I am, somewhat bizarrely, embarking on an 11 hour marathon of listening to the violin playing of Fritz Kreisler -- even if it involves me in listening to two Beethoven violin concertos, two Brahms, two Mendelssohn and two Mozart 4th. It is, however, a most interesting experience and I can think of very few violinists who could hold a listener's interest during 11 hours consecutive listening.

The first thing about Kreisler's playing to impress is the fact that he obviously plays music he loves and music he knows. There is never the feeling that "my manager said I should programme this to enhance my reputation". Secondly, although he was a superb violinist, Kreisler never sought to impress anyone with his playing; he never sought to make jaws drop. He just put his violin under his chin and played, lost in the world of music making. I am less impressed with his Mozart K 218 concerto which often sounds languid to my ears, especially in the 1939 re-make with Malcom Sargent. But that is a question of taste.

Kreisler's trills impress, and I am conscious that I always notice the trills of many of the older generation of violinists, never the modern (has anyone ever admired Tasmin Little's trills?) George Enescu was famous for his trills. With Kreisler; I notice them with appreciation. It's also good to hear Kreisler's superb sense of rhythm and rubato; very Viennese. I enjoy the occasional plaintive sound of his violin, with echoes of gypsy and klezmer playing from Central Europe.

In general, the 1926-7 concerto performances (with Leo Blech) in Berlin please me more than the 1935-6 remakes with Barbirolli, Sargent, et al. Partly, one suspects, because in 1926 Kreisler was "only" 51 years old but, by the mid-1930s, he was in his sixties. Never a great fan of practising, and somewhat lazy, there are more fluffs with Kreisler than with modern hot-shots. But, there again, he recorded (from 1904 onwards) well before the age of tape-splicing, and one cannot imagine Kreisler agreeing to multiple re-takes; he was not that kind of musician. We have to learn to live with fluffs; and why not, if the overall magic is there? His 1926 Mendelssohn in Berlin with Blech is one of the best I know; fleet and sweet. I had forgotten it, but now give it three stars.

A sense of Gemütlichkeit, ravishing sound, plus truly interesting violin playing: what more could we ask for? The EMI transfers seem to be fine.