Rodolphe Kreutzer

Roldolphe Kreutzer Speaks About His Time as an Artist

Stella Kelley

I met with Mr. Kreutzer on the afternoon of November 2nd and asked him a few questions about his life as an artist and about his work. He shared several personal details about life as a musician during the 18th century in France, and even a story about his father towards the end of interview. 

KELLEY: Thank you so much once again for meeting with me!

KREUTZER: Of course, it is no problem! I was delighted when you asked me.

(1) KELLEY: Haha, great! I’m very glad. To get us started, I wanted to ask you about the place you lived, what it was like, and what what the time you lived in was like as well?

KREUTZER: Oh, yes! Of course. Well, I was born November the 15th…1766. In Versailles. I lived in a house with my mother and father, they were the ones who fostered my interest in music! Versailles around this time was a very popular place to be…during my childhood, Louis XVI and the Royal Family were living some of their last years there.

KRUETZER: That brings me to the times as well, I lived during my country’s revolutionary era, as I grew up it was very obvious that things were…er, changing. It was hard to find a job and to keep that job, and money was hard for me to come by, But there was so much inspiration during these times for a musician like me…there were so many opportunities for me. You see?

(2) KELLEY: Yes, yes, definitely. Thank you, Mr. Kreutzer. That makes me wonder, you were such an influential musician in your time, was there anything or anybody earlier in your life that fostered your interests?

KREUTZER: Yes, definitely. My father fostered my interest in music from the time I was very little. My father was a musician in the royal chapel, he’s probably one of the biggest reasons I did what I did… Being around music like that from such a young age, it doesn’t just do nothing!

KREUTZER: My earliest teacher, besides for my father, was probably Anton Stamitz. I started lessons with him in….let’s see….1778.  Around then. I was 12 years old. Fantastic musician, taught me extremely well.

(3) KELLEY: Yes, he sure did. I’ve heard of Stamitz. What roles would you say he played in helping you develop the interests and talents you have as an artist, or anyone else for that matter?

KREUTZER: Er….Stamitz could be a rather harsh teacher sometimes, but that’s something that I probably needed. He encouraged me and I developed the beginnings of my own style with him. I composed my first concerto at 13 under his care and my career started to take off in the years after that.

KREUTZER: I should definitely mention that Marie Antoinette and Count Artois helped me out a ton. The death of my father in 1784, and of my mother in 1785 were a tremendous blow to me as a teenager. I had felt so….lost, I suppose. Marie Antoinette and Count Artois fancied my playing and they sort of became my, er, protectors in that time. They got me instated into the king’s royal orchestra, and then I was able to make enough money to support myself, and in my free time I could work on what I loved to do, composing.

(4) KELLEY: And, what would you say the world of art was like as you began to enter it as a new musician?

KREUTZER: Oh, it was booming with new ideas, new people, and therefore plenty of inspiration! Artists flourished in this in this time, we were so inspired by each other and what was happening around us. When others, for lack of a better word, perished, we thrived.

KREUTZER: I met many new, great musicians. This might have been especially because of the times. I also was faced with, on the other hand, what others would call competition. I don’t think that I ever thought of it this way, though. More or less, I saw it as a chance to better my own work by being faced with so many others’.

(5) KELLEY: I see. How would you say the major cultural, economic, and political situations of your time impacted not only others work, but yours?

KREUTZER: Hm, well, for others, including myself…I would say that we were all very inspired, although some artist’s work had very obvious change and others didn’t. Many people say that they did not observe a change in my music during my lifetime, and I suppose I can see what they mean. I just continued to do what I had been for years, because it’s what I care about and love. I focused on it.

KREUTZER: Listeners describe my music as vivacious, with splendid tone and clearness in the way it is executed. I suppose that not many noticed change over time in my style, and that is understandable. People describe me to be “unhindered by the constant social changes in my country.” (Udwadia, 2001) In opposition to that, I was definitely effected by the revolutions in my world, but I tried to keep my work…er…embodied with the same energy I felt that it needed…

(6) KELLEY: Fantastic, I enjoy your work immensely! Speaking of your work, what would you say your greatest accomplishments were, along with the methods you use in your work, what did you do in your work that makes it so unique?

