The names change, but the game remains the same

March 2, 2016 at 10:30 am

Austrian violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler is known as a hot-dog violinist and his compositions, both of which were warm, juicy, and sweet. His best-loved work is Alt-Wiener Tanzweisen, three short pieces for violin and piano that recall the sound of, well, Old Wieners (er, old Vienna).

Written in 1905, Kreisler knew this musical style was out of fashion. For some stupid reason, there is an unspoken rule that new Art Music needs to be fresh and forward-looking, and that imitating or stealing another’s music is bad. So, he attributed the work to Joseph Lanner, who was a genuine Old Wiener Alt-Wiener Viennese romantic, with no artificial fillers. Once the piece became famous, Kreisler removed Lanner’s name and took credit for the music.

I’m telling ya, you never sausage a great violinist!

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