Mr. Kreutzer, Mr. Milstein, and Mr. Kreisler

Let me start by thanking those that have taking time to write in with feedback and thoughts lately. They are appreciated.

Yesterday I got a note from a new subscriber by the name of Vuc. Welcome aboard, my friend. He wrote; ‘Since you knew Milstein, could you tell me if Kreutzer was part of his daily routine. Fritz Kreisler was famous for never bothering with doing etudes.’

OK, that is an easy one. No, Milstein did not use Kreutzer as part of a daily routine. His practice mainly consisted of running through repertoire, and composing and revising cadenzas and transcriptions.

Milstein also told me that as a youth he spent a great deal of time playing piano music on the violin.

The fact is, however, that I wouldn’t advise this for most violinists.

Few of us have the time and patience it would require to become proficient at such a skill. Milstein grew up in Odessa at a time when, he said, ‘there was nothing else to do but practice.’

Kreisler, by the way, studied at the Paris Conservatory as a youth. Now, being that Rudolphe Kreutzer was a founding professor of that institution back at the end of the 18th century, you can bet that Fritz was given a good dose of him as a student.

In his mature years Kreisler did remark, ‘I have hypnotized myself into the belief that I no longer need to practice…and I don’t.’

Well, I can only say that when he made that remark his recordings will show that he was not quite the violinist of his ‘reputation building’ days. You can bet he practiced plenty then.

Be that as it may, Kreutzer remains, in my opinion, your best way to build and maintain a first class technique on the violin.

What you get in ”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery, Vol. 1” are powerful tools for accelerating the learning process. It also shows you how to trim all the fat – extraneous motion – away so you become an extremely efficient violinist.

All the best,
Clayton Haslop

P.S. Just a reminder. My course is for mature, serious players who want to improve their violin technique and ability to absorb music quickly. It is for amateurs and professionals alike.