A sixty minute recital of 18 short violin pieces. Who could hold our attention from Minute 1 until Minute 60? The answer is: very, very few violinists. Heifetz, certainly. But also Fritz Kreisler, as per my listening this evening. What did Kreisler have that Tasmin Little or Julia Fischer do not? That is a difficult question to answer. The answer is certainly not "technique" (though Kreisler is usually almost faultless in this respect). It is partly a question of style, of empathy with the piece being played. And partly a question of articulation; Kreisler used mainly just the middle of his bow, with bow hair very tight, and he pressed hard on the strings. He thus uses his violin to articulate and this, coupled with his preference for playing where possible on just one string, and using his warming and tasteful vibrato throughout, gives his playing a unique stamp.

The new EMI Kreisler box of 10 CDs cost me just £17. Where, oh where, were such incredible bargains when I was an impecunious youth? There is no excuse for everyone not to buy this box, and to feast on the contents. Kreisler was born in 1875, and so he was probably the first "19th century" violinist to be accessible in reasonable recorded sound (the earliest pieces in this box date from 1904, when Kreisler was already 29 years old). Music from another time and another place. But how lucky we are to have it encapsulated for all time.