Kees Hulsmann

Complete Original Works for Violin & Piano Kees Hulsmann

The voluminous oeuvre of Fritz Kreisler for violin and piano includes many themes of composers from the Baroque to the beginning of the twentieth century and pieces composed by the great violinist himself. We were especially interested in the last category, from which the three Viennese dances Liebesleid, Liebesfreud and Schon Rosmarin are the most famous ones. For this album we chose to record the complete collection of original pieces, no adaptations of other composers. When composing the list of original pieces we had concerns about two pieces not being sure that they are purely Kreisler. The theme of the Rondino in the style of Beethoven could possibly be a lost piece for winds, but we could not find any proof of that. In the Grave, in the style of Friedemann Bach it was also impossible to find the hand of Bach. Thus we included these pieces. The most curious piece on this album is the song, Op. 6. We found it in a collection of works where it seemed untouched. Until now we have found no recording or even a record of a performance. Be it so, we recorded thi smelancholy little piece as a premiere. With this recording, we tried to follow as many notes he made regarding bowings and finger positions. Violin playing has changed since the time of Kreisler and the knowledge of period style performances influences the way we play. Inevitably, our own ideas and taste also influence the way we perfrom on the album.