Viennese Music

    Yehudi Menuhin Plays Kreisler.

STYLE, in music is an elusive thing. It has to do with the feeling one expresses in the music, the silent space BETWEEN the notes, and the willingness by the performer to take risks with tempo variations. Think about it: In playing the music of Bach, pianist Glenn Gould recreated a style that he felt expressed Bach’s intentions when he composed during the early 1700’s. Yehudi Menuhin sensed that there was something unique about the style of Viennese music. So… as a mature artist, Menuhin went to meet Fritz Kreisler to learn what the magic of Viennese music was all about. Kreisler was born in Vienna in 1875, so this music was in his DNA. Menuhin, however, was born in New York City in 1916, so he went to an authority to learn about this style. The music of Spain is like that: Not everyone can play “Night in the Gardens of Spain”. And similarly dance music such as the Tango requires the appropriate interpretation. Here is the late Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999), playing this music. He said that it “describes an un-Russian, un-Jewish sense of sophisticated assurance”. Listen carefully and you’ll see what I mean:     https://youtu.be/2LHcm16RvDQ   And here is how Kreisler, himself, expressed this style:   https://youtu.be/IFyRWDPWIk0   Tags: Yehudi Menuhin, Fritz Kreisler, Viennese music style