KREUTZER: Well, my best work is considered to be the 42 etudes ou caprices, they’re considered to be “fundamental pedagogic studies.” (Wikimedia Foundation, 2015) I would consider that a major accomplishment. When I preformed my first concerto at 12, and when I was instated as a member of the orchestra of the Chapelle du Roi when I was 16, I consider those big as well. I also believe that my first opera, Jeanne d’Arc, when it was given it’s premiere, that was a big deal for me.

KREUTZER: As for the methods used in my work, my style of bowing stands out, as well as my belief in the opening and extension of the left hand when playing. I was greatly inspired by Viotti, Giovanni Battista Viotti. My 42 etudes ou caprices is actually centered around this idea surrounding the left hand.

(7) KELLEY: Yes, I see. What would you say were some of your key opportunities that enabled you to do what you did as a musician?

KREUTZER: Oh, definitely having a father with an occupation as a musician. He enabled me to do so much with music as a child….he got me lessons with Stamitz in the first place. Having lessons with Stamitz improved my abilities immensely. I’d also say that having Marie Antoinette and Count Artois as my initial support after my parents’ deaths saved me, in a way.

KREUTZER: Working as a professor for a period of time at the Paris Conservatory was also a very large opportunity for me. Teaching students helped me better myself even more, and it was then that I started writing my 42 etudes ou caprices.

(8) KELLEY: I see. You’ve mentioned Marie Antoinette and Count Artois a few times now, may I ask how the deaths of your parents might have effected you? How did you overcome these roadblocks?

KREUTZER: Yes, that’s fine. The death of both of my parents was a major roadblock for me as a teenager. As I mentioned earlier, I felt lost without the support they had offered me from such a young age… Overtime I began to feel secure and successful again, with help from those like Marie Antoinette and Count Artois.

KREUTZER: I also faced many problems financially earlier in my life, and to be honest….had a bit of trouble supporting myself. This issue was remedied when I married Adelaide-Charlotte Foulard. She was the daughter of the Valet de Chambre of the Comte d’Artois, who was brother of the king, and soon after, king himself. When I married my wife, a lot of these financial issues dissipated, I don’t think that needs explaining.

(9) KELLEY: No, I understand. Thank you, Mr. Kreutzer. Before I start to wrap up, do you have any personal stories to best illustrate how you succeeded in your career as a musician?

KREUTZER: I do suppose that I can think of one. Hmm, let’s see. I mentioned to you that my father encouraged me from a young age? I do remember that once, when I was about 11, I was losing a lot of confidence in my playing. I had started to realize more and more about the artistic world and in doing so, I suddenly felt extremely far behind.

KREUTZER: He told me that I was one of the most fantastic musicians he had ever met, that I was already reaching tremendous heights at such an age that it surprised him more and more every day. He made me feel…special. And that’s what I needed. Everyone needs someone who makes them feel special.

(10) KELLEY: I completely agree. Thank you. To close out, I want to ask how you think your work impacted the world of art.

KREUTZER: Haha, hm! Good question. I’m not completely sure. In a more literal sense, my bowing technique and my 42 etudes ou caprices are still considered to be very influential. The technique in your left hand taught in my 42 etudes ou caprices is still taught today.

KREUTZER: On the other hand, my energetic and vivacious style is considered to be heavily influential to several other artists of my time, including the well-known musician and my accomplice, Beethoven. I guess you could say that that is how I impacted the world of art in my own time and still today.

KELLEY: Fantastic, fantastic. Mr. Kreutzer, I want to thank you again for your time! 

KREUTZER: Oh, of course! I’ve enjoyed this very much, thank you.

Source List: http://scpakreutzer.blogspot.com/2015/11/rudolphe-kreutzer-interview-source-list.html