Bain News Service, publisher · Public domain

Fritz Kreisler was among the most celebrated violinists of the early twentieth century, prized for a sweet, portamento-laden tone so distinctive that listeners could name him from a few bars. Trained in the Franco-Belgian school, he became a defining exponent of the gemütlich, unhurried Vienna he grew up in, a style that outlived the pre-war world that produced it. He composed as well as performed, leaving a catalogue of short violin pieces that remain staples of the repertoire.