharp ginger beer.
(18:55):
For this one, you want a softer one. You could
even do a ginger ale. And so now you a
thing that looks like a margarita, but it tastes like
birthday can. And I will say, honestly, this drink is
so delicious as going on my barman your home. I
really really liked it. Yeah. The Cavalier is for times
when you just don't care, You just want something yummy
(19:17):
and to live your life and revel in your own greatness. Cavalier.
The mocktail for this is super duper simple. Three quarters
of an ounce of lime juice, three quarters of an
ounce of orja, and then what you're gonna do is
instead of vanilla vodka since it does impart flavor in
this case because it's vanilla, you're gonna do a drop
(19:39):
of vanilla extract, and then you're just gonna move your
ginger beer amount up to like a two ounce situation.
That's it, super easy, super easy. You can even stir
that together in the glass at that point because you
don't need to shake to incorporate everything. As much. I mean,
you can still shake it if you want, but don't
put a ginger beer until after. Don't get an explosion.
(20:02):
That is your mocktail version of the Cavalier, which is
another great one for like I envision that as like
a great make it by the pitcher for like a
party while we're in bogus bevy zone. Listen, a margarita
gets a lot of flax sometimes from people because it's
been associated with like those frozen, huge made batch drinks
(20:25):
that are very sugar eas lushy machine or even you
get margarita mixed and you pour into quila and those
are not delicious. But a real good margarita which is
made with a nice tequila and some lime and a
little quantrille or an orange liquor, those are actually very
refreshing and beautiful. So if you have not had a
(20:47):
really good margarita, I would just encourage you to keep trying.
But in the meantime, you can have a Cavalier. It
tastes like cake. With that, we will cheers you out
for this episode and thank you for spending time with us.
We will be right back here next week for more Criminalia.
(21:14):
Criminalia is a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, please visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Welcome to Criminalia, a production of shondaland Audio in partnership
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
From my earliest days, I have been interested in music,
and music is my life. Violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler
once said that he's known and remembered for his artistry
as a violinist and also as an unashamed showman. He
was one of the most beloved and best known of
the early recording era artists, and a household name during
(00:37):
his day. In fact, he was so adored by his
audiences that when he revealed that some of the pieces
he'd performed and attributed to composers such as Vivaldi were
actually his own compositions, the critics they were irate, but
his fans continued to pack the concert halls. Welcome to Criminalia,
I'm Maria Tremarky.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
And I'm Holly Frye. World renowned concert violinist Fritz Krysler's
name was splashed across the front page of The New
York Times on February eighth, nineteen thirty five, but not
for another brilliant performance in a string of brilliant performances. Instead,
he was outed for composing works he described to classic
(01:21):
masters including Cooperant, Porpora, Punani, and Vivaldi. The next day,
The Times reported that some of Kreisler's friends and peers,
including some very famous names like concert violinist and composer
Ephrem Zimbalist Senior, as well as violinist and pianist Lewis Persinger,
(01:41):
admitted that they'd known that the compositions were really Chrysler's,
but they had kept the whole thing quiet. The pieces
in question had been published and played for more than
twenty five years masquerading as arrangements by Chrysler. So in
musical terms, an arrangement is an adept tape of an
existing composition, and creating an arrangement could mean changes to
(02:05):
musical elements like tempo, melodic rhythms, key harmonies, form, and instrumentation.
But these works were not based on existing compositions, and
for roughly three decades, Chrysler fooled his fellow musicians, critics, historians,
and the general public into believing they were something they
(02:26):
were not.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
He admitted his hoax to New York Times music critic
Olin Downs, who had started to investigate the origins of
one of Chrysler's works. Downs basically asked Chrysler straight up,
did he compose certain pieces and attribute them to classical masters?
Maybe not those exact words, but Chrysler in response said yes,
(02:49):
he did write them Mike.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Drop, and that, of course sparked an uproar in the
classical music world, at least initially. Some people felt really
angry about his deception. Others felt his fakes were enjoyable regardless,
and if audiences liked them, what is the problem. Chrysler
agreed with the latter stance and argued that no one
(03:14):
was harmed by his works, and in fact, many people
enjoyed them. To the critics, Chrysler brushed them off, replying
that they'd already judged the compositions as worthy of praise
before they found out the real composer, stating, quote the
name changes, the value remains. On October twelfth, nineteen thirty five,
(03:35):
a few months after the scandal broke, Chrysler was welcome
to perform at Carnegie Hall by a standing room only
audience in support of his music and artistry. The program
that evening included five Chrysler original compositions, of which three
were from the works previously believed to have been written
by various old masters.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So it's a bit early to do so. But we're
going to break for a word from our sponsor. When
we're back, we'll talk about what made Chrysler such an
important and influential violinist, not just in his time but
also in hours.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Welcome back to Criminalia. First, let's talk about Fritz Kreisler Sunderkins.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Friedrich Fritz Kreisler was an early twentieth century Austrian born virtuoso.
