Kreisler, Fritz

Kreisler, Fritz, 1875-1962, Austrian-American violinist, studied at the conservatories of Vienna and Paris. He first appeared in the United States in 1889. After studying medicine, then art, Kreisler returned to the violin, making a sensationally successful appearance in Berlin in 1899. In 1901 he played again in the United States and afterward was perhaps the most popular violinist in the country. He served briefly in the Austrian army in World War I; in 1939 he became a French citizen and in 1943 a U.S. citizen. He composed the operettas Apple Blossoms (1919) and Sissy (1933) and numerous famous violin pieces, including Caprice Viennois, Tambourin Chinois, and Polichinelle Sérénade. In 1935 he revealed that a number of the pieces he had published as compositions of old masters were actually his own.

orig. Friedrich Kreisler

(born Feb. 2, 1875, Vienna, Austria—died Jan. 29, 1962, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Austrian violinist and composer. He entered the Vienna Conservatory at age 7 and finished his musical studies by 12. After touring internationally as a teenager, he quit performing to study medicine. Returning to the violin, he scored successes in Berlin and Vienna (1898). He toured Europe and the U.S. until the start of World War I, and he premiered Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto in 1910. After recovering from a war wound, he resumed touring (1919–50). His concert programs frequently included many charming short pieces that he wrote, among them “Viennese Caprice” and “Pretty Rosemary.”

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Fritz was originally a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (der alte Fritz, a nickname for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor). Common derivations for Fritz include the surnames Fritsche, Fritche, and Fritsh. Fritz may also refer to:

Entertainment

• Fritz (chess), German computer chess program
• Fritz (Frankenstein), hunchback in the 1931 film version of Frankenstein, played by Dwight Frye
• Fritz the Cat, comic book character, featured in the animated Fritz the Cat (film) and its sequel The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat
• Fritz the Cat (producer), hip hop producer

People

• Clemens Fritz, German footballer currently playing for SV Werder Bremen
• Florian Fritz, French rugby union player
• Fritz Bondroit, German canoer
• Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist
• Fritz Lang, film maker
• Fritz Wunderlich, German tenor
• Russell Fritz, Recipient of the Jamaican Prime Ministers Medal of Appreciation in the Jamaican honours system
• Fritz, nickname of Walter Mondale, former vice president of the United States
• Fritz or Fritzchen, German codename for double agent Eddie Chapman during World War II

Miscellenea

• Fritz-chip, secure cryptoprocessor of the Trusted Computing Group
• "Fritz" helmet, nickname for the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops kevlar helmet currently used by the US Military
• Fritz, alternate name for Devon sausage
• Chester Fritz Auditorium and Chester Fritz Library, facilities on the University of North Dakota campus in Grand Forks
• Fritz Industries, a manufacturing company based in Dallas, Texas
• Fritz Tile, also spelled Fritztile, is a brand of resilient terrazzo floor tile
• "On the fritz", phrase meaning an appliance is broken or malfunctioning: probably onomatopoeic for the sound of sparks jumping