The Tradition of the Salon Music Transcription: Meredith Willson’s “Till There Was You” in the Style of the Transcriptions of Kreisler and Heifetz

ABSTRACTThe peak popularity of salons occurred in the mid-to-late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries. These gatherings brought talented musicians, poets, authors, and artists together to share their talents and learn from one another. Out of this tradition sprang a new genre of music, the salon piece. Two of the most famous violinists who contributed to this art form were Fritz Kreisler and Jascha Heifetz, who took popular songs at the time such as “Old Folks at Home” and “Summertime,” and transformed them into showpieces for violin and piano. By expanding the repertoire and styles in which they played, they greatly enlarged both their audiences and popularity. These transcribed popular songs had widely recognizable melodies, which insured that the pieces would be unforgettable and profitable through record companies and radio. Many of the transcribed pieces were shorter in length, around three to four minutes, which allowed for a complete song or piece on one side of a record. Most of the time, these violinists added embellishments to their transcriptions, such as double stops or virtuosic techniques, providing musical variety and bravado. These shorter, character pieces came to be known as “salon pieces,” from their rich origins in the salons. This thesis explores the contributions of Kreisler and Heifetz not only to the violin repertoire, but also to incorporating popular music elements on the concert stage with their original transcriptions. The thesis also demonstrates how the author modeled a transcription of Meredith Willson’s song, “Till There Was You,” after the techniques used by Kreisler and Heifetz in their transcriptions, continuing a centuries old tradition and hopefully inspiring others to do the same.