The San Francisco call., 1909-12-19
kRFISLER'S FINAL
RECITAL TODAY
Famous ViOIinist Will Leave at
Once After Concert This
Afternoon
Discusses Music and Plays, and
Artists Who Assume
Erratic Poses
By WALTER ANTHONY

~ Fritz kreisleT proceeds on his
way as unostentatiously as he
came There viii be no frantic dele
Saton at the depot to bid him adieu
or any committee OF prominent citizens
10 read TO him a set Of formal felicia
tons- He viii be given no official
farewell. II is safe to say that any
man occupying an analogous position
IN letters or politics would be over
whelmed by those who sought to do
themselves honor in the recognition of
genius which their enthusiasm would
indicate. Perhaps they would MI his
car with flowers
The most casual acquaintance and
heeting association with this master of
she violin is sufficient TO show why
kFeisler. with all his physical advan-
tages OF coal black hair. distinguishing
appearance and elegance of manner.
escapes the hooks Of fswning adulation.
lie does not want ii, and unlike many
Ereat artists there is no pretense in this
dsstaste- He does not merely pretend
10 be bored by the attentions of hyster-
heal hero worshipers, while secretly
encouraging them, and he does not
dwell apart as god or put on a
llask like princes OF old TO mingle
lncognlto with the mass. He disarms
rae sycophantic and the servile by be-
having himself like ? human being. So
lar as I could see ia the brief chat we
Lad, hreisler. when he puts his violin
IN the box, hasn't a single virtuoso
ulck TO his name lie is just ordi-
nary mortal gifted with genius. pro-
N1ded with a catholic education which
embraces law, medicine, philosophy and
The Literature of six languages, and all
this grated TO a nature the principal
Characteristic of which is. I should say,
an unaffected ana unconscious sim
picity.
IN the nine years that have known
him. and during the seven years that
] have been Mrs. Kreisler. said that
person 70 me when the hero of her
praise was absent, i have never heard
him utter a single unkind thing about
anybody. All women" she went on,
mischievOusly, are cats, more or less,
and so I indulge myself the perverse
pleasure of unlSind criticism once in
awhile. Perhaps find fault with some
other artists playing, and confde the
feet to Mr.. Kreisler Then he says,
Now, my dear. you shouldn't say that.
You do not know enough about the
subject 10 discuss it. ] should very
much like 10 play that number as he
does. And then he'll be sure TO find
some excellence 10 praise"
What irritates Kreisler most is the
attitude of society toward great artists.
- came 10 a dinner late once" he
said, but the delay was one Of those
unav avoidable accidents which can not be
forseen nor prevented. The hostess
cut short my apology and refused to
the explanation which would clear me
of the implication of boorishness and
which was reasonably due my hostess
She said: oh my dear Mr. Kreisler
please say nothing about it at all. Of
course great artists are not expected
10 be conventional
Now why in the world is it presumed
that because man is an artist he
can not also be gentleman Because
= man plays the violin or piano or
sings better than most Of his fellows
is that any reason why he should be
dishonest, immoral. loose in his rela-
tions 10 society and untidy in his
habits and dress2 Society encourages
luen in the artists class TO misbehave
themselves oh he's a genius, they
say rspturously, and forgive him
every sort Of vileness. II doctor or
? lawyer or a merchant should mis-
behave himself as artists are permitted
10 do. he would be horseWhipped or
sent to jail or both. Yet the greatest
surgeon in the world is as big man
as the greatest artist. His nature is
just as keenly balanced and his nervous
equipment just as sensitively keen The
sooner society withhOlds its invitations
from the errstic artists and condemns
their immortality the better it will be
for art and society
ART is clean. When Bach wrote i'm
mortal things I venture TO say that his
IS children around him were clean.
wholesome youngsters. bathed and
happy A Bach fugue did not grow out
of muck nor spring from the mire A
clean body, good blood sane habits
and = decent mind are more essential in
art than in any other form of mental
activity
Il am opposed to this fake Bohemia
with all my might. The highest ex-
pressions OF art must come from nor
NAL healthy surroundings"
KreisIer's career has been peculiar
one. aside from the fact that il has
been 50 successful He never studied
under 2 master after he was Il years
old. At that time he was in Paris TAX
ing violin lessons. His family, we'll
horn Austrian. was amply able to sup
ply him with tutors His master died,
however, and little Fritz took no more
lessons from anybody.
He has ideas on this subject which
viii. perhaps. be new.
L believe that by the time boy is
u wears old he viii have acquired all
She personal instruction from an indi-
xfduaI teacher that he viii require
that is. If he has the potentialities Of a
great artist After that time he nill
learn from personal contact with and
study Of the works Of the great mas
ters. and much concert going. He must
hear the masters OF his instrument
md learn from observation. Through
4he medium Of his own personality he
Erill eventually give these things forth.
The peda gogic influence of a single
personality on his art can not help but
ramp and circumscribe his own indi-
vidualitv. The great artist must work
out his own salvation He must wan
der alone. Moses in the courts Of Phs-
raoh needed 40 years of loneliness in
the LAND Of indian to develop the char
acter and mind Of the greatest jurist
the world has ever seen. Teachers are
for the merely talented, L believe"
Between the ages Of Il and 1s Kreis-
Ter put his violin aside He studied
science and philosophy in Rome, Paris
and lived some in England. At IS
5e went into the army. He wanted to