Kreutzer Violin C major Etude #2 (and Modulations/Variations)

Kreutzer wrote a series of etudes entitled 42 études ou caprices for violin in the late 1700s.

This beautiful etude is in C major. And a great piece to study for guitarists, violinists, violists, piano players and whomever else that may be interested in practicing scales in a musical way!

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Classical Violin Music – Great to Learn and Practice on Guitar!

Playing violin music on the guitar is a great musicality and chop builder – plus there’s tons of amazing repertoire to check out, too!

I am currently learning this on violin and viola, but also I think this is a great study for any guitarists interested in working on a study of scales, fluidity, and dynamics in a more musical fashion.

Much of the classical violin repertoire works well for guitar, both as performance pieces and as studies. The Bach Solo Violin works are very well-loved among guitarists, for example.

A Short Biography of Kreutzer

Rodolphe Kreutzer came into the wold in 1766, 10 years before the founding on the USA. His father played music professionally as a clarinetist and also taught violin in Germany and Switzerland before moving to France a few years before Rodoplhe’s birth.

At a young age, Rodolphe dedicated his life to the violin and composition – inspired by the great Giovanni Battista Viotti, he began composing concertos. A couple years later, at the age of 18, Kreutzer played his first self-composed violin concerto. Sadly, his parents passed away the same year.

Among the many amazing events of his life, some notable events stand out. He lived through the French Revolution (~1789) during his late 20s – around that time he was employed by the crown in Versailles and (presumably) moved to Paris to seek a better life.

On a more musical note, while on a trip to Vienna (1798), Kreutzer met Beethoven!

Beethoven was born in 1760, and so he was just 6 years older than Kreutzer. They became friends and Beethoven dedicated a sonata to Kreutzer – the Violin Sonata no.9 (Opus 47) for violin and piano. The sonata would become to called the Kreutzer Sonata (though it sounds like Kreutzer didn’t play the piece very much). It was further “popularized” almost 100 years later (1889) by Leo Tolstoy, who wrote a novella to that same name, The Kreutzer Sonata.

Ludwig van Beethoven - Violin Sonata No. 9 "Kreutzer"

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With the help of Adélaïde-Charlotte Foucard (his wife) and other musicians, Kreutzer started a music publishing company. From my understanding, the late 1700s was the beginning of the growth of the music publishing industry – Beethoven was probably one of the first very famous composers to publish music for a living. Before Beethoven, most composers (like Mozart and Bach) worked for various aristocrats and wealthy patrons of the arts.

Kreutzer wrote over 40 operas, 19 violin concerti and many other works for ballet and chamber ensembles (some as collaborations). His first opera about Joan of Arc was well received. Another opera is still played today, La mort d’Abel.

Rodolphe Kreutzer - La mort d'Abel - Ouverture

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Kreutzer, Rudolphe 19th violin concerto

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A few other stories from Kreutzer’s life – he helped found the Paris Conservatory in 1790s and was one of the first violin maestros at the Conservatory. He also co-wrote a famous method for learning violin with Rode and Baillot, the Méthode de Violon (1793). The three violinist are considered the founders of the French school of violin playing.

And this brings us to the 40 (later 42) Études ou caprices for violin. Originally published in 1796, these have become an foundation of violin study for over 200 years!

These [42] studies are by far the most influential such material in violin history and have never been out of print since their first publication. It is no exaggeration to say that nearly every violinist, of nearly any ability, has had occasion to study the études of Kreutzer, so that his influence on violin playing has been enormous.
from Rodolphe Kreutzer (1766–1831) – Biography at Naxos

Learn more about Rodolphe Kreutzer at Naxos. At Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia.