Baroque they are not

Between 1910 and 1938 the Austrian violin virtuoso Fritz Kreisler produced some arrangements of works by Boccherini, Martini, Couperin, Vivaldi and Porpora. They were positively achieved by the crticis.  In 1935, Kreisler revealed that there were not arrangements at all, but in fact works which he had written from scratch.  Suddenly critic’s attitudes to the work changed. Kreisler said: “The name changes changes, the value remains.”

Source: Goodall, Howard, “Goodall on Kreisler”, Classic FM, December 2009, p. 19.

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