Kreutzer's fame largely rests on Beethoven's dedication of his Violin and Piano Sonata, Op. 47, and Tolstoy's use of the sonata in his novella, both known as the Kreutzer Sonata.
Performer Biography
Axel Strauss, the violinist on this recording, was the first German artist to win the international Naumburg Violin Award in New York.
Instruments
Axel Strauss plays an outstanding violin by J.F. Pressenda, Turin 1845, on extended loan through the Stradivari Society in Chicago.
Composer Biography
Kreutzer's life took a significant turn at age eighteen with the death of both his parents, leaving him as the head of a large family.
Composer Biography
Rodolphe Kreutzer, the composer, began violin lessons with his father in 1771 and appeared as a public performer at the age of twelve.
Composer Biography
Despite the dedication, Kreutzer reportedly never played Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata in public because its staccato and sautillé bowings did not suit his legato playing style.
Cultural Impact
Kreutzer's 40 (later 42) Etudes or Caprices are considered the most influential violin studies in history and have never been out of print since their 1796 publication.