He began playing the violin in eighteen seventy nine at
the age of four. By the age of seven, he
became the youngest in its history to study at Vienna's
famous Music vern when he was ten. He transferred his
studies to Paris. At the age of twelve, in competition
(04:54):
against forty other players, all of whom were at least
twice his age, if not more, he was awarded the
pre to Rome. He made his debut with the Berlin
Philharmonic under Arthur Nikish, considered one of the finest conductors
of the late nineteenth century. The performance marked the beginning
of his international career.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
At age thirteen, he along with Polish pianist Mauret's Roltenthal
toured America. He made his United States debut at Steinway
Hall in New York City on November tenth, eighteen eighty eight,
and over the next year he also played the Mendelssohn
Concerto with the Boston Symphony and went on to perform
in concert with, among others, the Metropolitan Opera House Orchestra
(05:39):
and the Chicago Symphony. He received widespread acclaim during and
after several subsequent American tours between nineteen hundred and nineteen
oh three. In nineteen oh four, in London, he was
awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal, the society's highest
honor given for most outstanding musicians.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
While touring America, Chrysler met Harriet Lies, a New York
born tobacco heiress. They married in nineteen oh two. The
couple was dedicated to Fritz's career, and he credited her
with his success. In fact, Harriet's support for her husband
and the love between them is perhaps best expressed by
Chrysler himself, who said, right around the time they were
(06:22):
approaching their fortieth anniversary quote, she is a very remarkable
woman with a fine rain and uncanny intuition. She is
a self sufficient person, and in that respect has what
I lack. I needed her, and she has made the
way easier for me all these years, for she has
looked after me in a natural, everyday way. When I
say such things about her, she says, that's right, Pop.
(06:45):
She calls me pop or Fritzi, and I like it.
Years later, America became his home, and he became a
citizen in nineteen forty three.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
In nineteen oh five, when he was thirty, three of
Chrysler's most famous compositions were published. They include Libis Freud
Love's Joy, Libis Lyde Love Sorrow, and Jean Rosemren Lovely Rosemary,
collectively known as alt Weiner Tansweisen Old Viennese melodies, but
(07:15):
when they were published, they were attributed not to him,
but rather to Joseph Lanner, a Viennese dance music composer
and dance orchestra conductor from the early nineteenth century. Lanner,
like Strauss, was well known for helping to introduce the
waltz to high society. In nineteen ten, Kreisler published additional works.
(07:37):
These he attributed to classical composers Louis Kuperin, Carl Dieters
von Dietersdorff, Francois Francieur, Nicola Porpora, Gettino Pugnani, and Giuseppe Tartini.
On November tenth, nineteen o five, with the London Symphony Orchestra,
Kreisler gave the premier performance of English composer Edward Elgar's
(07:58):
violin Concerto in B Minor Opus sixty one, which was
written just for him. Elgar actually conducted, and that was
a hit.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
One year later, Chrysler published works misattributed to Wilhelm friedeman Bach,
Jean Batiste Carrier, Giovanni Battista Martini, and another to Couperan.
If you're wondering how this could keep going on, most
experts agree that at this time Baroque and classical music
wasn't as well known as it had been, and because
(08:31):
of that, when Chrysler claimed he'd unearth these lost manuscripts
from libraries and museums, no one really thought much about it.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
But before we get ahead of ourselves, there was a
period of time in his young adulthood when Chrysler, whose
father was a physician, actually put down the violin after
his first successful American tour. He spent two years studying
at Vienna Gymnasium and another two years as a pre
medical student. He was on his way to pursuing a
(09:03):
medical degree when he was called to active military service
during the First World War. Of that time, he has
said quote, in those youthful days, I had some very
weird thoughts about my future career. I envisaged myself operating
on a patient in the morning, playing chess in the afternoon,
giving a concert in the evening, and in anticipation of
(09:26):
a glorious military career, winning a battle at midnight. Chrysler, however,
was wounded by a bayonet in combat and dismissed from duty.
