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    Four Weeks In The Trenches; The War Story Of A Violinist [Illustrated Edition]
    Four Weeks In The Trenches; The War Story Of A Violinist [Illustrated Edition]
    Four Weeks In The Trenches; The War Story Of A Violinist [Illustrated Edition]
    Ebook61 pages1 hour

    Four Weeks In The Trenches; The War Story Of A Violinist [Illustrated Edition]

    By Fritz Kreisler

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Friedrich “Fritz” Kreisler was an Austrian-American violinist and composer of great renown, often regarded as one of the finest violinists of all time. He was, however, for a brief time an officer of the Austrian army during the First World War; but unlike the voluminous literature of Gallipoli and the Western Front in English, his memoirs of the fighting on the Eastern Front provide a rare insight seldom seen. Although clearly not a full record of the time that he spent in the Austrian service, before being honourably discharged after being wounded, the events that he chronicled are of considerable detail, artistic merit and lasting interest.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLucknow Books
    Release dateJun 13, 2014
    ISBN9781782891956
    Four Weeks In The Trenches; The War Story Of A Violinist [Illustrated Edition]
    Author

    Fritz Kreisler

    Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately recognisable as his own. Although it derived in many respects from the Franco-Belgian school, his style is nonetheless reminiscent of the gemütlich (cozy) lifestyle of pre-war Vienna. He wrote an autobiography about his life during WW I.

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    • 4/5
      Kreisler describes the four weeks he spent with the Austrian Army during the First World War. An excellent account of life on often neglected Eastern Front. A short book and it's available online.
    • 4/5
      This memoir of Kreisler’s brief service in the Austrian army during WWI gives the reader a realistic and moving account of a soldier’s life during battle. He honestly describes not only his actions but also his feelings during this time and allows the reader to get a glimpse of what it was like to be on the battlefield and in the trenches of WWI. As a musician, I was fascinated to know that one aspect of his musical training came into play—he discovered he could discern the apex of incoming artillery missiles by hearing the sound change as they went from ascending to descending. This enabled his artillery to determine the distance they needed to accurately fire upon those artillery positions.

    Book preview

    Four Weeks In The Trenches; The War Story Of A Violinist [Illustrated Edition] - Fritz Kreisler

     This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

    To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – contact@picklepartnerspublishing.com

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    Text originally published in 1911 under the same title.

    © Pickle Partners Publishing 2013, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

    Publisher’s Note

    Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

    We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

    FOUR WEEKS IN THE TRENCHES

    THE WAR STORY OF A VIOLINIST

    BY

    FRITZ KREISLER

    With Illustrations

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Contents

    TABLE OF CONTENTS 5

    DEDICATION 6

    PREFACE 7

    I 8

    II 16

    III 23

    ILLUSTRATIONS 31

    DEDICATION

    TO MY DEAR WIFE

    HARRIET

    THE REST FRIEND

    AND STANCHEST COMRADE IN ALL

    CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE

    I DEDICATE THIS LITTLE BOOK

    IN HUMBLE TOKEN

    OF EVERLASTING GRATITUDE

    AND DEVOTION

    PREFACE

    THIS brief record of the fighting on the Eastern front in the great war is the outcome of a fortunate meeting.

    The writer chanced to be dining with Mr. Kreisler soon after his arrival in this country, after his dismissal from the hospital where he recovered from his wound. For nearly two hours he listened, thrilled and moved, to the great violinist's modest, vivid narrative of his experiences and adventures. It seemed in the highest degree desirable that the American public should have an opportunity of reading this narrative from the pen of one in whose art so many of us take a profound interest. It also was apparent that since so little of an authentic nature had been heard from the Russo-Austrian field of warfare, this story would prove an important contribution to the contemporary history of the war.

    After much persuasion, Mr. Kreisler reluctantly acceded to the suggestion that he write out his personal memories of the war for publication. He has completed his narrative in the midst of grave difficulties, writing it piecemeal in hotels and railway trains in the course of a concert tour through the country. It is offered by the publishers to the public with confidence that it will be found one of the most absorbing and informing narratives of the war that has yet appeared.

    F.K.

    I

    IN trying to recall my impressions during my short war duty as an officer in the Austrian Army, I find that my recollections of this period are very uneven and confused. Some of the experiences stand out with absolute clearness; others, however, are blurred. Two or three events which took place in different localities seem merged into one, while in other instances recollection of the chronological order of things is missing. This curious indifference of the memory to values of time and space may be due to the extraordinary physical and mental stress under which the impressions I am trying to chronicle were received. The same state of mind I find is rather characteristic of most people I have met who were in the war. It should not be forgotten, too, that the gigantic upheaval which changed the fundamental condition of life overnight and threatened the very existence of nations naturally dwarfed the individual into nothingness, and the existing interest in the common welfare left practically no room for personal considerations. Then again, at the front, the extreme uncertainty of the morrow tended to lessen the interest in

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