Vienna, 1874 – 1962, New York City
Fritz Kreisler was born into a Jewish family in Vienna/Leopoldstadt on February 2, 1875 and studied at the Conservatorium der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna (today: mdw) with Joseph Hellmesberger jun. as well as at the Conservatoire de Paris with Joseph Lambert Massart. He had already completed a successful American tour at the age of thirteen. Performances with the Philharmonic Orchestras of Vienna and Berlin opened the doors to both international success and wealth for any young soloist. He was also active as a composer. Liebesfreud, Liebesleid and other smaller pieces became world-famous masterpieces. His operetta Sissy, which premiered in Vienna in 1932, was also a success. The Classical Manuscripts, which he published in 1910 as his arrangements of works by earlier composers, were heavily criticized in connection with anti-Semitism when it became known in 1935 that they were in fact his own compositions. From 1933, and in solidarity with the conductors Fritz Busch and Bruno Walter, Kreisler refused to perform in the German “Reich”. Because of his Jewish heritage, the Nazis banned performances, compositions and recordings. In September 1939, he immigrated with his wife Harriet (née Lies) to the United States and became an American citizen in 1943. He never returned to Europe after the war and spent the rest of his life in New York.
On occasion of the exhibition “Fritz Kreisler – A Cosmopolitan in Exile. From Child Prodigy to ‘King of Violinists’” (2022/23) at the Exilarte Center, more than 300 unpublished letters from Fritz Kreisler were donated to the Archive of the Exilarte Center.
Further links: VR 360° tour through the exhibition “Fritz Kreisler – A Cosmopolitan in Exile. From Child Prodigy to ‘King of Violinists’” and our permanent exhibitions