He recalled quote, a whole troop of Russian Cossacks ran
over me.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
The years between nineteen twenty four and nineteen thirty four
may best be described as anxious ones for Chrysler, who,
through his father was of Jewish heritage, and this was
a time when the Nazi Party was on the rise.
Chrysler and his wife resided in Berlin during this time,
receiving shelter from the French government. When the Nazi Party
annexed his home country of Austria. In nineteen thirty eight,
(10:06):
the Nazi Party banned all recordings and performances by him,
solely because of his Jewish ancestry. Chrysler was granted French citizenship,
which was not recognized by Germany, but in nineteen thirty
nine he was able to emigrate to America with his wife.
Legendary Hungarian violinist and teacher Carl Flesch, who knew him
and his musicianship quite well, once described one of Chrysler's
(10:29):
performances during this period as quote, his cantenana was an
unrestrained orgy of sinfully seductive sounds, deprivedly fascinating, whose sole
driving force appeared to be a sensuality intensified to the
point of frenzy.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
We're going to take a break for a word from
our sponsor, and when we return, we'll talk about Chrysler's
simple reason behind his musical misrepresentations and how he just
did not care.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Welcome back to Criminalia. Let's talk a bit about how
amazing Chrysler was as a musician and how his style changed.
Violin playing.
Speaker 1 (11:22):
Musician Carl Flesh, who we heard from earlier, believed that
Chrysler's unique approach to his performance was quote the inevitable
result of his highly individual need for an increased intensity
of expression. His style was so new and unexpected it
was actually slow to catch on, but when it did,
(11:43):
he became famous seemingly overnight. Chrysler was one of the
first recorded instrumentalists, and he left a significant impact on
later generations of violinists who were able to listen to
him play.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Chrysler's sound was and is immediate recognizable as his His
phrasing technique and boeing, according to the Music Division at
the Library of Congress, were all quote nearly flawless. Most
violinists in the twentieth century acknowledge indebtedness to Chrysler, whether
it be for his boeing style, his fingering, or his
(12:19):
early use of vibrato Strings. Magazine once said of him
as a performer that he had natural and subtle timing,
and that he took a quote profoundly free spirited approach
to music and life. His vibrato was described as intense
and played in a way that had never been heard before.
Vibrato is a musical technique that provides a slight fluctuation
(12:42):
in pitch, and it's used to create warm and rich tones.
A good example of Chrysler's vibrato style is his nineteen
oh four performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's Air on the
G string. He was also known for his portmento, which
is the name for sliding from one note to another
on a bowed string. Instrument experts still aren't exactly sure
(13:03):
how he was able to combine his sliding techniques and
unique Boeing style, which included a really tight bow and
frequent Boeing changes. But he did it.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
We've all heard the joke, how do you get to
Carnegie Hall practice? Anyone who's tried to learn an instrument
knows you got to put in the time. You have
to practice. But Chrysler's attitude to practicing was he was
against it. He believed, quote everything is in the brain.
You think of a passage and you know exactly how
(13:34):
you want it. I mean it when I say that
in my mind is the concept. My arm and my
fingers are like private soldiers who execute commands from above.
Too much practicing, he said, quote benumbs the brain, renders
the imagination less acute and deadens the alertness. He preferred
(13:55):
warming up, not before a recital, but during its first
fifteen or twenty minutes, and he had the skill and
talent to pull that off.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Chrysler regularly held recitals, and among the works he regularly
included were hoax compositions. Though no one knew or suspected
it at the time, he passed them off as the
compositions of works of seventeenth and eighteenth century masters instead
of his own, because, as he later explained, quote, it
would be impudent and tactless to repeat my name endlessly
(14:29):
on the programs it's said. When the truth got out,
Chrysler didn't apologize, but rather he seemed to revel in
his deception, calling out the quote snobs of the music
world who quote judged merely by name. More than two
hundred of Chrysler's compositions were published, some under his name
and some not, including concerto's chamber music solos for violin
(14:51):
and piano, as well as operettas.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
In nineteen forty one, Chrysler was hit by a truck
while crossing in New York City street and spent weeks
in a coma. Although he recovered and made some additional recordings,
experts and non experts felt that his playing was not
quite the same after the accident. He owned and played
more violins than we could count, but there's one that's
(15:17):
notable here. For a few years he owned the famously
storied seventeen thirty two Guarneri del Jesu, which had previously
