Re Kreisler and Jewishness

[Leopold Friedman <apikoyros...>]

1. The review of Amy Biancolli's biography of Kreisler
(http://www.addall.com/Browse/Detail/1574670379.html) 
notes "though he was at least half-Jewish, he presented himself as a lapsed 
Catholic."

2. [From "Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress:
George Gershwin (1898-1937)"
(http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/loc/Gershwin.html)]

In the vast Gershwin Collection in the Library, there is but one composition on 
a "Jewish theme," the sprightly ditty, Mischa, Yascha, Toscha, Sascha, of which 
Gershwin biographer Charles Schwartz tells: 
a humorous takeoff on the names of four famous Russian violinists: Mischa 
Elman, Jascha Heifetz, Toscha Seidel and Sascha Jacobsen. George and Ira 
[Gershwin] had originally written this tune around 1921.
Gershwin frequently sang and played it at parties, particularly when any of the 
violinists who inspired the title was present. 

[Caption to photo of Kreisler] The virtuoso violinists of this song title are 
Elman, Heifetz, Seidel, and Jacobsen, Russian Jewish violinists all, who made 
their way to
America. The humorous lyrics of Mischa, Yascha, Toscha, Sascha, include "Dear 
Old Fritz"-Kreisler, that is, who was widely thought to be Jewish.
Lyricist Ira Gershwin has the four proclaiming: 
We're not high brows, we're not low brows ... we're He-brows ... 
A signed photo of Kreisler accompanies the holograph manuscript of this 
humorous song now in the Gershwin Collection.  [End of Caption]

The lyrics add one more name to the four, "dear old Fritz," meaning Fritz 
Kreisler, who must have been at a party where it was sung. Among Gershwin's 
papers is a copy of part of the original manuscript of the song and on the page 
where Kreisler is mentioned, the violinist signed,
"with kindest regards of Fritz Kreisler." Accompanying it is a signed 
photograph of the virtuoso with his famed violin. One refrain is: 

We're not high-brows, we're not low brows,
     Any one can see,
You don't have to use a chart,
To see we're He-brows from the start....
Mischa, Yascha, Toscha, Sascha.

The Gershwins refer, of course, to the unusual number of Jews among the world's 
greatest violin virtuosos, especially the Russian-born students of the great 
violin teacher, Leopold Auer, to whom due credit is given in the song. 


3. no shkoyakh, just bravo Fritz.

Lee

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