Fritz Kreisler
Viennese Rhapsodic
Fantasietta (1941-42)
Program Notes
Fritz Kreisler came to the United States just before World War II, and in 1941 he began a work that recalled the earlier, more innocent Vienna of his youth. This was to be his Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta, but its composition did not prove easy. In the course of writing it, Kreisler was hit by a truck on a New York street and seriously injured: his skull was fractured, his eyesight and hearing were impaired, and he suffered for some time from amnesia. Gradually, the 67-year-old composer worked his way back to health and completed the Fantasietta in 1942 - it would be his final composition.
The Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta is a delightful example of his gift for melodic invention and technical display. Here he expresses the elegance and graciousness associated with old Vienna, and he does this with all the flair and brilliance of the virtuoso performer.
The composition falls into two parts, each introduced by a brief cadenza. The opening section is based on a sultry main theme, double-stopped throughout, that recalls the Viennese spirit, while the more animated second section brings a sequence of waltzes. This gracious music may be thought of as the memories of a man separated by time, distance, and war from the Vienna of his boyhood, and it drives to a spirited close.
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