been played by tiv Dar Natchez, a Hungarian violinist. It
actually has quite a background story, including that it was
once owned by a general of Napoleon, who lost it
(15:37):
to British pirates, who then sold it to a vicar
for two pounds. This was the instrument that was used
to test Chrysler for any cognitive damage. While he recovered
in the hospital, he played the andante of the Mendelssohn
Concerto perfectly. Of the overall event, Chrysler stated, quote, my
(15:58):
accident took my site and my hearing. I could not move,
and I was bandaged and useless, but my mind was
still there waiting.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Chrysler gave his final public performance in nineteen forty seven
and played a few broadcast performances for a few years
after that. Violinist Isaac Stern said of him, quote, there
is not a violinist alive in this century. Who does
not have the sound of Chrysler's works in his ear
and indeed in his heart. Chrysler himself once said life
(16:30):
begins and ends with music. He died in January of
nineteen sixty two, just a few days before his eighty
seventh birthday.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Said legendary violinist Yehudi menuhin quote. The typical Chrysler sound
was subtle and insistent, filled beneath its surface with emotion
and impulses, with hints and illusions that the primitive recording
technology of those days as well as I did our
utmost to capture, I yearned desperately to play schoen Rose
(17:00):
and Caprice Viennoy with such refined elegance. And if you're
curious about his music, you can listen. Some must hears
include Alta Vayner, Tanswissen, Caprice Viennoy, and the Operetta Sissy.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
In writing about him and listening to his music, it's
all so beautiful that I actually wish that I had
a bogus bevy to listen to as I was enjoying it.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
Listen, I got you. Although I'm gonna warn you up
front this is not your flavor. I'll try this is
not your cocktail. Here's what I love about this man.
We're not naturally drawn to people who are incredibly gifted
and talented. I have certainly spoken to artists of various
types who when people are like, oh, you're so lucky
(17:50):
to be so gifted, and they're like, no, I work
very hard. He is that rare exception. It's likesh yep.
He's so modest, and I really liked how completely nonchalant
he was about the discovery of his deception. And so
we're making a drink today that I'm calling the Cavalier.
(18:13):
Like his attitude. It's an easy one to make. It's
very yummy. You're gonna know what it's going to look
like by the time I get to the actual service
portion of this. You're gonna start with three quarters of
an ounce of lime, three quarters of an ounce of
Orja or other almond syrup is fine, and then an
(18:34):
ounce and a half of vanilla vodka, and you're gonna
shake that in your shaker so it's nice and chili willy.
And then you are gonna rim a glass with sugar,
put your ice in, and then pour that mixture over
it and top it with just a little kiss of
ginger beer, and I would do one of the lighter
flavored ones. I often like a nice sharp ginger beer.
(18:55):
For this one, you want a softer one. You could
even do a ginger ale. And so now you a
thing that looks like a margarita, but it tastes like
birthday can. And I will say, honestly, this drink is
so delicious as going on my barman your home. I
really really liked it. Yeah. The Cavalier is for times
when you just don't care, You just want something yummy
(19:17):
and to live your life and revel in your own greatness. Cavalier.
The mocktail for this is super duper simple. Three quarters
of an ounce of lime juice, three quarters of an
ounce of orja, and then what you're gonna do is
instead of vanilla vodka since it does impart flavor in
this case because it's vanilla, you're gonna do a drop
(19:39):
of vanilla extract, and then you're just gonna move your
ginger beer amount up to like a two ounce situation.
That's it, super easy, super easy. You can even stir
that together in the glass at that point because you
don't need to shake to incorporate everything. As much. I mean,
you can still shake it if you want, but don't
put a ginger beer until after. Don't get an explosion.
(20:02):
That is your mocktail version of the Cavalier, which is
another great one for like I envision that as like
a great make it by the pitcher for like a
party while we're in bogus bevy zone. Listen, a margarita
gets a lot of flax sometimes from people because it's
been associated with like those frozen, huge made batch drinks
(20:25):
that are very sugar eas lushy machine or even you
get margarita mixed and you pour into quila and those
are not delicious. But a real good margarita which is
made with a nice tequila and some lime and a
little quantrille or an orange liquor, those are actually very
refreshing and beautiful. So if you have not had a
(20:47):
really good margarita, I would just encourage you to keep trying.
But in the meantime, you can have a Cavalier. It
tastes like cake. With that, we will cheers you out
for this episode and thank you for spending time with us.
We will be right back here next week for more Criminalia.
(21:14):
Criminalia is a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts from Shondaland Audio, please visit the iHeartRadio app,
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Hosts And Creators
Holly Frey
Maria Trimarchi
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